Inside The Huskies

Husky Season: It's About Injuries, Failure to Close

The UW has let at least seven games slip away at the end this season.
Dan Raley|
Huskies guard Courtland Muldrew (30) collides with Maryland guard Andre Mills (7).
Huskies guard Courtland Muldrew (30) collides with Maryland guard Andre Mills (7). | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Uncomfortably so, this has been a battered and bruised University of Washington basketball team, with just three players able to show up and play in all 27 games so far, with now no guarantee that one of them, a badly limping Franck Kepnang, will be able to go this week.

Yet another disturbing trend has been this: the Huskies' inability to close out games.

On Saturday, Danny Sprinkle's team was tied at 60-all with 1:21 on the clock at Maryland, but had no finishing kick and lost to the Terrapins 64-60.

"We didn't respond to the physicality and their athleticism, across the board from our guards to our bigs," Sprinkle said. "It seemed like every loose ball they came up with."

Danny Sprinkle walks down the sideline at Maryland.
Danny Sprinkle walks down the sideline at Maryland. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

In a disappointing 13-14 season so far, these Huskies have let no less than seven games slip away from them coming down the stretch. No one has stepped up. They continually have let everything get away from them.

While the UW pulled out games late against Southern, USC, Utah and Ohio State, it had no answer in nearly double that amount of outings.

The Huskies' shots either wouldn't go down or they couldn't prevent the other side from scoring with everything on the line.

Even when better stocked with talent earlier in the season, the UW couldn't win early ones against Baylor and UCLA even while pressing the issue into the final moments.

Zoom Diallo (5) whips a pass around Maryland's George Turkson Jr. (11).
Zoom Diallo (5) whips a pass around Maryland's George Turkson Jr. (11). | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Against the Bears on the road, the Huskies crept within 74-68 with 1:25 but stalled out and lost 78-69

Against the Bruins in Montlake, the UW came back from 16 down with 6:11 to get within one and fell 82-80.

The Seattle U game had to be as aggravating any this season for Sprinkle and his guys as they went from a 62-all tie with 1:21 remaining to a 70-66 loss at Climate Pledge Arena.

Against Michigan at home, the Huskies trailed just 67-61 with 7:37 left to play and came out 82-72 losers.

In a rematch with UCLA in Los Angeles, the UW again pressed the issue, and trailed 60-58 with 5:50 left before losing 77-73.

Recently against last-place Penn State, the Huskies maddeningly were tied 59-all with 2:11 on the clock and they stumbled 63-60.

There's not much they can do about this season. Yet the guys who come back next season for the UW maybe will remember the agony of letting winnable outings get away late and make it happen in the future.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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