Washington @ Utah preview
Jon M. Huntsman Center
Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) Utah 45, Washington 62
Two teams with high hopes find themselves at the bottom of the standings three weeks into Pac-12 Conference play. But either Washington or Utah will get back on track Thursday night as they meet in Salt Lake City.
The Huskies were picked to finish third in the preseason Pac-12 media poll but have lost four of their six conference contests so far, including three of their last four. The latest loss – Saturday’s 64-61 overtime defeat against visiting Oregon – was as frustrating as it gets as Washington squandered a 16-point lead with 10:22 remaining in the second half and lost on a 30-foot Payton Pritchard 3-pointer with five seconds to play in overtime. The Runnin’ Utes, meanwhile, tipped off conference play by beating Oregon State but have since dropped four straight to sink to bottom of the Pac-12. The last three games haven’t really been close, either, as Utah has surrendered at least 83 points while losing by at least 16 in each outing.
TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network
ABOUT WASHINGTON (12-7, 2-4 Pac-12): Freshman forward Isaiah Stewart gave the Huskies a real chance to upend the 13th-ranked Ducks as he scored a game-high 25 points to go along with a career-best 19 rebounds and five blocked shots. But Stewart’s teammates combined for only 36 points and 25 boards while hitting 12-of-44 shots as Washington suffered its third home loss of the season. Stewart (18.3 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game), forward Jaden McDaniels (13.1, 6.4) and guards Nahziah Carter (12.6 points) and Quade Green (11.6, team-leading 5.3 assists) are averaging double figures, but Green in early January was ruled academically ineligible for the winter semester (which ends March 20), leaving the team’s starting point guard position in the inexperienced hands of sophomore Jamal Bey and freshman Marcus Tsohonis.
ABOUT UTAH (10-7, 1-4): Forward Timmy Allen remains the conference’s leading scorer with 18.2 points per game, including an average of 17.0 in Pac-12 play, but guard Both Gach (11.3, 10.6) is the only other Utah player averaging double digits in conference action. Freshman point guard Rylan Jones is averaging 10.2 points and 4.8 assists on the season, but those averages dip to 8.2 and 4.2, respectively, in Pac-12 games. Defensively, Utah is surrendering a conference-most 81 points per Pac-12 game, and it owns a minus-3.2 rebound margin in conference action – third worst in the Pac-12.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Utah entered last season with a six-game win streak in the series, but Washington easily won both matchups last winter, prevailing 69-53 in Salt Lake City and 62-45 in Seattle.
2. The Utes have won seven of their last eight home games, losing only to Oregon (69-64) on Jan. 4.
3. Washington’s zone defense continues to present problems for the Pac-12 as the Huskies rank first in field-goal percentage defense (37.1) and third in scoring D (62.5 points allowed per contest).
PREDICTION: Utah 68, Washington 66