At the midpoint of the season, the Washington men’s basketball team — and ostensibly the future of the program — is teetering between a late resurgence that snaps a five-year NCAA tournament drought or another disappointing finish that would almost surely bring about wholesale changes.
Heading into Thursday’s 8 p.m. matchup with Arizona State, the Huskies are 9-6 and in a three-way tie for 10th in the Pac-12 at 1-3.
More important, UW is No. 64 in the NET rankings, No. 55 in the KenPom metrics and still within range to land an at-large NCAA tournament berth.
When asked to assess the Huskies following their most recent performance — a tougher-than-expected 79-72 win over Oregon State on Saturday — coach Mike Hopkins said: “We’re a work in progress. Just got to keep working.”
Hopkins hoped to tighten things defensively with three days of practice this week, but several players missed Tuesday’s workout due to the flu.
“We’ve simplified, defensively, what we want to do,” Hopkins said. “Now we just have to do that better.”
Washington ranks 11th in the Pac-12 in points allowed (75.7) and at times has been unable to stop opposing players from big performances.
Utah’s Branden Carlson and San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee each tallied 34 points to beat the Huskies, while Nevada’s Kenan Blackshear dropped 31 to upset UW in November.
Last Saturday, Oregon State’s Jordan Pope scored a career-high 29 points and cut the Beavers’ 12-point deficit to four in the final minute with back-to-back three-pointers.
“He made some tough shots,” UW forward Keion Brooks Jr. said. “He was hitting step-back threes. Sometimes you come across people who got it going and it happens like that, but we’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball out his hands and make somebody else beat us.”
For his part, Brooks has been one of the Pac-12’s brightest stars and is tied with Colorado’s KJ Simpson for the conference scoring lead at 20.5 points per game and is fourth in the league in rebounding at 7.4.
“Most importantly, I look at his assist-to-turnover ratio [0.7], and I look at his three-point shooting,” Hopkins said, noting Brooks is shooting a career-high 40.7% behind the arc. “That’s incredible when you have a player like him who’s working hard all the time trying to improve his game in all areas. I think his decision-making has been better, too.
“In the last game in the second half, he took the ball [to] the basket as good as I’ve seen him this year with force. That’s why he went to the foul line, and that’s why he had the success. He’s playing with two or three really good guards that deliver the ball a little bit better. We’re number one in the league in … assist-to-turnover margin, which is one of the things that we’ve been focused on. So, yeah, he’s really improved.”
Last summer, Brooks made it a priority to improve his perimeter shot after shooting 28.6% on threes last season and 29.6% during his three-year stint at Kentucky.
“His three-point shot and his confidence has gotten so much better,” Hopkins said. “Where I would love to see him step up more is on the defensive end and being a defensive leader.
“Offensively, he’s been on point and everything that you want to ask. He’ll probably lead the league in scoring … with great percentages and better efficiency. Now, time to take that next step for our team. The best player needs to be your best defensive player, and then you can take it to another level.”
Uncomfortable when it’s close
The Huskies have lost all of their games by seven points or fewer, and they are 5-6 in games decided by a seven-point margin or closer.
Conversely, Arizona State (10-5, 4-0) is 5-0 in games decided by three points or fewer.
“They have a lot of big shot-makers,” Hopkins said. “The one thing I love about coach [Bobby] Hurley and their program is, they’ve been down 17 late in the second half and they start doing … full-court pressure, making teams play fast, trying to get you out of your mindset and play faster than you want, and they are in attack mode.
“They’ve won close games, because in tough situations, they’ve got multiple guys that can make big shots. … Not turning the ball over will be a huge part of our game plan and being poised versus their pressure.”
The Sun Devils beat Colorado and Utah at home last week after starting the conference season with road wins against California and Stanford.
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