GAME: Colorado State (3-0 overall, 0-0 Mountain West) at Washington (2-2 overall, 0-0, Pac-12). WHEN: Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 3rd (series tied 1-1). RANKINGS: Neither ranked. COACHES: Larry Eustachy, Colorado State; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM.
Lorenzo Romar’s Washington Huskies, runner-up in the recent Tip-Off Holiday Classic, will play seven of their next eight games in Alaska Airlines Arena, starting Saturday against Colorado State. The lone “away” game for the Huskies between now and Dec. 29 is Dec. 13 against Seattle U. at KeyArena.
“I’m really looking forward to the homestand,” Romar said after Washington lost to No. 4 Ohio State 77-66 in the championship game of the Tip-Off Classic Sunday. “I’m really excited about our team. We have something to build on after these two games (also a win over Seton Hall Saturday), and I think we’re going to get better. This trip allowed us to see some things that will help us get better.”
Colorado State is 3-0 after defeating the University of Denver 60-53 Wednesday. The Rams received 16 points from senior center Colton Iverson, 16 points from Dorian Green, and held the Pioneers to just 29.5 percent shooting from the field.
Iverson is Colorado State’s leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points per game, while Green is second, averaging 9.0. Wes Elkmier, a first-team All-Mountain West choice last year when he averaged 15.6 points, is averaging 8.3. Pierce Hornung leads the Rams in rebounding, averaging 12.0.
Colorado State has a +19.0 scoring margin over its opponents despite horrible 3-point shooting. The Rams have hoisted 39 threes so far and have made just nine, 23.1 percent (Washington makes 42.2 percent).
Colorado State is coming off a 2011-12 season with a 20-12 mark, finishing fourth in the Mountain West at 8-6, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament as an at-large entry.
The Rams last year had trouble on the road, going road, going 3-9 away from Fort Collins.
SERIES: Dates to Dec. 1, 1962, when the Huskies, coached by John Grayson, won 64-59 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in the opening game of the 1962-63 season. The teams met again Dec. 23, 1963 in Fort Collins, the Rams scoring an 82-52 victory over a UW squad coached by Mac Duckworth.
UW STATS / NOTES
- SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 2-2. Home: 1-1. Road: 0-0. Neutral: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 2-2. Points: 297 (74.2). Field Goal Pct.: 48.8. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 42.2. Free Throw Pct.: 70.0. Rebounds: 142 (35.5). Assists: 42 (10.5). Steals: 13 (3.3). Blocks: 17 (4.3). Points Against: 276 (69.0). Opp. FG Pct.: 42.9. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 37.1. Opp FT Pct.: 61.7. Opp. Rebounds: 121 (30.3) : Opp. Assists: 48 (12.0). Opp. Steals: 29 (7.3). Opp. Blocks: 15 (3.8). Ratings Percentage Index (RPI): Ranked 41st.
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 9th (74.2). Scoring Defense — 11th (69.0). Scoring Margin –12th (+5.2). FG Pct. — 5th (48.8). FT Pct. — 5th (70.7). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 2nd (42.2). Rebound Margin — 10th (+5.2). Blocked Shots — T5 (4.3). Assists — 11th (10.5). Steals — 12th (3.3). Turnover Margin — 11th (-2.25).
- Abdul Gaddy (16.0) and C.J. Wilcox (15.5) rank seventh and eighth, respectively, in Pac-12 scoring through four games.
- Gaddy entered the season with 312 assists, 8th on UW’s all-time list. With 12 in four games, Gaddy needs 193 to break Will Conroy’s school record.
- Senior Aziz N’Diaye leads the conference in rebounding at 11.8 per game with Desmond Simmons 19th at 6.3. N’Diaye, who also leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds (4.5 per game), is making 64.0 percent of his field goal attempts, fourth in the Pac-12.
- N’Diaye and C.J. Wilcox are tied for seventh in blocked shots with six each.
- Simmons is making 87.5 percent of his free throws, fifth in the Pac-12.
- Senior Scott Suggs ranks fourth in 3-point shooting. He’s made 8 of 14, .57.1 percent.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (314-203 overall, 221-115 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies won the Pac-12 regular-season title. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011). Romar, who signed a 10-year contract extension in April 2011, won his his 200th game at Washington Dec. 16, 2011. He had his 300th career victory and his 100th as a conference coach on Jan. 21, 2012. Romar was selected the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
Romar played for the Huskies under head coach Marv Harshman during the 1979-80 seasons (served as team captain his senior year), and had a five-year NBA career with Golden State (1981-84), Milwaukee (1984) and Detroit (1984-85). He became a college head coach at Pepperdine in 1997, where he coached for three seasons, then spent three years (1999-02) at St. Louis University before taking the Washington job in 2002-03.
