GAME: Cal P0ly (4-5 overall, 0-0 Big West) at Washington (6-4 overall, 0-0, Pac-12). WHEN: Thursday, 6 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 1st. STREAKS: UW W 2; Cal Poly L 1. RANKINGS: Neither ranked. COACHES: Joe Callero, Cal Poly; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM.
Lorenzo Romar’s Washington Huskies play the seventh of eight consecutive games in Seattle when they take on the Cal Poly Mustangs, who beat the past two Pac-12 opponents they faced, including nationally ranked UCLA Nov. 25 on the Bruins’ home court.
The Mustangs are the national leaders in fewest turnovers per game (8.5) for the third successive week. The Mustangs are also third among 345 NCAA Division I programs with a 1.69-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, trailing only Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.
“They are a very deliberate team and if you make a mistake they hurt you,” said Romar. “They have a whole host of guys who can shoot the 3-pointer, and they can get on a roll.”
Cal Poly is led by junior forward Chris Eversley, who averages 15.7 points and 8.0 rebounds. He had a career-high 25 points at Saint Mary’s (Dec. 1) and a 15-point, 10-rebound game that helped Cal Poly topple then-No. 11 UCLA. Eversley is coming off a 22-point, 10-rebound effort at Santa Clara Dec. 17, and has 15 double-digit scoring outings in his last 19 contests dating to 2011-12.
A year after finishing fifth nationally in 3-point percentage, senior guard Dylan Royer is again positioning himself as one of the top shooters in Division I. The Nov. 26 Big West Player of the Week after sinking a career-high six 3-pointers and matching a career best with 18 points during Cal Poly’s triumph at UCLA, Royer is 50th among Division I players with a 41.1 percent 3-point mark. Royer has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in 18 of his last 19 games and has multiple 3-pointers in 15 of his last 19.
Enumclaw native, Central Washington graduate and former Seattle University (2001-09) and Puget Sound (1999-01) head coach Joe Callero will be coaching his first game in his native state since guiding Cal Poly to a 76-60 victory at Seattle U. Nov. 14, 2010.
Callero compiled a 130-49 mark during two, three-season stints at Highline Community College (1989-92, 1995-98) and posted a combined 63-2 record during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 campaigns. After a one-year stint as an assistant at USC, Callero led Puget Sound to a combined 22-25 mark that included the program’s first winning record in nine years.
At Seattle, Callero won 75 games during his final four seasons, directed the Redhawks to an appearance in the 2007 NCAA Division II Tournament and, with a 21-8 record during his final 2008-09 season, helped the program post its highest winning percentage in 45 years.
Washington and Cal Poly have played one common opponent, Nevada. The Huskies fell to the Wolf Pack 76-73 and the Mustangs lost 69-56.
Husky backup point guard Andrew Andrews practiced Tuesday for the first time since suffering a sprained ankle Dec. 6. He has not yet been medically cleared to play against Cal Poly. If he can’t go, Romar said he expected that Andrews would probably return Saturday against Northern Illinois.
SERIES: Huskies have never faced Cal Poly, but are 25-3 against members of the Big West Conference after defeating Cal State Fullerton 74-72 Dec. 2.
UW STATS / NOTES
- SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 6-4. Home: 4-3. Road: 1-0. Neutral: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 6-4. Points: 727 (72.7). Field Goal Pct.: 47.2. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 38.7. Free Throw Pct.: 66.8. Rebounds: 362 (36.2). Assists: 121 (12.1). Turnovers: 131 (13.1). Steals: 41 (4.1). Blocks: 51 (5.1). Points Against: 699 (69.9). Opp. FG Pct.: 42.1. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 37.2. Opp FT Pct.: 62.0. Opp. Rebounds: 347 (34.7) : Opp. Assists: 129 (12.9). Opp. Turnovers: 120 (12.0). Opp. Steals: 69 (6.9). Opp. Blocks: 30 (3.0). Ratings Percentage Index (RPI): Ranked 76th (down from 106th).
- PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 6th (72.7). Scoring Defense — 12th (69.9). Scoring Margin –10th (+2.8). FG Pct. — 5th (47.2). FT Pct. –9th (66.8). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 4th (38.7). Rebound Margin — 10th (+1.5). Blocked Shots — T2 (5.1). Assists — 10th (12.1). Steals — 11th (4.1). Turnover Margin — 8th (-1.10).
