The Huskies collide with ASU today as both teams look to keep from being swept this weekend. ASU fell to WSU on Thursday in a bit of a surprise. The Huskies on the other hand were knocked off by Arizona.
Number one on todays agenda for the Huskies is to stop the Pac 10's leading scorer James Harden. That duty will likely fall to Quincy Pondexter and Justin Holiday. Harden is a super slick swing man/ shooting guard that can create a variety of shots inside the paint to throw off any defense once he gets hot.
"I think he's the best scorer in the conference, and I think he's the best player in the conference," UW forward Jon Brockman said. "He's a good, all-around player. He can pass. He can shoot. He's got the whole package. I don't think he gets enough national attention."
Harden present s a big mismatch for the Washington guards so count on Holiday to get more than his usual quality minutes tonight. If there is one guy on the Husky squad who can him defensively it would be Holiday.
Washington has a lot more depth than the Sun Devils. Washington needs to use that depth to tire the Sun Devils out.
Isiaiah Thomas needs to bounce back from a game where he was outplayed on both sides of the ball for the first time since early this season. Look for Thomas to learn from the experience and have a pretty good game.
Game notes
O'Dea High School alumnus Jamelle McMillan, a sophomore point guard and son of Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, comes off the bench for ASU, averaging 3.9 points and 1.8 assists per game.
Washington needs to start hitting the boards harder. The Huskies dominated most of the season on the boards but over the last couple of weeks they have allowed opponents to keep up with them in that area. UW needs to get back to the rough and tumble play that got them this far.
The Huskies average 79.8 points per game which leads the Pac 10. ASU averages 72.4.