2012-13 Washington Statistics
| Player | G | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul Gaddy | 4 | 54.8 | 46.7 | 84.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 16.0 |
| C.J. Wilcox | 4 | 48.0 | 39.1 | 1.000 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 15.5 |
| Aziz N’Diaye | 4 | 64.0 | 0.00 | 46.7 | 11.8 | 0.8 | 11.5 |
| Scott Suggs | 4 | 51.6 | 57.1 | 50.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 10.3 |
| Desmond Simmons | 4 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 87.5 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 8.3 |
| Andrew Andrews | 4 | 22.2 | 22.2 | 75.0 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 7.0 |
| Jernard Jarreau | 4 | 47.1 | 0.00 | 80.0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 5.0 |
| Hikeem Stewart | 2 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| Martin Breunig | 3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 50.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total | 4 | 48.8 | 42.2 | 70.7 | 35.5 | 10.5 | 74.2 |
| Opponents | 4 | 42.9 | 37.1 | 61.7 | 30.3 | 12.0 | 69.0 |
COLORADO STATE NOTES: The Rams have defeated Montana (72-65), Chadron State (93-50) and Denver (60-53). This is the first time the Rams have opened 3-0 since 2005-06 . . . In a preseason media poll, Colorado State was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West . . . Senior Colton Iverson, Colorado State’s leading scorer, is in his first year with the Rams, having transferred from the University of Minnesota. Iverson was named Mountain West Player of the Week after scoring 18 points and collecting eight rebounds in a 72-65 win over Montana Nov. 12 . . . Senior Pierce Hornung has 16 career double-digit rebound games and Colorado State is 14-2 in those contests.
COLORADO STATE HEAD COACH: Larry Eustachy, the 2000 Associated Press and U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Coach of the Year, is in his first season as CSU’s head coach. Eustachy has spent 21 seasons as a head coach with stops at Idaho (1990-93), Utah State (1993-98), Iowa State (1998-03) and Southern Miss (2004-12). He has had 10 campaigns of 20 or more victories, seven postseason berths (including four NCAA tournament appearances), and six conference championships. Eustachy is a 1979 graduate of Long Beach State University.
COMING UP: The Huskies play their next four at Alaska Airlines Arena before meeting Seattle University at KeyArena Dec. 13.
University of Washington 2012-13 Schedule
(Rankings From Associated Press)
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/11/12 | @vs. W. Washington | — | — | W | 88-78 | 0-0 |
| 11/11/12 | *vs. Loyola-MD. | — | — | W | 85-63 | 1-0 |
| 11/13/12 | *vs. Albany | — | — | L | 63-62 | 1-1 |
| 11/17/12 | *vs. Seton Hall | — | — | W | 84-73 | 2-1 |
| 11/18/12 | *vs. Ohio St. | — | 4 | L | 77-66 | 2-2 |
| 11/24/12 | vs. Colo. St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/28/12 | vs. Saint Louis | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/2/12 | vs. Cal-Fuller. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/8/12 | vs. Nevada | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/13/12 | at Seattle U. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/15/12 | vs. Jackson St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/20/12 | vs. Cal Poly | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/22/12 | vs. N. Illinois | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/29/12 | at Connecticut | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/5/13 | at WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/9/13 | at California | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/16/13 | vs. Colorado | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/19/13 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/23/13 | at Oregon St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/26/13 | at Oregon | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/31/13 | vs. Arizona | — | 12 | — | — | — |
| 2/2/13 | vs. ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/7/13 | at UCLA | — | 13 | — | — | — |
| 2/10/13 | at USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/13/13 | vs. Oregon | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/16/13 | vs. Oregon St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/20/13 | at Arizona | — | 12 | — | — | — |
| 2/23/13 | at ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/3/13 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/6/13 | vs. USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/9/13 | vs. UCLA | — | 13 | — | — | — |
| 3/13/13 | ^First Round | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/14/13 | ^Quarterfinal | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/15/13 | ^Semifinal | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/16/13 | ^Championship | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/19/13 | #1st Four | — | — | — | — | |
| 3/21/13 | #2nd-3rd Rnds. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/28/13 | #Regionals | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4/6/13 | #Final 4 Semi | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4/8/13 | #Final 4 Champ. | — | — | — | — | — |
@=Exhibition; *=Hall of Fame Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament; #=NCAA Tournament