After jumping to an 11-0 record, the No. 21-ranked Washington Huskies are suddenly stumbling following a sweep at the hands of the Pac-12’s Bay Area schools. UW (11-3, 0-2) had its third consecutive loss Sunday night, a 68-60 overtime decision to Stanford (10-3, 2-0) at Maples Pavilion, two nights after blowing a halftime lead in a loss to Cal.
With 13 seconds remaining, the Huskies were well-positioned to escape with a road split to open conference play. Leading 56-54, guard Nigel Williams-Goss, dealing with back spasms throughout the evening, stepped to the foul line with the opportunity to make it a two-possession game.
But the sophomore missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Stanford guard Chasson Randle responded with a tying layup with two seconds left to bring overtime.
The Cardinal made its first three shot attempts, capped when Allen Rosco drilled a three-pointer with 2:42 for a 63-58 lead. The Huskies cut the lead to 63-60 with 1:14 remaining but couldn’t get any closer, as center Robert Upshaw missed a pair of free throws inside the final minute.
The result was especially disappointing for UW after opening with a 14-4 lead. But the Huskies couldn’t sustain the offensive rhythm. UW didn’t record a field goal over the final 9:53 of the first half. Stanford entered the break on a 13-3 run to tie at 28.
Shawn Kemp Jr. led the Huskies with 19 points and five rebounds, while Upshaw came off the bench to record a double-double (10 points, 10 boards). It wasn’t enough on a night UW shot 38 percent from the floor and 24 percent (four-for-17) from three-point range. The Huskies finished with 19 turnovers, which Stanford converted into 27 points.
UW has five days off before they host Washington State (7-7, 1-1) Saturday in its conference home opener at Alaska Airlines Arena.
2 Comments
There’s no shame in losing to Stanford. Johhny Dawkins runs a good program. But there is shame when you were in control of the game in the closing minutes. This team could easily be undefeated right now but instead has dropped out of the top 25. They really need to buckle down on defense and they have a bad habit of coming out cold in the second half. They can compensate for that with some strong defense. Would love to see them press more and dump the half court trap.
Decided to take in the game on a slow Sunday night. Husky personnel seemed aimless, as if they were not sure what they were playing for. They didn’t have a go-to guy. Which is fine. if you don’t have a go-to guy, then you have to have a plan. But they didn’t have that either, especially in the crucial minutes. No single player looked like he knew what to do, or what his job was. They were just flailing.
For those who contribute to the b-ball program, they should be asking for more.