Seemingly dead in the water a week ago, the Washington Huskies are back on top of the wave again, ready to pull off the shocker of all shockers; win four games in four days to take the Pac-12 Tournament.
Oregon did it last year, so why not UW right now?
The Huskies play Arizona Wednesday at 2:30 pm on the Pac-12 Network, an ironic matchup considering UW just beat the Wildcats 69-63 Saturday night in Tucson. UW has found a spark and things came together in the desert, as they also beat Arizona State 90-83 two days earlier.
But how? And why now, of all times? In some ways, Washington has always been close to winning a lot more games this year, but in the way they pulled out close games last year en route to the regular-season Pac-12 title, they found more than enough ways to capitulate late in games this season. Whether it was not making key shots, either in the field or at the foul line, not getting stops down the stretch, turning the ball over, losing composure, etc... it's usually been a combination of all of those things.
The last two games has shown the conference why the Huskies were picked third in the media preseason poll. They have the pieces in place, and the chemistry is starting to gel at the right time.
Dawgman.com's Chris Fetters caught up with the undisputed Head of Hoops, Aaron Beach, to talk to him about the last couple of games and the momentum generated as Washington heads to Vegas with hopes of doing the improbable. It's the only way they get to a post-season tournament, so why not?
They talk about the maturation of Jaden McDaniels, the steady hustle and flow of Isaiah Stewart, the ability of Nahziah Carter and Jamal Bey to find buckets and impact the game, as well as the emergence of Marcus Tsohonis and Elijah Hardy when it comes to running the team and getting them going in the half-court.
But with the possibility of Quade Green being available to play (we talk a little about the hypotheticals involved, but we have no news as to whether or not he'll be cleared to play at any point during the tournament), how does that aspect throw a wrench into the works? And if he does play, who would he line up with best?
Finally, we talk a little bit about Washington's road to the final, which would have to go through Arizona, USC, and most likely Oregon in the semifinals. Could Washington avenge their 20-point championship final loss from last year? If there was ever a time Oregon could be ripe for picking, it just might be now.
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