Huskies Can't Keep Up With Michigan And Its Big Men

Maybe each of those group packed to nan rafters successful Alaska Airlines Arena made them consciousness a small tense aliases moreover a spot claustrophobic, particularly nan convoy of Michigan large men that kept coming astatine them.

Whatever it was, nan guys successful nan University of Washington hoops uniforms didn't grip their newfound fame very well, misfired connected 9 of their first 10 shots to unfastened nan crippled and went down to a 82-72 conclusion to fourth-ranked Michigan successful their sold-out gym.

The Huskies (10-7 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) simply couldn't lucifer nan large buzz cascading done their location pinch immoderate sustained ratio and were easy fodder for nan Wolverines (15-1, 5-1), considered nan league's champion entry.

They couldn't extremity Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3 Spaniard either. The Michigan large man led each scorers pinch 20 points connected 10-for-11 shooting.

The crippled sewage disconnected to a beingness commencement when, 30 seconds in, UW freshman Hannes Steinbach grabbed a rebound and virtually threw nan shot into nan handbasket arsenic he was knocked to nan floor. He converted nan free propulsion to put his squad up 3-0.

The Huskies adjacent were outscored 12-0 complete nan adjacent six minutes and they would beryllium playing catch-up for nan remainder of nan evening.

It took different Steinbach basket, a dunk while he sprinted alongside nan extremity line, to impermanent slow nan visitors and make it 12-5.

Yet nan Wolverines simply had excessively galore weapons arsenic they crept retired to a 12-point advantage astatine 28-16 and 30-18, and they led 39-30.

Freshman JJ Mandaquit topped nan Huskies pinch a career-best 15 points. Quimarii Peterson chipped 13 points. Steinbach had different double-double pinch 11 points and 14 rebounds.

The UW had nary excuses successful position of manpower arsenic it brought defender Wesley Yates III backmost from wrist room and a five-game absence and unveiled guardant Jacob Ognacevic for nan clip this play aft his betterment from ft surgery.

The 6-foot-8 Ognacevic was a invited sight. He deed nan first 3-pointer he tried astatine nan 6:12 people of nan opening half, which besides stood arsenic nan Huskies' first make of nan night. He deed different successful nan 2nd half. He vanished pinch 10 points successful his debut.

The Huskies didn't person reply defensively to support Mara, a 7-foot-3 Spaniard, to do immoderate he wanted inside, aliases personification to artifact retired 6-foot-8 Morez Johnson Jr., who had 11 rebounds by nan break. Johnson had a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double.

To commencement nan 2nd half, nan UW had 1 tally successful it and crept wrong five, erstwhile Steinbach tipped 1 successful to propulsion his squad wrong 46-41.

However, nan towering Mara personally scored 6 consecutive Michigan points, connected a jumper successful nan key, a two-hand dunk and a lay-in aft grabbing a loose shot and nan Wolverines were backmost by 10 successful a blink.

Fittingly, this 1 efficaciously ended pinch Mara swatting distant a Steinbach changeable pinch 5 minutes near to play and everyone reasoning it was a extremity thin that wasn't called. The Wolverines' Yaxel Lendeborg scored instantly connected a lay-in astatine nan different extremity for a 76-63 lead and nan boos were ne'er louder.

The Huskies adjacent big nan Big Ten's different Michigan team, 12th-ranked Michigan State (15-2, 5-1), connected Saturday astatine 3 p.m. arsenic nan schedule conscionable doesn't get immoderate easier for Sprinkle's guys.

People mightiness beryllium a small distracted that day, arsenic well. At slightest nan fans. Excuse them if they don't enactment nan full game.

The Seattle Seahawks big an NFC Division Playoff crippled against nan San Francisco 49ers crossed town, pinch nan shot and hoops games overlapping some.

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