Wisconsin vs. Washington Preview and Prediction: Badgers have a must win on Saturday
· Yahoo Sports
The Wisconsin Badgers continue their West Coast trip on Saturday to take on the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. Tip-off is at 3:00 PM on Fox Sports 1, and the Badgers are 1.5-point favorites.
It was a nightmare of a performance by Wisconsin last Wednesday in Eugene, as the Badgers were upset by the Ducks 85-71. It was a bad all-around game on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Badgers shot 33 percent from the floor, including 14-of-45 from behind the three-point line. Defensively, Wisconsin allowed the Ducks to shoot an incredible 70.8% in the second half.
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What should Badger fans know about the Washington Huskies?
Opponent Preview
The Huskies have made incremental progress in Danny Sprinkle’s second season at the helm. A 13-18 team last year, Washington is 14-14 on the year, including a win over then-No. 24 USC in Los Angeles back on December 6th. Despite these improvements, the Huskies are 6-11 in conference play and have some head-scratching losses, including at home to Penn State on February 11th and on the road at Maryland last Saturday.
Washington’s outstanding freshman forward from Germany, Hannes Steinbach, leads the Huskies. Steinbach, a projected first-round NBA draft pick, is the Huskies leading scorer at 18.0 points per game, scoring 10+ points in 25 games this season. In addition, Steinbach is one of the best rebounders in the country, leading the Big Ten with a stellar 11.1 rebounds per game. Against Rutgers last Tuesday, Steinbach led the Huskies with 24 points and 16 rebounds in a 79-72 win in Piscataway.
The Huskies have struggled with injuries this season and dressed nine scholarship players against Rutgers. One of those players ruled out was center Frank Kepnang, who had started 25 of 27 games for the Huskies. His status for Saturday’s game is uncertain. Starting his place was Rutgers transfer Lathan Sommerville, who averages 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game.
In the backcourt for Washington are sophomore Zoom Diallo, USC transfer Wesley Yates III, and ETSU transfer Quimari Peterson. Diallo and Yates III are the second and third-leading scorers for the Huskies, respectively, with Diallo averaging 14.7 points and Yates III averaging 13.4 points per game, with the former owning a team-high 4.3 assists and the latter a team-high 1.5 steals per game. Peterson averages 8.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.
Score Prediction
The last two Big Ten road games have been disappointing for Wisconsin, and I fear we are going to see another one in Seattle. While I think the Badgers’ offense won’t shoot the three-pointer as poorly as they did in Eugene, this defense, the second-worst in the Greg Gard era, needs to improve before the NCAA tournament. I predict Steinbach and the Huskies take this one.
Prediction: Washington 78-77