The Washington Huskies are almost assuredly missing the NCAA Tournament. The only realistic path is winning out and cruising far enough into the Big Ten Tournament that you become a bubble team again. Or they could win it, but let's be realistic for a minute. This article is about a path for Danny Sprinkle to save this season that makes sense; those scenarios are not happening.
On the one hand, you can already say that Sprinkle has elevated the Huskies from last year to this year. The roster is better, but he already has one more win for Washington than last season. The bar was pretty low with only 12 wins. The Huskies are currently sitting at 13.
Danny Sprinkle has already won more this year as the coach than last year
Related: Danny Sprinkle's excuse for Washington losing to Penn State falls completely flat
They have a few more "should be" wins on the season: Maryland, Rutgers, and Oregon. If, and maybe this is a big if considering the Huskies loss to Penn State, that would move UW to 16 wins. 16-15 season, so a winning season (albeit barely) heading into the Big Ten Tournament.
That's not really "save the season" material, but it does buy Sprinkle more time. What Sprinkle needs to do to save the season is sneak one extra win into the schedule, whether that's USC or Wisconsin; both can be volatile. Add a win in the Big Ten Tournament, just one is fine, and then find a way into the NIT, rally off a few wins there.
The roster is there to do it, but it's also proven to be lackluster and unimpressive at times. This may be a big ask, and missing the tournament with this crew isn't ideal, but there's still a path to leave a sweeter taste in Husky fans' mouths than the current bitter one most of us feel.
He doesn't need to win out, get to 17 before the Big Ten Tournament and find a way to play in the NIT and have some fun in there. Then, we hope injuries don't continue to haunt this team, and we see if the Dawgs can actually find some magic next season. Maybe, optimistically maybe.