Razing Arizona, Dawgs win 79-70

by: Griffin Bennett

It was an emotional ending as the seniors came off the court to a standing ovation. Darnell Gant kissed the “W” at mid court as he came off of the floor at Hec Ed for the last time in his Husky career. It made it that much sweeter that it came after the Huskies most complete victory of the year over their biggest rival as they beat Arizona 79-70.

Not only was it the players’ final game but it was Montlake Madness’ own, John Chase‘s as well. John has been one of the leaders of the Dawg Pack for the last two years. I want to give him some love as he has done a fantastic job whipping the Dawg Pack back into shape. He won the Dawg Pack fan of the game but it was more of a lifetime achievement award. The kid with long hair and a beanie on that sits in the middle of the pack was a staple and hopefully someone will be able to step in and fill his shoes. Thanks, John. You’re a true Dawg fan.

Are the Huskies finally peaking? They put together their best performance of the year Saturday afternoon and seemed in control for the entire game. The energy at Hec Ed was amazing and team definitely fed off of it all day. This team has been too inconsistent to say that this type of play will stick for the rest of the year, but it’s great to see this team but put together 40 minutes of great basketball.

Terrence Ross may have played his best game of the season as well. He scored early and often as well being a dominant force of the defensive end. Combine that with Tony Wroten‘s fantastic day attacking the rim and limiting his turnovers and you have the biggest reason for the great performance.

It wasn’t only the two stars who played well. It was a total team effort. They dominated the boards, limited turnovers, stole the ball eight times, and recorded 7 blocks. You won’t lose many games with stats like that.

Step one: complete. The Huskies did what they needed to do at home by sweeping the Arizona schools. They get a much needed week of rest before they head east and play the Cougs in Pullman. While the Cougar’s season hopes died long ago, it’s never an easy game on the Palouse.

Before we get look ahead, let’s take a look at the game that was.

Positives:

• The Big Guns – Ross finished with 25 points on 11-19 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. Wroten finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and only 2 turnovers. He followed up his own shot countless times which is such a deadly weapon when you combine it with his driving ability. These two players were easily the best on the court today.
• Aziz N’diaye – He had fantastic day and the first ever one-dribble-dunk from half court in basketball history. He finished with 8 points, 12 boards, and 4 blocks. He took advantage of height and Arizona didn’t have an answer.
• Post Play – The Huskies won the rebounding battle 42-39 while outscoring the Wildcats 42-22 in points in the paint. Add that to the 7 blocks and you have a fantastic effort down low.
• Abdul Gaddy – What a day from the much maligned point guard. He was the catalyst for the offense all day and had superb decision making. He finished with 9 points, 6 assists, and zero turnovers. If he can build his confidence from this, the Huskies might just be able to play like this going forward.

Negatives:

• Three Point Shooting – While Arizona did a fantastic job at closing out on the shooters, especially Wilcox, the Huskies shot a poor 3-18 from deep. They survived this one without it could have been a blow out if they made their season average.
• Pac-12 Refs – More of the same. Terrible calls going both ways. This needs to be addressed during the off season.

Final Thoughts:

This one was huge. The loser of this game was going to be on the outside looking in for the NCAA tournament. The Huskies played fantastically and it couldn’t be coming at a better time. The Huskies held serve in the Pac-12 title race and now they sit and watch to see if California can do the same.

It not only was a huge game, but it was against Arizona. I love beating them. It has been a great rivalry and I love getting any sort of upper hand on them. Odds are that we will probably see them later in the Pac-12 tournament for a chance to beat them for a third time.

Let’s keep the magic going and let’s bask in this game for the next week. Bow Down.