The Washington Huskies fumbled the bag in a big moment yesterday against Iowa. They were up seven points at halftime, and then the Huskies watched it crumble in the entire second half. Ulitmately becoming another quad-1 loss for the Dawgs. The problem for the Huskies this year arose before the game even started, when JJ Mandaquit was unable to play. The injuries have killed the hope for Washington all season.
The news got worse when after the game, it was announced that Mandaquit would be out for the rest of the season due to a foot injury. That's a big blow for the star freshman and the hopes that Washington had for making the tournament.
Huge loss for @UW_MBB JJ Mandaquit out for the season with a foot injury
— Kim Grinolds (@KimGrinolds) February 5, 2026
Washington has struggled with injuries all season and it's doomed them from the start
Related: The final game day odds for Washington vs. Iowa show where the Huskies are
The Huskies have had 10 different players this season pop up on the injury report, and many of them have been out for multiple games. Desmond Claude and Mady Traore are both done for the season, Lathan Sommerville hasn't played since early December, Jasir Rencher continues to be out game after game, and Wesley Yates was even gone for most of the second half against Iowa.
This team is just falling apart with injuries, and it's made it hard to win games or create consistent chemistry. The ceiling was high for the Huskies this year, but it looks like they may never leave the floor. There was a shot to make the NCAA Tournament, but it would have taken at least one quad-1 win against Iowa and UCLA, and then basically winning out.
Those dreams may be crushed now due to the injury bug and sloppy play. It's hard to rip Danny Sprinkle just yet, because of what he's had to deal with this season, but Husky fans are growing impatient with the turnaround plan.