Dan Raley
Instant Reaction: No. 20 UW Mens Hoops Fall to Tennessee
Instant Reaction
It was 25 degrees outside the Toronto's Scotiabank Arena but the Washington shooting went frigid down the stretch as the Huskies fall to the Tennessee Volunteers 75-62 in the Naismith Classic in Toronto, Ontario.
A few days after UW's Naziah Carter sky-walked his way to ESPN's top plays of the day he went for 18 points including 12 on plays at the rim. Although the Huskies made their living (22 points) underneath the basket they actually struggled in the paint shooting just 27%.
UT found the soft spot inside Washington's famed 3-2 zone as they repeatedly knocked down big free-throws to keep the Huskies at bay. Tennessee took a 12-point lead into the break 40-28. Tennessee extended the margin to 14 points 46-32 with 17:48 on layup by Lamonte Turner. Over the 6 minutes the Huskies responded by chipping away at the deficit as they cut the lead in half, 55-48 on three-pointer by Freshman, Jaden McDaniels with 8:39 remaining in the game.
While there were many factors in the loss for UW the biggest was the huge disparity in trips to the free-throw line. The Huskies shot just 50% (5-10) from the line while the Volunteers hit 19 of 24 (79%). From the field Washington made 1 more 2-point buckets and 1 fewer 3-pointer than Tennessee.
The Vols starting 5 played most of the way as all registered 30 minutes of playing time. In fact, Tennessee two bench players were on the court for only 23 total minutes. Washington's bench of Nate Roberts, Jamal Bey, Elijah Hardy, and Sam Timmins contributed 42 minutes going 2 for 5 from the field.
Despite Husky offense giving away the ball 17 times the Huskies transition defense only gave up 11 points on those turnovers.
What We Saw
Washington's D keep them in the game as they cut the 14-point deficit in half.
Over a 5 minute span the Huskies held the Volunteers to 1 for 9 shooting. However, the offense wasn't able to mount a comeback
Naziah Carter top his sky-walking dunk by, at one point, going 8 for 16 from the field, 1-2 from 3-point land, and 50% from the free-throw line and add 10 rebounds
The Dawgs showed that they can bang with the best as the out-rebounded the Vols 42-32
The Volunteers frustrate Hamier Wright who went 0-3 and fouled out in 20 minutes
Key Stats
The Huskies take 14 fewer free-throws and lose by 13
UW held a 15-6 offensive rebound advantage
The Huskies will have traveled 10,000 miles in one week: 2264 to Anchorage, Alaska and 2,591 to Toronto, Ontario miles and 3 time zones away. Tennessee will have traveled in the same time zone a total of less than 1,500 miles
Washington had two leads: 1-0 and 3-2 and the game was tied once at 5-5
Tuning Point
Tennessee converted 12 of 14 free-throws down the stretch...but were held without a bucket in the final 4:42 of the game.
Key Matchup
Tennessee's midrange jumpers v Washington's 3-2 zone.
Washington's layups 4-17 v Tennessee's layups 4-8
Where Do The Huskies Go From Here
Home until the second week of January 9th, 2020...That's 7 straight home games including contests with Gonzaga, UCLA and USC.
