There’s an argument to be made that the next 10 days will ultimately decide the season for the Washington men’s basketball team, and by extension, play a factor in Mike Hopkins’ future with the Huskies.
Washington (9-4, 1-1) resumes Pac-12 play with a daunting four-game stretch starting with a 7 p.m. Friday matchup against USC (10-3, 2-0) at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Huskies host No. 11 UCLA on Sunday before a perilous road trip to face No. 5 Arizona and Arizona State.
Regardless of what happens, UW will return from its Jan. 8 game in Tempe, Ariz. with 14 games – evenly split between home and away contests – remaining in their regular season.
However, following a disappointing 84-61 collapse against 20th-ranked Auburn in their most recent outing on Dec. 21, the Huskies are in desperate need of a bounce-back performance to quiet a boisterous chorus of critics clamoring for a change of leadership within the program.
More importantly, an upset win against a surging Trojans team that has won four straight games would snap the Huskies’ five-game skid against USC and give them an elusive quad-2 win to boost their sagging No. 116 NET ranking.
“We’re going to have to execute better,” Hopkins said. “We’re going to have to make some shots and keep improving our defense.”
Nearing the midpoint of the season, the contender or pretender question still hangs over a UW team that has an impressive road win against Saint Mary’s and beat Colorado at home three weeks ago.
However, the Huskies were noncompetitive in a blowout road defeat against No. 10 Gonzaga and lost at home to California Baptist, which is a blemish on their 7-2 home record.
“We put ourselves in good position for the most part heading into conference [play],” senior guard Cole Bajema said. “Had some good opponents. Obviously, we had some games that didn’t go our way, but that’s just what prepares us for the conference. These next four games, this stretch that we got coming up is going to be great for us. We’re ready to bounce back.”
At first glance, UW has performed admirably the past two months considering starting guard Noah Williams hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in the season opener and backup center Franck Kepnang is out due to season-ending knee injury. Freshman guard Koren Johnson and sophomore forward Jackson Grant were expected to redshirt this season, but they’ve helped supplement the reserves.
Newcomer Keion Brooks Jr., who spent the previous three years at Kentucky, is UW’s primary offensive option averaging 16.6 points per game, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12.
The 6-foot-7 senior forward is shooting 43.9% from the field, including 25.7% on the perimeter and 75.4% on free throws while averaging 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
The rest of Washington’s scoring attack has been an inconsistent and chaotic mess. UW is tied for 328th in the NCAA with 10.9 assists per game, ranked 254th in three-point field goal percentage (32.3%) and 216th in points per game (70.5).
Bajema (10.4 points per game), center Braxton Meah (9.1), guard PJ Fuller (8.7) and guard Keyon Menifield (8.7) have had bright moments individually, but seldom have they been at their best as a collective unit.
But then, Hopkins is a defensive guy and he’s built a team that’s shown glimpses of being exceptional at shutting down opponents.
Washington is tied for fifth in the country with 6.0 blocks per game, 16th in opponent’s three-point percentage (27.4%) and fourth in the Pac-12 in steals per game (7.2).
“We got to do what we do,” Hopkins said. “Our deal is to limit our turnovers. When we defend the three-point line, rebound and turn teams over, we’re at our best. So, we got to be us and that’s what we’re working towards.”
So far, Washington has built the bulk of its resume with wins against teams ranked outside the top 100 in the NET, including Idaho State, North Florida, Cal Poly, Weber State, Utah Tech, Fresno State and Seattle University.
The Huskies are 2-2 versus sub-100 NET teams heading into Friday’s matchup against USC, which is 86th in the ranking.
“Looking back at the 13 games, the one thing I’m really proud of these guys is how resilient they’ve been and selfless,” Hopkins said. “We’ve had a couple of unfortunate injuries and couple of guys that were going to take the year to get better came off and they’ve done a good job. We’ve been able to adapt.
“I wish we were 13-0. We dropped a couple that we wish we would have had back, but we’ve played a couple of top 25 NET teams, so we learned a lot of what we’re going to have to do against the better and upper-echelon teams in our league. If we can do that, we’ll be able to beat them and be competitive with them. Hopefully, have a chance to win a Pac-12 championship. That’s what we’re fighting for and that’s what we’re trying to do.”