Huskies lose big to Ducks, 82-57

[Ron Newberry]

For a team in first place in the Pac-12, it's a bit of a head scratcher to watch the Huskies lose so overwhelmingly, 82-57, to the Oregon Ducks tonight in Eugene.

Oregon jumped out 8-0 and never really let up. For as good as Washington's record is in the conference, this just does not look like a team of the caliber of Lorenzo Romar's potent teams in the recent past.

But the Huskies are young and they are primed to be very good in the next few seasons. I just don't see any anything special in the postseason this year. Does anyone disagree, and seeing something I'm not? This conference is down this year.
This post was edited on 2/9 10:23 PM by Ron Newberry
This post was edited on 2/9 11:27 PM by Ron Newberry

Washington-Oregon box score

 

[keenet]

This team isn't lacking talent (it is obvious, at least to me, that it has the most talent in the Pac-12), it just seems to be lacking a leader, which is a little disappointing since Darnell Gant and Abdul Gaddy are veterans and should be leading this team and calming it down during times like last night.

When the Huskies fell behind 8-0 early last night, they just went into sheer panic mode and they were done for as soon as that happened. They played ragged and out of control, and honestly, had no chance getting back in the game with the way they were focusing.

The Huskies are the type of team that badly needs the home crowd to get their energy up and to get them up to full potential. UW is simply a different team on the road, which is why the wins at ASU and Arizona were so surprising. Unfortunately, I think those road wins were a bit of a mirage, and what you saw last night was what to expect from this team on the road. Not necessarily that bad, but certainly nothing special.

They just seem to lack the ability to bring the energy and focus when they are away from home.

As for the actual game last night, I thought Desmond Simmons played his worst of the season, it's clear Aziz N'Diaye has no basketball IQ whatsoever, and Terrene Ross was too timid yet again.

Looking forward, I see the Huskies losing to OSU on Sunday, beating the AZ schools at home, losing at WSU, then splitting the So-Cal trip (beating USC, losing to UCLA). That would put them at 19-11 and 12-6 in the Pac-12. That would mean they would have to win the conference tourney, and I really don't see that happening.

But hey, with this conference, everything is wide open and anything is possible, so it's not time to give up hope quite yet. Just in case you were looking for some silver lining.