NIT Tournament: Huskies Lose In Overtime to Minnesota

The Washington Huskies made it to the Final Four of the NIT and had a shot to play Pac-12 foe Stanford in the championship game but they came up short in overtime. Minnesota advances to the championship round and will play on Thursday against the Stanford Cardinal.

The Huskies came out flat in the first half. Making it an uphill battle in the second half and UW was barely able to push the game to overtime. The extended period was no different as the Huskies came out flat to start the overtime period going 0-4. They ultimately lost 68-67. Abdul Gaddy did throw up a desperation shot at about half-court in hopes that it would seal the deal but it fell short.

This game truly was a tale of two halves. The first half for the Huskies was ugly and unbearable for anyone that roots for the Dawgs. They had no defensive intensity, no offensive rhythm, and lots of forced shots. Terrence Ross was the only player that seemingly was ready to play in the first. UW was down 38-26 at halftime.

The second half, however, was essentially the opposite. UW played stiff defense, forced a few shot clock violations, poor shot selection, and on the offensive end were able to make big baskets. Washington scored 35 and they held Minnesota to 23. That was enough to get them to overtime but not enough to win them the game. The Huskies may have been the more talented team or even the team that should have won but UW has shown time and time again that “talent” doesn’t win them games.

The Huskies head into the offseason with many wondering if Terrence Ross or Tony Wroten will head to the NBA or not.

Other Notes: 

• The refs had some bad calls but they were equally as bad for both teams and they were consistently bad throughout. This game cannot be attributed to a poorly officiated game. This was a game that the Huskies should have won but didn’t.
• Ross had another big game at 21 points and 6 rebounds.
• Abdul Gaddy took another big step forward with leadership and late game scoring. He had 9 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds.
• Tony Wroten did not have his best game but he also struggled with flu-like symptoms for the majority of the week. He had 9 points and 4 rebounds.
• Darnell Gant and CJ Wilcox each had 12 points.