Washington Huskies
Pac-12 (18-15, 9-9)
Washington was playing well until the middle of January. Not long after winning at California and Stanford, the Huskies went on to lose seven of eight games right in the heart of the Pac-12 schedule. That took Coach Lorenzo Romar’s squad off of the national radar, but his team rebounded nicely down the stretch of the season and got back in the mix for a postseason berth.
Big Wins: 11/28 Saint Louis (66-61), 1/09 at California (62-47), 1/16 Colorado (64-54)
Bad Losses: 11/13 Albany (62-63), 12/08 Nevada (73-76), 1/19 Utah (65-74)
Coach: Lorenzo Romar (11 seasons at Washington)
Why They Can Surprise:
This is a very talented team. Abdul Gaddy can be a great point guard at times, but consistency has been an issue throughout his collegiate career. C.J. Wilcox and Scott Suggs are both dynamic scorers who can hit the long ball or use their size to get to the basket. The frontcourt does not get nearly enough credit with those three guards garnering most of the attention. Center Aziz N’Diaye is a seven-footer who can score in the paint to open up space for the shooters and he is an absolute beast on the glass. Shawn Kemp Jr. is developing into a decent scorer in his own right. Desmond Simmons will often give way to Kemp Jr. in the starting lineup, but Simmons is a great rebounder and will do all of the little things that do not show up on the stat sheet. But his rebounding does show up on the stat sheet and between Simmons and N’Diaye, with a little help from the big wings, this is a very good team on the glass.
Why They Can Disappoint:
But the question is whether or not this group can remain consistent. Getting hot at the right time can result in a run for most teams, but that is not really the case here. Sure, some hot shooting would help the Huskies win a game or two in the tournament, yet the inconsistencies of players like Gaddy happen within an individual game. He can make an amazing play one minute and commit a costly turnover moments later. If everything happens to come together, Washington is a deep, talented and relatively experienced team. But that has rarely happened this year and to expect it to happen in March may be asking too much.
Probable Starters:
Abdul Gaddy, Senior, Guard, 11.0 ppg, 4.5 apg, 3.2 rpg
Scott Suggs, Senior, Guard, 12.4 ppg, 1.4 apg, 2.2 rpg
C.J. Wilcox, Junior, Guard, 16.7 ppg, 2.0 apg, 4.4 rpg
Shawn Kemp, Jr., Sophomore, Forward, 6.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Aziz N’Diaye, Senior, Center, 8.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Andrew Andrews, Freshman, Guard, 7.7 ppg, 2.3 apg, 3.0 rpg
Jernard Jarreau, Freshman, Forward, 3.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Desmond Simmons, Sophomore, Forward, 4.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.4 (175th in nation, 9th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.2 (165, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.4 (175, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.1 (190, 11)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.0 (289, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.2 (206, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.9 (216, 10)
Rebound Margin: 4.4 (53, 3)
Assists Per Game: 11.7 (256, 11)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (178, 8)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
2012 NIT First Round win over Texas-Arlington
2012 NIT Second Round win over Northwestern
2012 NIT Quarterfinal win over Oregon
2012 NIT Semifinal loss to Minnesota
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Georgia
2011 NCAA Round of 32 loss to North Carolina
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Marquette
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over New Mexico
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to West Virginia
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Mississippi State
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Purdue
2008 CBI First Round loss to Valparaiso
*all team stats through 3/10
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
