The Washington Huskies have hit rock bottom by losing to a one-win Big Ten team, Penn State. Fans are now googling buyout numbers for Danny Sprinkle and wondering how to fix this mess. The team is too talented to be this bad, and now, to make matters worse, one major bracketologist, JBR Bracketology, has officially eliminated the Huskies from the NCAA Tournament.
JBR said, "You can't lose to Penn State at home." With the signature Grim Reaper gif, signalling the end of the Huskies chances. It's a fitting way to describe the season, one full of "what could have been" is now dead.
Washington has been eliminated from at-large contention.
— JBR (@JBRBracketology) February 12, 2026
You can't lose to Penn State at home. pic.twitter.com/wBqCloszxx
Danny Sprinkle, in year 2, didn't elevate the product on the court
Related: What is Danny Sprinkle's buyout? Washington Huskies fans are growing restless
The frustration is that the talent on the roster has gotten so much better than last year. The Huskies even have a lottery pick in Hannes Steinbach, a few former five and four-star players. It's a roster that should be able to hang towards the top of the Big Ten, and yet it's at the bottom instead.
There was a glimmer of hope for the Huskies a week ago that they could make a run with the way the schedule was set up. Win a quad-1 game against Iowa and then handle business against the bottom of the Big Ten. However, the Huskies couldn't even handle business against the actual bottom of the Big Ten, the worst team in the conference, Penn State. To make matters worse, it was at home.
This team doesn't deserve a tournament bid, and yes, there are injuries, but the roster that played Penn State was vastly better than the Nittany Lions, and should have won by 20, but instead, they were terrible. They let a team that only had four total assists beat them.
Sprinkle somehow needs two more wins to get to 14 wins, which would be one more than last year. While that should be doable, after the loss to Penn State, who knows?