- C.J. Wilcox (19.2) ranks 3rd in Pac-12 scoring and Abdul Gaddy is 16th at 13.7. Wilcox ranks 2nd with 2.6 3-pointers per game. Wilcox ranks 9th in 3-point percentage at 40.6. Wilcox is the only Husky to have scored 10 or more points in all 10 games.
- Wilcox has scored 20 or more points in five of his past six games. Terrence Ross was the last Husky to score 20 or more in four straight. Brandon Roy scored 20-plus in nine straight during the 2006 season, the last streak over four games.
- Desmond Simmons ranks 9th (80.6) in free throw percentage and has 52 rebounds over the last four games. His tear has raised his season average to 8.6 and ranks him 5th in the Pac-12. His 18 against Fullerton were the most by a Husky since Jon Brockman pulled down 18 March 21, 2009 vs. Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
- Senior Aziz N’Diaye ranks 4th in Pac-12 rebounding at 9.5 per game. N’Diaye, who also ranks 1st in offensive rebounds (3.7), is 3rd in field-goal percentage (62.2) and T13 in blocked shots (1.3), along with Wilcox.
- Washington’s 14-point halftime rally vs. Cal-State Fullerton was the team’s largest comeback at the half since Dec. 29, 2007 at LSU. The Huskies trailed in that game 41-27 and won 74-65.
- Senior Scott Suggs is averaging 20.0 ppg over the last three contests. His totals of 19, 24 and 17 represent three of the four highest-scoring totals he has had in 91 career games.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (318-205 overall, 225-117 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Wilcox | 10 | 48.7 | 40.6 | 80.0 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 19.2 |
| Scott Suggs | 7 | 50.0 | 55.2 | 85.0 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 14.4 |
| Abdul Gaddy | 10 | 45.8 | 35.3 | 69.2 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 13.7 |
| Aziz N’Diaye | 10 | 62.2 | 0.00 | 42.4 | 9.5 | 0.4 | 11.7 |
| Andrew Andrews | 7 | 24.4 | 22.2 | 71.4 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 7.0 |
| Desmond Simmons | 10 | 43.2 | 50.0 | 80.6 | 8.6 | 1.2 | 6.9 |
| Shawn Kemp | 3 | 57.1 | 0.00 | 66.7 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 4.7 |
| Jenard Jarreau | 9 | 47.1 | 0.00 | 70.0 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.9 |
| Hikeem Stewart | 8 | 33.3 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Martin Bruenig | 6 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 50.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Q. Sterling | 3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| D. Overstreet | 2 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 10 | 47.2 | 38.7 | 66.8 | 36.2 | 12.1 | 72.7 |
| Opponents | 10 | 42.1 | 37.2 | 62.0 | 34.7 | 12.9 | 69.9 |
CAL POLY NOTES: The Mustangs defeated Northern Colorado (64-53), UCLA (70-68), Menlo College (89-43), Eastern New Mexico (60-57) and lost to TCU (53-46), Fresno State (76-67), Saint Mary’s (86-68), Nevada (69-56) and Santa Clara (72-64).
CAL POLY HEAD COACH: Under fourth-year head coach Joe Callero, Cal Poly has established itself as a Big West Conference championship contender and as one of the top defensive programs in NCAA Division I basketball. The Mustangs produced their second-highest win total at the Division I level (18) and reached the Big West Tournament semifinals for the first time in five years. During a 100-54 televised triumph against Cal State Northridge last year, Cal Poly made further history by matching a 25-year-old NCAA record with 11 three-pointers in a row. Callero is a 1986 graduate of Central Washington University.
COMING UP: The Huskies remain at home to face Northern Illinois Saturday before heading to Connecticut to face the UConn Huskies.
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. | — | — | L | 73-55 | 2-3 |
| 11/28/12 | vs. Saint Louis | — | — | W | 66-61 | 3-3 |
| 12/2/12 | vs. Cal-Fuller. | — | — | W | 74-72 | 4-3 |
| 12/8/12 | vs. Nevada | — | — | L | 76-73 | 4-4 |
| 12/13/12 | at Seattle U. | — | — | W | 87-74 | 5-4 |
| 12/15/12 | vs. Jackson St. | — | — | W | 75-67 | 6-4 |
| 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 | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| 2/2/13 | vs. ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/7/13 | at UCLA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/10/13 | at USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/13/13 | vs. Oregon | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/16/13 | vs. Oregon St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/20/13 | at Arizona | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| 2/23/13 | at ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/3/13 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/6/13 | vs. USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/9/13 | vs. UCLA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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