Washington @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 3, 2018 ) Arizona 75, Washington 78

Washington puts an 11-game winning streak on the line when it visits struggling Arizona on Thursday in a Pac-12 game. The Huskies are outscoring opponents by an average of 12.9 points during their run after Saturday's 69-55 victory over UCLA and are yielding a conference-low 60.9 points per Pac-12 game, but will likely be without senior forward Noah Dickerson (ankle).

“It’s been a heckuva journey so far,” Washington coach Mike Hopkins told reporters. “I’m happy with where we’re at, but there’s a long way to go and there’s more to get better at.” The Huskies are 9-0 in conference play for the first time since winning their first nine Pacific Coast Conference games in 1952-53 and own a huge lead in the standings as no other team has fewer than three Pac-12 losses. The Wildcats fell at Arizona State 95-88 in overtime Jan. 31 for their third straight loss and will continue to play without freshman guard Brandon Williams (12.0 points, team-high 3.7 assists per game), who is out indefinitely with a knee injury. "That pain has had a hard time going away, and so now it’s his best interest just to make sure that we know everything that’s going on, that we shut him down, kind of allow that pain to diminish,” Arizona coach Sean Miller told reporters.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT WASHINGTON (18-4, 9-0 Pac-12): Sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell (team-high 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists) is shooting 51.9 percent from the field - up from 45.1 as a freshman - while his 3-point percentage has improved from 35.1 to 45.1. Senior guard Matisse Thybulle (9.7 points, conference-best 3.2 steals), one of 15 finalists for the Naismith Trophy Defensive Player of the Year award, has 276 career steals - 22 shy of Stanford's Brevin Knight (1993-97) for second all-time among Pac-12 players and 45 behind Oregon State's Gary Payton (1986-90). Dickerson (12.7 points, club-most 6.8 rebounds) recorded three points, six rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes Saturday before sustaining his injury.

ABOUT ARIZONA (14-8, 5-4): Sophomore guard Brandon Randolph averages a team-best 15.0 points - 11.3 more than he did as a freshman - after scoring 17 against Arizona State. Junior center Chase Jeter (12.4 points, club-high 7.3 rebounds) returned to the lineup Jan. 31 after missing two games with a back injury and he recorded seven points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Senior guard Justin Coleman (9.1 points, 3.5 assists) had a season-high nine assists with Williams out of the lineup against Arizona State and has committed two turnovers in each of his last four contests - helping the club lead the Pac-12 in fewest turnovers per game at 11.3.

TIP-INS

1. Arizona is 92-5 at McKale Memorial Center since the start of 2013-14 with two of the losses coming already this season.

2. Washington's winning streak is the third-longest in the country behind No. 1 Tennessee (17) and No. 4 Gonzaga (12).

3. The Huskies snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series - falling by an average of 13.9 points - with a 78-75 victory Feb. 3, 2018 behind 25 points and seven rebounds from Dickerson.

PREDICTION: Washington 70, Arizona 64