Sprinkle Explains Oregon Meltdown, Team Letdown

Before boarding a plane for Chicago on Monday, University of Washington basketball coach Danny Sprinkle addressed the four-point play at Oregon that canceled out a courageous comeback and his ensuing ejection.

Neither one should have happened, though he was less convincing about him getting thrown out.

To reset the scene, the Huskies came roaring back from a 21-point deficit in the first half to take the lead for the first time against the Ducks and then pull in front 79-76 with 22.5 seconds remaining in Eugene.

Coming out of a timeout, Oregon's Dezdrick Lindsay inbounded the ball to Wei Lin, who took one dribble and shoveled a pass to Kwame Evans Jr., who took one dribble and tossed in a 3-pointer while getting fouled by the UW's Quimari Peterson.

Add in a free throw, and it was 80-79 Oregon.

The Huskies were supposed to hack someone right away and they weren't listening.

"In the timeout, we were very specific with how we were going to foul and when we were going to foul," Sprinkle said. "We executed the first one and the second one we lost our minds. we were supposed to foul before they even got the shot off. They shouldn't' have been even able to make the second pass."

Ah, it's been a season where these Huskies (15-16 overall, 7-13 conference) can't stay focused or healthy as they turn to the Big Ten Tournament and a Wednesday game against USC (18-13, 7-13).

Danny Sprinkle lets an official know his displeasure. | Dave Sizer photo

What happened next with five seconds left is Hannes Steinbach was separated from the ball at the other end, was called for a foul and Sprinkle went ballistic on official Randy Richardson.

Several choice words later, Sprinkle had not one but two technical fouls and he headed for the locker room.

"I was upset at the play that occured where I thought we should have been shooting some free throws," the coach said. "I 100 percent deserved to be ejected."

It was Sprinkle's first ejection as a college coach, but this moment seemed to be a long time coming for him as the injuries piled up, the foul calls piled up and a bunch of losses accompanied them.

The game before, Sprinkle was spotted slamming a fist down on the scorers' table following a turnover and throwing a fist in the air while coming onto the court over a foul called on one of his guys.

"I could do a better job," he said, with no regret or remorse evident. "I have to protect my players, too."