Washington 'so close' to breakthrough with No. 7 Gonzaga next on schedule

Dec. 7—Washington basketball players and coaches watched the Husky football team dig out a 34-31 win over Oregon last Friday in the Pac-12 football championship game in Las Vegas.

Less than 24 hours later, the Husky hoopers lost a game they led most of the way, including by seven points midway through the second half, to Colorado State at the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational.

UW made a habit of winning close games over the last half of the season to earn a spot in the college football playoffs. Washington basketball, which entertains No. 7 Gonzaga on Saturday, is still trying to figure out the winning formula in close games.

"We were able to go back and forth like a heavyweight fight," UW coach Mike Hopkins said after the loss to CSU, 13th in the latest AP poll. "We've been in a few of these late in the game. We're close, but close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes. At the end of the day, we have to rebound better and defend better at the end."

The Huskies are 5-3, but they're a play or two from being 7-1 and sharing the same record as the Zags. Washington has an improved roster and appears capable of making noise in the Pac-12's swansong season, but that could hinge on the outcomes in tight games.

In addition to Colorado State, the Huskies had a chance to knock off San Diego State on Nov. 19 in Las Vegas.

UW made a furious comeback late in regulation, pulling within 85-84 when Rutgers transfer Paul Mulcahy was fouled with 1 second left. Mulcahy missed the first but hit the second to force overtime. The Aztecs prevailed 100-97.

The Huskies did a lot of things right against Colorado State. Kentucky transfer Sahvir Wheeler struggled from the field (5 of 18), but produced 13 points, 12 assists and zero turnovers. Keion Brooks, who played with Wheeler at Kentucky in 2022 before transferring to Washington, made 9 of 11 shots and scored 20 points.

The Zags are quite familiar with UW forward Moses Wood, who played at Portland last season. Wood snapped out of a shooting slump with five 3-pointers and a team-high 21 points.

It still wasn't enough to snag a win that would have resonated nationally.

"We're a little disappointed in ourselves," Wheeler said. "We had a lead, we're playing well and if you look at it across the board statistically — 21 assists, only 10 turnovers, six blocks, six steals, lost the rebounding by two — that's the kind of stuff you think you're going to win the game.

"We know we're so close. We just have to learn how to get some key stops in key moments, continue to execute on offense. We're getting the shots we want, the guys we want shooting are shooting. We just have to close the game and hopefully at some point we'll get over that hump and win a couple games in a row."

Brooks leads UW at 20.3 points per game. Wheeler is next at 16.1, despite hitting just 24% on 3-pointers, to go with a team-leading 6.9 assists.

Washington's issues have been more on the defensive end. Hopkins, a former long-time Syracuse assistant, brought the Orange's extended 2-3 zone with him to Seattle, but the Huskies are primarily man-to-man these days.

The defensive numbers are solid — opponents are shooting just 39.8% from the field and 28.5% behind the 3-point arc — but in three losses Washington yielded 83 points to Nevada, 85 in regulation and 100 overall to San Diego State and 86 to Colorado State.

Washington's best win was 74-71 against Xavier, but the Musketeers are just 4-5. The Huskies routed Bellarmine, UC San Diego and Montana State by a combined 85 points and defeated Northern Kentucky 75-67.

"We've got the pieces," Hopkins said. "We're still learning each other. It's a couple plays here, a couple plays there, that's how fine that line is. We've played a really good schedule against really good teams.

"I told these guys, 'We're this close.' We're a really good team and it's going to click because these guys work, they're high-character kids, they're together and they want to win. I'm just proud to coach them, and I know what we're going to do."