In the first ever trip to Williams Arena for Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies men’s basketball team, UW is in desperate need of a win right now. On Saturday, Sprinkle and the Huskies will face the Minnesota Golden Gophers (a Big Ten team that doesn’t really look all that much better than Washington is) as they try to put an end to the six-game losing streak that they’re struggling through.
But beating Minnesota won’t be a given and it won’t be easy. Such is life as a basketball team in the Big Ten, you know? There’s a ton of talent seemingly everywhere and just about every home arena is going to be a tough place to play.
So it shouldn’t shock anyone that while Minnesota is 11-10 on the season and 3-7 against Big Ten opponents, the Golden Gophers are also 10-4 at home. And while Washington is 10-10 overall and 1-8 against Big Ten teams, UW has yet to win a game on the road this year.
Combine those two things and it makes sense that the Huskies aren’t exactly a favorite in this contest. The Huskies might have a shot to win, but it’s not going to be anywhere near what Washington men’s basketball fans want for UW.
Can Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies snap their losing streak when they face the Minnesota Golden Gophers?
UW has a huge need for Great Osobor to thrive in this game. Right now, he’s averaging 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds against Big Ten teams. If he can perform like that, then Washington might have a chance. Especially if Osobor gets some help from his teammates on the road.
But, it’ll also be crucial that the Huskies find a way to slow Minnesota forward Dawson Garcia, who has been a force nearly all season. Garcia is averaging just shy of 20 points per game this year and he’s getting 7.3 rebounds.
This could be a pretty fun matchup getting to see how the two forwards compete against one another. This will be an early morning game for UW as tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT, which translates on over to 9 a.m. PT. The game will be on Big Ten Network.