GAME: Hartford (5-8 overall, 0-0 American East) at Washington (7-5 overall, 0-0 Pac-12). WHEN: Sunday, 6 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 1st. RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: John Gallagher, Hartford; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
The Huskies close the non-conference portion of the schedule by hosting Hartford of the American East Conference. Given Hartford’s woeful 293 Rating Percentage Index, UW should score an easy victory here, but wins for the Huskies have been tough to achieve regardless of opponent.
Two nights ago, Washington had all it could handle in Mississippi Valley State, which entered with a RPI of 219. UW needed an 18-0 burst, fueled by Nigel Williams-Goss and Andrew Andrews, in the second half to put away the Delta Devils 95-80.
Offense isn’t Washington’s problem. The Huskies average 81.2. But they allow 80.2, the most since Bob Bender’s 1999 Huskies averaged a school-record 82.5.
Washington led 39-35 at halftime Friday. With less than 13 minutes to play, the score was tied 56-56. Then Washington went on its big run. When asked what changed, head coach Lorenzo Romar cited a sudden focus on the defensive end.
“Getting stops,” he said, identifying the key to the run. “Game to game, half to half, when we get stops, man, we look like a pretty good basketball team.”
But when they don’t get stops, or don’t exert the effort to get them, the Huskies are an easy pummel.
The Hawks average 65.8 points per game and are led by Mark Nwakamma at 16.6 ppg and Yolonzo Moore at 10.7. Nwakamma is Hartford’s leading rebounder at 6.4.
Hartford has victories over Fairfield (63-53), Fairleigh Dickinson (74-60), Holy Cross (90-78), Sacred Heart (84-72) and St. Peter’s (66-56). When the Hawks played a top-tier D-1 program, Louisville, they lost 87-48.
The Huskies begin Pac-12 play Thursday at Arizona State, which has opened 10-2. Two days later, Washington plays at No. 1 Arizona. The Huskies are 2-26 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams.
SERIES: First meeting.
UW STATS / NOTES
- REGULAR-SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 7-5. Home: 6-2. Road: 1-1. Neutral: 0-2. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 7-5. Points: 975 (81.2). Field Goal Pct.: 45.0. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 36.2. Free Throw Pct.: 76.5. Rebounds: 446 (37.2). Assists: 165 (13.8). Turnovers: 142 (11.8). Steals: 70 (5.8). Blocks: 46 (3.8). Points Against: 963 (80.2). Opp. FG Pct.: 49.2. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 33.5. Opp FT Pct.: 65.3. Opp. Rebounds: 393 (32.8). Opp. Assists: 157 (13.1). Opp. Turnovers: 140 (11.7). Opp. Steals: 62 (5.2). Opp. Blocks: 55 (4.6).
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 4th (81.2). Scoring Defense — 12th (80.2). Scoring Margin — 12th (+1.0). FG Pct. — 10th (45.0). FT Pct. — 1st (76.5). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 6th (36.2). Rebound Margin — 5th (+4.4). Blocked Shots — 8th (3.8). Assists — 9th (13.7). Steals — 6th (5.8). Turnover Margin — 8th (+0.17).
- RATINGS PERCENTAGE INDEX: Nov. 11 — 99; Nov. 18 — 96; Nov. 25 — 150; Dec. 2 — 218; Dec. 9 — 198; Dec. 15 — 198; Dec. 23 — 170.
- Shooting 76.5 percent from the line, best under Lorenzo Romar through the first 11 games.
- In the 73-62 victory over Tulane, C.J. Wilcox scored 15 points to become the fourth player under Lorenzo Romar to exceed 1,500 career points. Wilcox has 1,517, 10th all-time in UW annals.
- Wilcox ranks second in the conference in scoring at 20.3, second in free throw percentage at 89.7 and T2 in 3-pointers made per game at 2.92.
- 6-5 against top-10 opponents under Romar and hold a 30-49 all-time mark against top 10 teams.
- Nigel Williams-Goss has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.44, second best in the Pac-12 by a freshman.
- At least four Huskies have scored in double figures in five of Washington’s 12 games.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (337-222 overall, 244-134 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies finished 18-16 and ended 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 | 12 | .443 | .402 | .897 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 20.3 |
| N.W.-Goss | 12 | .455 | .348 | .641 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 12.8 |
| A. Andrews | 12 | .387 | .333 | .767 | 4.3 | 2.5 | 12.6 |
| P. Blackwell | 11 | .563 | .000 | .659 | 7.6 | 0.7 | 12.5 |
| M. Anderson | 12 | .536 | .462 | .754 | 7.1 | 1.9 | 9.1 |
| D. Johnson | 12 | .356 | .235 | .875 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 8.8 |
| Shawn Kemp | 12 | .559 | .000 | .583 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| D. Simmons | 2 | .250 | .500 | .750 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| J. Taylor | 7 | .444 | .667 | .750 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.3 |
| G. Dierckx | 9 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Total | 12 | .450 | .362 | .755 | 37.2 | 13.7 | 81.2 |
| Opponents | 12 | .492 | .336 | .653 | 32.8 | 13.1 | 80.2 |
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. | — | — | W | 92-89 | 4-3 |
| 12/8/13 | vs. SD State | — | 24 | L | 70-63 | 4-4 |
| 12/14/13 | vs. Idaho St. | — | — | W | 85-66 | 5-4 |
| 12/17/13 | at Tulane | — | — | W | 73-62 | 6-4 |
| 12/22/13 | vs. UConn | — | 10 | L | 82-70 | 6-5 |
| 12/27/13 | vs. Miss. Valley | — | — | W | 95-80 | 7-5 |
| 12/29/13 | vs. Hartford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/2/14 | at ASU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/4/14 | at Arizona | — | 1 | — | —– | — |
| 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