Nowell, Thybulle earn Pac-12 First Team Honors

Washington basketball’s Matisse Thybulle and Jaylen Nowell have been named among the ten players selected to the All Pac-12 First Team.

Senior Matisse Thybulle and Sophomore Jaylen Nowell have both been named to the All Pac-12 Conference first team. This marks the first time two Huskies have received honors in the same season since 2011-12, a year that saw both Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross earn the honors in their final seasons before entering that years NBA draft.

As the leading scorer on the best team in conference, Jaylen Nowell earned his spot on the Pac-12 first team on the offensive front. Last year saw Nowell earn a spot on the All-Freshman team, but unfortunately get edged out by first-overall pick Deandre Ayton for Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

This season, as the seventh highest scorer in the conference, Nowell shot higher than 50% from the floor. During conference play, he shot 45.8% from three point range, good enough for third in the conference behind David Singleton of UCLA and Bennie Boatwright of USC.

What’s there to say about Matisse Thybulle? He is the best defensive player in the conference, as has been stated time and time again. He currently sits one steal behind Jason Kidd for the most in a single season in conference history, and just seven back from Gary Payton for career steals.

Thybulle, unlike the other three graduating seniors on the Husky roster has started every single game of his career at Washington. His consistent effort on the defensive end has made him inarguably the best defensive player at the guard position, if not any position in all of college basketball.

Both Nowell and Thybulle, along with Oregon States’ Tres Tinkle, remain as the top three candidates for Pac-12 Player of the Year. The Pac-12 Awards will air tonight at 5pm on all Pac-12 media platforms.