Instant Reactions - Washington Beats Seattle U 79-68

Washington overcame a pesky Seattle U team to claim their 11th straight win over their cross-city rivals, but it wasn't easy.  Turnovers and missed shots from outside plagued the Huskies early as they found themselves down 12-5.  The Redhawks played zone, frustrated Washington with steals inside the paint, and were content to let the Huskies fire away from behind the arc.

But Andrew Andrews then found his rhythm, hitting two straight 3-pointers and then grabbing a steal and converting the layup to put Washington up 13-12, then got another steal and dished to Malik Dime for the dunk to put the Huskies on a 10-0 run.  Things were close after that as Washington alternated some breathtaking athletic plays with stupid turnovers and misses from outside.  If it weren't for Washington going 12-for-12 from the free throw line in the first half, they could have been in some serious trouble.  David Crisp hit a 3 at the end of the half to put the Huskies up 46-37 going into intermission with a bit of momentum.

Washington came out hot in the second half as Andrews found Marquese Chriss with the lob-jam, then Chriss followed in the next possession with a strong move inside off the offensive glass.  Another backdoor lob from Andrews to Chriss (this time for a lay-in as Chriss made a terrific recovery off a poor pass) gave Washington a 6-2 run to open the half.  Seattle U wouldn't go away though - they countered with their own 6-2 run, and after another mini-run the Redhawks had closed the lead down to four, 59-55 causing Romar to call for the time out.

From there it was the David Crisp show as some excellent ball rotation led to a 3 from the freshman, then a mid-range jumper after a Dorsey miss from 3, then another beautiful fall-away 3-pointer from Crisp.  Noah Dickerson made a nice move inside for a bucket and Crisp followed that with a beautiful teardrop jumper to keep the Huskies in front.  After a flagrant elbow by 7'3" big man Aaron Menzies of Seattle U into Dickerson's face led to a flagrant-2 call (and his ejection), Andrews hit both free throws to put the Huskies up by 10 with a couple minutes to go, and that was pretty much the ballgame.

• Washington's athleticism really stood out in this one.  While Seattle U played well, they simply couldn't come close to matching the speed and jumping ability of the Huskies.  Chriss, Dime, Matisse Thybulle, Dejounte Murray - these are some terrific athletes and a lot of fun to watch.
• Dime continues to show he's got outstanding instincts as a shot-blocker.  It's not just his jumping ability and length - he's got the timing down and did a great job getting his hand on the ball and not fouling as he picked up another 5 blocks tonight.
• Chriss had a few forehead-slapping plays tonight, but he avoided foul trouble and used his terrific quickness, jumping ability, and sweet jump shot to put up a very efficient 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting.
• Washington's defense was good news/bad news tonight. The good news was their how their quick hands and pressure defense generated 8 steals and forced 17 turnovers for Seattle; the bad news was they were often a step late on rotations, or out of position down low (they somehow left Menzies wide open multiple times under the bucket) and allowed the Redhawks to shoot 50%.
• Between Menzies and the 6'11" Jack Crook, Seattle boasted a couple tall trees down low that gave Washington trouble against their zone.  While the Huskies got a lot of nice looks from 3, they could only hit on 7 of 27 (25.9%) from deep - those numbers will have to improve in Pac-12 play.
• Murray is unquestionably a talented player with huge upside, but tonight was not one of his better nights.  He finished just 1-10 shooting with 5 turnovers as he struggled with his shot from outside and finishing his drives to the basket.
• Andrews had a "quiet" 18 points to lead the way for the Huskies as he moved up to #21 on the all-time Husky scoring list.  He also finished with a career-high 8 assists.