FanPost

Huskies fall to WSU, drop fourth straight: deeper thoughts

Jennifer Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Huskies fell to the Cougars 80-77 in Seattle on Saturday, dropping their fourth straight game and their overall record to 11-5, and more importantly falling to an 0-3 record in Pac-12 play.

FIRST HALF

The Huskies got off to a fast start jumping out to a 9-2 lead, and eventually extending that lead to 20-13, forcing the Cougars to take a timeout. The Huskies were led by Andrew Andrews, Nigel Williams Goss, and Shawn Kemp during this stretch, which was capped off by a monstrous Robert Upshaw dunk and an easy Kemp layup. However, the remainder of the first half belonged to the Cougars, who lit it it up from behind the arc, ending the half 7-14 from downtown.

Forward Brett Boese led the way, going a perfect three for three from downtown and ended the first half with 11 points. He finished the game with 13 points, and three for five from deep. Sophomore Guard Ike Iregobu did a good job establishing a fast pace in the first half, as he dictated the tempo of the game all night. He scored 8 points and added four assists in the first half. Que Johnson also added three first half threes for the Cougars.

The Cougars ability to stretch the floor, mainly at their forward and center positon, in Boese and Hawkinson, really seemed to bother the Husky big men, Kemp and Upshaw in particular. They looked uncoformtable guarding the ball 20 feet away from the basket, and were reluctant to close out on shooters, which forced other players, particularly Goss and Andersen, to rotate over and cover the big men, which allowed the Cougars to swing the ball and get open looks.

Kemp and Upshaw were able to bully the Cougar's big men on offense a bit in the first half, and it looked as though the Huskies were going to be able to go through the post all game.

The Huskies three point shooting woes continued in the first half, as they went an abismal 2-10 from behind the arc. Couple that with the fact that the Cougars shot 50% from behind the arc on 7-14, and it easy to understand why they were able to erase a 7 point defecit, and go into the half tied 37-37.

SECOND HALF

The pace in this game really picked up in the second half, but unlike the first half, it was the Cougars who found themselves in the lead for the majority of the second half. Senior forward and seasoned veteran Davonte Lacy led the way for the Cougars, scoring 20 of his 25 points in the second stanza. Lacy pulled out all the tricks, executing a few back cut plays to perfection, and made up for his poor three point shooting, 2-8, by making all seven of his free throws, including six critical foul shots down the stretch when the huskies were fouling to stop the clock and extend the game.

Que Johnson and Ike Irogebuo carried over their stellar play from the first half into the second, finishing with 15 and 13 points, respectively. The Cougars cooled of considerably from behind the arc, finishing the game at 39.1%.

On the Husky side of the ball, the Dawgs were led by Nigel Williams Goss, who finished with a monster stat line of 30 points on 13-22 from the field, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Goss looked to be over his back spasms that plagued him in the second of their game against Stanford last Sunday, and was able to get into the lane and finish on midrange jump shots, drives to the rim, and also had his trade mark baseline floater working as well. Kemp and Upshaw both pitched with solid efforts, Kemp added 12 points and Upshaw contributed 10 points and six rebounds. Upshaw finished the game with only two blocks, well below his 4.7 average. While he was still a presence on the defensive end, Upshaw's shot blocking was negated for most of the game, mainly because he had to respect Hawkinson's ability to stretch the floor.

Andrew Andrews added 12 points, and while it would be unfair to say he played poorly, the Huskies would like to get more out of their junior guard. He struggled yet again from behind the arc, knocking down only one of his five attempts, and also made some questionable decisions on the defensive end late in the game.

REACTION

What struck me most after watching this game was the Huskies inability to get production from their bench or their starting forward, Jernard Jarreau He failed to score, was virtually a non factor, and hardly saw the floor in the second half. Reserve guards Darin Johnson and Quevyn Winters were hardly better today, as they combined to go just 1-6 from the floor.

After an electrifying 11-0 start, the Huskies have fallen to 11-5 and are searching for answers. I can't knock the team for their effort today, as they looked ready to play from the tip, and matched the Cougars intensity in the second half. The Huskies simply cannot shoot the ball from behind the arc, and their defense, which was the main reason for their success early in the season, seems to have fallen back to earth.

I'm not sure what the answer for the Huskies is at this point. Johnson and Winters have been monumental disapointments so far this season, and at this point Andrew Andrews likely is what he is, an erratic two guard capable of lighting it up or disappearing on any given night. Without some more consistent production from the two and/or three position, and an uptick in three point shooting, it's hard to see the Huskies improving on offense much this season.

Here's to hoping that I am wrong and that Romar and his staff, along with his players, right the ship and get back on track.