Husky associate coach Will Conroy expects Mike Hopkins will be on the sideline when the Washington men’s basketball team faces Colorado 8 p.m. Wednesday at Alaska Airlines Arena.
However, Hopkins’ availability is questionable after missing a couple of days of practice this week while recovering from an illness that he seemingly contracted last week during an eight-day road trip to Los Angeles and the Bay Area for three games.
“Coach will be fine,” said Conroy who filled in for Hopkins on Tuesday at UW’s weekly media session. “I think he’s got the flu that’s been going around. We’ve all had it. A couple players on the team have had it and it’s made its way to him. He’s been fighting through it last week.
“We’ve been gone this whole time, we finally got home and he wanted to stay away for a couple of days and not anyone else sick and try to get himself healthy so he can come coach this ballgame.”
Admittedly, Hopkins was “less than 100%” and “ready to go home” following last Saturday’s 90-80 defeat against Stanford at Maples Pavilion.
“It’s been a long trip,” Hopkins said while noting UW beat California 77-75 last Thursday before a 73-61 loss at UCLA on Jan. 14. “I think we did some good things. We were able to pick up (a win). … It’ll be good to sleep in our own beds and get in front of our fans.”
It’s been an unusual physically challenging season for Hopkins who broke his right hand after slamming it on the scorer’s table during a during a 78-73 upset win against Gonzaga on Dec. 9.
If Hopkins is unavailable, Conroy said he’s ready to coach his third game for the Huskies. Two years ago, Conroy led UW to an 82-72 win at Oregon State and an 84-56 loss at Oregon while Hopkins was in COVID-19 protocols.
It’s now or never
Four weeks ago, Washington finished its nonconference schedule at 8-3, received two votes in The Associated Press top-25 poll, improved to No. 51 in the KenPom ranking, No. 55 in the NET and were projected to make the NCAA tournament by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
Since then, the Huskies have gone 3-5 in the Pac-12 and in many ways their postseason hopes hinge on a three-game homestand that starts with Colorado and includes Utah and Washington State.
Washington has tumbled to No. 62 in KenPom and No. 76 in the NET.
Most industry observers believe the Pac-12 will send just three teams to the NCAA tournament and UW is tied for eighth in the Pac-12 standings with 12 regular-season games remaining, including seven at home where it is 8-2.
“As a team, we’re older, so you have a lot of guys who have been here before, which is a good thing,” Conroy said. “Everybody is kind of even keel. They don’t get too high or too low.
“You don’t have to beat it into their heads how important this game is. I think they know.”
Scouting Colorado
The short-handed Buffaloes (14-5, 5-3 Pac-12) beat the Huskies 73-69 on Dec. 29 at CU Events Center.
Junior guard KJ Simpson had a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while senior center Eddie Lampkin Jr. had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Colorado, which dominated the rebounding battle 49-31.
“They’re going to guard, they’re going to rebound and they’re going to be physical,” Conroy said. “We got to be able to take the challenge and exceed it. We got to be physical ourselves.”
The Buffaloes are expected to be at full strength Wednesday with the return of senior forward Tristan da Silva (15.9 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game) and freshman forward Cody Williams (15.1 ppg. and 3.5 rpg.).
Da Silva was named to the All-Pac-12 preseason team while Williams is a projected NBA lottery pick in this summer’s draft.
“It makes it fun,” Conroy said when asked about da Silva and Williams. “If I’m playing, then I’m looking forward to it. … I think our guys will be up for the challenge.”
The Buffaloes are riding a three-game winning streak, but they’re 0-4 on the road this season and they’re 2-14 all-time at Alaska Airlines Arena, including seven straight losses dating back to 2016.
“We’ve got to get tougher mentally,” CU coach Tad Boyle told the Daily Camera of Boulder. “We’ve got to dig in. We’ve got to not accept that. If we want things to change, we’ve got to change them. Washington isn’t going to give us anything.”
It’s Washington’s final Pac-12 regular-season game against Colorado, which is joining the Big 12 while UW is headed to the Big Ten next season.
The Huskies are 13-10 versus the Buffs as league opponents.
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