GAME: Long Beach State (1-6 overall, 0-0 Big West) at Washington (3-3 overall, 0-0 Pac-12). WHEN: Saturday, 3:30 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 3rd (UW leads 2-0). RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: Dan Monson, Long Beach State; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
After losing Jernard Jarreau to reconstructive knee surgery and Desmond Simmons to arthroscopic knee surgery, with Shawn Kemp Jr. playing through Graves Disease in his thyroid, and Hikeem Stewart transferring out of the program, Lorenzo Romar has been forced to adjust to a rapidly shrinking of his current roster.
Romar has shortened his rotation to seven players, usually with four guards. That limitation has been exacerbated by the NCAA’s emphasis on calling defensive-contact fouls, to which the Huskies have yet to adequately adapt. Averaging 21 fouls per game, the Huskies have already suffered five disqualifications.
They haven’t been able to defend very well, either. Washington ranks last in the conference in field goal percentage defense, allowing foes to hit 52.2 percent of their shots, and 11th in 3-point defense, allowing 38.5 percent.
As a consequence, the Huskies have struggled to play .500 (3-3). In their last outing, the Huskies needed to rally from eight points down in the second half to hold off Montana 83-79 at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Saturday, the Huskies draw 1-6 Long Beach State, which has played a brutal schedule. In addition to losing to Arizona (91-57) and Kansas State (71-58) on the road, the 49ers dropped a trio of games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Michigan (85-61), Virginia Commonwealth (73-67) and Kansas State (52-38).
The 49ers are coached by Dan Monson, who is in his sixth season at Long Beach State. Monson’s 49ers have won three consecutive Big West titles and made one NCAA and two NIT appearances in the past three seasons. Monson coached the Gonzaga Bulldogs for two years in the late 1990s and then had a seven-year run at the University of Minnesota.
The 49ers are led by Mike Caffey, who averages 15.0 points per game, and Dan Jennings, who averages 11.0 points and 9.3 rebounds.
SERIES: Dates to Nov. 26, 2007, when Washington won 84-69 at Alaska Airlines Arena. The teams last met Nov. 30, 2010 in Seattle, the Huskies romping 102-75 as C.J. Wilcox scored 20 points in 23 minutes. Isaiah Thomas added 19 for Washington, Abdul Gaddy 17 and Matthew Bryan-Amaning 14.
UW STATS / NOTES
- REGULAR-SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 3-3. Home: 3-1. Road: 0-0. Neutral: 0-2. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 3-3. Points: 497 (82.8). Field Goal Pct.: 41.1 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 36.0. Free Throw Pct.: 75.4. Rebounds: 213 (35.5). Assists: 77 (12.8). Turnovers: 53 (8.8). Steals: 33 (5.5). Blocks: 27 (4.5). Points Against: 514 (85.7). Opp. FG Pct.: 52.2. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 38.5. Opp FT Pct.: 62.6. Opp. Rebounds: 217 (36.2). Opp. Assists: 88 (14.7). Opp. Turnovers: 70 (11.7). Opp. Steals: 22 (3.7). Opp. Blocks: 30 (5.0).
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 7th (82.8). Scoring Defense — 12th (85.7). Scoring Margin — 12th (-2.8). FG Pct. — 11th (41.1). FT Pct. — 1st (75.4). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 5th (36.0). Rebound Margin — 12th (-0.7). Blocked Shots — 9th (4.5). Assists — 11th (12.8). Steals — 8th (5.5). Turnover Margin — 3rd (+2.8).
- RATINGS PERCENTAGE INDEX: Nov. 11 — 99; Nov. 18 — 96; Nov. 25 — 150.
- When C.J. Wilcox knocked down 30 against Boston College, he became Washington’s first 30-point scorer since Terrence Ross had 32 vs. Northwestern March 16, 2012. Wilcox also became the first Husky to drop at least five 3-pointers (6-for-7) in a game since Scott Suggs in 2012.
