Huskies Reach Historic Low with Loss at USC

History will not look kindly on Danny Sprinkle's first University of Washington basketball team.

On Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the Huskies lost 92-61 to USC in a game that got away from them fairly quickly and, even worse, assured them of at least a tie for last place in the 18-team Big Ten standings.

Depending on what happens in closing games this weekend, the UW (13-17 overall, 4-15 league) will end up dead last by itself or tied with Penn State (15-15, 5-14) should the Nittany Lions lose its season finale to Wisconsin and Sprinkle's team beats Oregon.

Regardless, these Huskies can't escape the bottom no matter what happens, something that rarely has taken place while in the 70 seasons they've been in a conference alignment not split up by divisions -- they've become the UW's fifth cellar-dwelling team.

Previously, Mike Hopkins' 2020 UW team finished in 12th place in the Pac-12; Bob Bender's 2001 club ended up tied for last in the Pac-10; Lynn Nance's 1991 team ended up alone in last as a Pac-10 entry; and Mac Duckworth's 1966 Huskies finished tied for seventh and last in the AAWU and what would become the Pac-8.

Sprinkle isn't taking any bows for this lackluster development in his overly trying first season as coach.

Against USC (15-15, 7-12), which had a five-streak losing streak end, the Huskies came up short for the fifth consecutive game.

The UW led 14-12 when this one turned abruptly in the home team's favor at the downtown Galen Center.

Desmond Claude, a 6-foot-6 junior and formerly of Xavier, hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to send the Trojans on a 13-1 tear to pull away and ultimately keep them in the running for a berth in the Big Ten tournament. USC currently holds the 15th and final entry.

USC's Chibuza Agbo, a 6-foot-7 graduate player, who previously had stops at Boise State and Texas Tech, led all scorer's with 26 points, hitting 9 of 12 shots, including 7 of 10 behind the line.

The Trojans' Claude turned in a double-double with 25 points and 11 assists.

These guys pummeled the Huskies like no other Big Ten team this season, taking lopsided 92-61 and 85-61 victories over them. Not only that, USC has won 11 consecutive games in the series.

Guard Mekhi Mason topped the UW with 19 points, 14 coming in the opening half.

The Huskies played without sophomore forward Tyler Harris, their second-leading scorer at 11.9 points per game, who sat out with an ankle injury.

Sprinkle's team fell behind by as many as 19 in the opening half before pulling within 47-35 at halftime. Great Osobor made things closer by banking in a 3-pointer and getting fouled on the play a few tenths of a second before the buzzer. Yet he missed the free throw and a chance to convert a four-point play.

After the break, the Huskies had one last run in them and kept coming after USC, whittling the deficit to 54-46 on Franck Kepnang's reverse lay-in, before falling back by double digits the rest of the way.

On Sunday, Sprinkle's team will play its final game against Oregon (22-8, 11-8), with tipoff at noon PT at Alaska Airlines Arena, and Senior Day festivities preceding it.

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