While Washington’s home loss against the Seattle Redhawks won’t truly spoil this Huskies basketball season (it’s hard to derail a program that is in the first year of a new coaching era and a rebuilding effort), it should certainly alarm Washington basketball fans that the Huskies lost to the likes of the Seattle Redhawks.
We’re talking about a WAC team that is 5-8 on the season right now. And yes, I get that upsets happen and that’s part of what makes college basketball a great, enjoyable thing. But it’s not good for the Huskies to stumble their way into a 79-70 loss that really should have been avoided.
This was a game that was supposed to be a momentum builder following Washington’s rivalry win over the Washington State Cougars and before UW got back to competing in Big Ten play. Instead, it’s something that really takes away a ton of attention from that fun 26-point Apple Cup victory.
3 incredibly concerning stats from Washington Huskies’ shocking loss to Seattle Redhawks
And of course, there are some worrying numbers that we need to take a look at. Because how else does a loss against a team like Seattle happen unless something is going wrong? And trust me, quite a few things went wrong for Danny Sprinkle and the Huskies.
Like the following concerning stats.
No. 1: 15 points - the amount that Washington trailed Seattle at halftime
Arguably the biggest reason why Washington struggled against Seattle? The fact that the Huskies gave the Redhawks a 15-point advantage going into halftime. And a lot of that had to do with Washington’s abysmal offense in the first half.
The Huskies made a grand total of NINE shots from the field in the first half and they were 4-of-9 from the free throw line. Shooting was a huge problem and a sluggish offensive start doomed UW vs. the Redhawks.
No. 2: 25 percent - Washington’s three point shooting percentage against Seattle
Look, it’s not like three point shooting is Washington’s specialty this season, but it’s flat out bad that the Huskies were only able to make 25 percent of their three point shots against the Seattle Redhawks. Especially considering that this awful shooting happened at home.
There was no real reason for this to be the case and it’s going to be a problem in Big Ten play if the Huskies just aren’t able to stretch the floor consistently.
No. 3: 16 - the number of rebounds Washington allowed Seattle’s Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe to grab
Rebounding was a problem for Washington against Seattle and it’s infuriating. If there’s one specific number that should alarm you, it’s the way that Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe absolutely dominated in grabbing rebounds and managed to accumulate 16 of them (four of which were offensive boards). That’s not encouraging! Not one bit.
For Washington to get pushed around and outrebounded by a WAC team right before the Huskies get back into Big Ten play, that’s a pretty alarming deal. It wouldn’t have been as big a deal had Washington managed to make a few more shots and such, but it’s a big deal as UW couldn’t buy a bucket against Seattle.
Washington’s final non-conference matchup with NJIT seems pretty important now
I hate writing that sentence, but here we are. The Washington Huskies are 8-4 on the season and they’re 0-2 in Big Ten play so far. Washington doesn’t have much time to sit and throw a pity party. The Huskies have to get back in action in Alaska Airlines arena as NJIT comes to town on Sunday, December 29.
And if Washington can lose against a 5-8 WAC team, then we probably shouldn’t count on NJIT being a given, right?
This is going to be Washington’s final chance to get a momentum-building win before the Huskies get back into Big Ten play when the Maryland Terrapins arrive to play on Montlake on January 2. And UW definitely needs to figure a few things out before that game happens. It'll be interesting to see how Sprinkle and the Huskies respond to this loss. Hopefully it's with a huge home win.