- In his past three games, Wilcox has scored 24, 30 and 28 points. In his last two, Wilcox has made 11 of 15 3-pointers.
- Wilcox needs one 3-pointer to tie the UW career record of 231 set by Ryan Appleby (2005-09).
- UW has 77 assists to 53 turnovers, a ratio of 1.5, the best ever under Romar through the first six games of a season. The Huskies are also making 75.4 percent of their free throws, the top mark in the Pac-12.
- Senior Perris Blackwell is averaging 12.0 points and 8.2 rebounds, and has posted two double-doubles.
- Washington’s scoring average of 82.8 points per game is its highest since the 2010-11 season.
- Freshman Nigel Williams-Goss is averaging 6.0 assists, the top mark in the conference.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (333-220 overall, 240-132 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies finished 18-16 overall and ended the year with a loss to Brigham Young in the National Invitation Tournament. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011).
2012-13 Washington Regular-Season Statistics
| Player | G | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Wilcox | 6 | .478 | .452 | .864 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 23.8 |
| N.W.-Goss | 6 | .464 | .167 | .682 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 13.3 |
| P. Blackwell | 5 | .468 | .000 | .727 | 8.2 | 0.5 | 12.0 |
| A. Andrews | 6 | .411 | .389 | .667 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 11.8 |
| D. Johnson | 6 | .364 | .235 | .895 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 10.6 |
| M. Anderson | 6 | .354 | .211 | .840 | 7.0 | 2.2 | 8.8 |
| Shawn Kemp | 5 | .556 | .000 | .556 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| H. Stewart | 5 | .333 | .200 | .000 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| J. Jarreau | 1 | .000 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Q. Sterling | 1 | .000 | .000 | .500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| G. Dierckx | 5 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| J. Taylor | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Total | 6 | .441 | .360 | .750 | 35.5 | 12.8 | 82.8 |
| Opponents | 6 | .522 | .385 | .626 | 36.2 | 14.7 | 85.7 |
University of Washington 2013-14 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/13 | @vs. Cent. Wash | — | — | W | 95-65 | 0-0 |
| 11/10/13 | vs. Seattle U. | — | — | W | 88-78 | 1-0 |
| 11/14/13 | vs. UC Irvine | — | — | L | 86-72 | 1-1 |
| 11/17/13 | vs. E. Wash | — | — | W | 92-80 | 2-1 |
| 11/21/13 | *vs. Indiana | — | — | L | 102-84 | 2-2 |
| 11/22/13 | *vs. Boston Co | — | 18 | L | 89-78 | 2-3 |
| 11/26/13 | vs. Montana | — | — | W | 83-79 | 3-3 |
| 12/30/13 | vs. L. Beach St. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/8/13 | vs. SD State | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/14/13 | vs. Idaho St. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/17/13 | at Tulane | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/22/13 | vs. UConn | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/27/13 | vs. Miss. Valley | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/29/13 | vs. Hartford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/2/14 | at ASU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/4/14 | at Arizona | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/8/14 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/12/14 | vs. Colorado | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/15/14 | at Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/18/13 | at Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/23/14 | vs. Oregon | — | 19 | — | —– | — |
| 1/25/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/1/14 | at WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/6/14 | at Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/9/14 | at Colorado | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/12/14 | vs. Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/15/14 | vs. Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/19/14 | at Oregon | — | 17 | — | —– | — |
| 2/22/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/28/14 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/6/14 | vs. UCLA | — | 22 | — | —– | — |
| 3/8/14 | vs. USC | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/12/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/13/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/14/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/15/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/18-19/14 | NCAA 1st 4 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/20-23/14 | NCAA 2nd, 3rd | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/27-30/14 | NCAA Reg. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/5/14 | NCAA Semis | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/7/14 | NCAA Final | — | — | — | —– | — |
@=Exhibition; *=2K Sports Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament