Huskies fall to Bruins on Senior Day, Pac-12 Tournament awaits

The Huskies (17-14, 9-9) failed to keep their three-game win streak alive, falling 61-54 to UCLA (23-8, 13-5) on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins' win at Hec Ed was their first since 2004. Washington led 52-48 with six minutes remaining, but failed to score until a Shawn Kemp Jr. alley-oop dunk with one minute left in the game. UCLA finished the game on a 13-2 run.

Overall, the Huskies' 19 turnovers made winning this game much easier for the Bruins. Both Abdul Gaddy and Scott Suggs turned the ball over four times – an unacceptable number from two seniors on any night. Credit Larry Drew II and UCLA's perimeter defenders, they locked up and forced a handful of turnovers. Gaddy and Andrew Andrews could not drive to the basket nor make post entry passes for much of the second half.

The last six minutes were painful to watch. There have been spurts of great Husky basketball all year long, but the team has very rarely put together a complete 40 minute masterpiece. However, this team is still capable of making a run in the Pac-12 tournament. We've seen that they can compete with every single team in this conference.

Let's jump to player bullet points:

• While Suggs did turn the ball over four times, he did lead the Huskies with 14 points. Nothing magical has happened to him this late in the season, he's just starting to knock down his open shots. His shot selection is still suspect and he's still not confident putting the ball on the floor and slashing into the lane.
• Kemp was 5-for-6 from the field and finished with 10 points and 2 blocks. Does anyone else think the Huskies need to start making a more concentrated effort in getting him the basketball in the post?
• Gaddy is slowly getting more aggressive at knifing into the lane, but his finishing ability is not there. Four turnovers is bad.
• C.J. Wilcox horrid from the field today. Shooters will have bad days, but the problem with Wilcox is his inability to make players around him better both on offense and defense when his shots are not falling. His inconsistency mirrors this team's overall inconsistency the entire season.
• Aziz had an Aziz day. The Huskies want double digits rebounds from him every day and solid defense throughout the game. If he gets a double-double, it's a plus. His block in the second half was one of my favorite moments from this season. The push-ups after the block gives him major swagger points.
• As for the bench, Desmond Simmons is the definition of a glue guy. Eleven rebounds with four of those being offensive boards. I love the hustle and wish Wilcox and Suggs could channel some that same energy when it came to crashing the boards.
  
• Jernard Jarreau played like a freshman. I have loved his aggressiveness in scoring from the pinch, but he struggles to finish and is a clear liability on defense.
• Andrew Andrews needs to shoot the open jumper with confidence. UCLA gave him a wide-open look and he nailed it from the right wing in the second half.

Your post-game thoughts?