Utah @ Washington preview

Utah at Washington

Last Meeting ( Jan 10, 2019 ) Washington 69, Utah 53

Washington is seeking its first Pac-12 regular-season championship in seven years while Utah is hoping to hang on to one of the top four spots in the conference. Those are the stakes when the Runnin’ Utes visit the Huskies on Wednesday night.

Entering the week, Washington owns only one Pac-12 loss and has a three-game lead on second-place Oregon State. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, that means the Huskies are two wins and a Beavers loss away from clinching a share of the conference crown this week, and head coach Mike Hopkins said his team’s plan is to stick with what’s gotten it to this point. “There’s nothing that we’re going to put in that’s any different,” Hopkins said last Saturday after the Huskies rallied for a 72-70 win at Washington State. “Everybody knows we’re playing zone. The bottom line is we have to be able to have our energy. We’ve got to be together, and that’s going to be a huge part of being successful, especially down the stretch.” Utah, meanwhile, is tied for third place with Arizona State, a half-game back of second-place Oregon State and a game ahead of Colorado, Stanford and USC.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT UTAH (14-11, 8-5 Pac-12): The Utes brought a three-game win streak into Saturday’s home matchup with the Sun Devils but surrendered a season-high 98 points, missed 13 free throws and had 13 turnovers in an 11-point loss. Guards Sedrick Barefield and Parker Van Dyke had 17 points and four assists apiece as the Utes shot 53.8 percent from the field. Van Dyke, a senior reserve, is averaging 8.1 points per game on the season, but that figure is up at 18.3 over his last three games in which he’s connected on 15-of-27 3-point attempts.

ABOUT WASHINGTON (20-5, 11-1): The Huskies suffered their only Pac-12 loss on Feb. 9, falling at Arizona State 75-63 and looked to have a hangover Saturday in falling behind the rival Cougars 34-20 in the first half. Washington, however, regrouped and wound up forcing 19 Washington State turnovers while receiving 20 points from leading scorer Jaylen Nowell (16.5 per game) and 18 points and 10 rebounds from steady forward Noah Dickerson. Hopkins’ crew, though, has mainly got it done with defense as the Huskies’ 2-3 zone ranks second in the conference in points (64.7) and field-goal percentage (41.1) allowed while forcing a Pac-12-most 16.1 turnovers per outing.

TIP-INS

1. Washington dominated the first meeting, rolling to a 69-53 win in Salt Lake City on Jan. 10 to halt Utah’s six-game series win streak. The Utes hit a season scoring low and shot a season-worst 33.3 percent from the field to go along with 16 turnovers.

2. The Huskies boast the Pac-12’s only undefeated home record at 12-0 while Utah is 5-3 on the road, including a 5-1 mark in conference play.

3. Washington is seeking only its third Pac-12 regular-season title in the last 33 years after winning the conference in 2011 and 2009.

PREDICTION: Washington 76, Utah 66