High-Scoring Huskies Have Floyd’s Attention
It’s hard to know what to make of the Washington Huskies these days.
After having the nation’s longest home-court winning streak end at 32 on Dec. 31 against Arizona, the Huskies were defeated at home Saturday by a Washington State team that seemingly had every factor working against it.
The Cougars were playing without leading scorer Derrick Low, their only player averaging double figures in scoring, who had a broken foot. They also had never beaten a top-10 team on the road in school history.
Washington State’s 78-71 victory left Washington, 12-2 overall and 1-2 in Pacific 10 Conference play, with a worse conference record than USC (11-4, 2-2) entering tonight’s game at the Sports Arena.
Nonetheless, Trojan Coach Tim Floyd cautioned that the No. 13 Huskies remained the most athletic team in the Pac-10.
“They play to their athleticism, where they disrupt and create so much offense off their defense,” Floyd said. “They’re in every passing lane, they take away what you’re trying to do and they take away your best player on the defensive end.”
Washington also possesses one of the best offenses around. Senior guard Brandon Roy is averaging 32.2 points in conference play for the Huskies, who are averaging a nation-leading 90 points a game overall. Roy has made 12 of 14 three-point attempts in three Pac-10 games.
Stopping the Huskies isn’t as simple as shutting down Roy, however. Washington has four players who average double figures in scoring, including senior forward Jamaal Williams (15.0), senior forward Bobby Jones (10.6) and freshman forward Jon Brockman (10.1).
“We’re going to have to play great collectively against this team,” Floyd said. “When you look at their ability to score from different spots ... they’ve got too many guys that can hurt you, and I think emphasis on a guy can kill you because they’ve had different guys that have led them in scoring throughout the course of the season.”
TONIGHT
vs. Washington, 7:30, FSN West
Site -- Sports Arena.
Radio -- 1540.
Records -- USC 11-4 overall, 2-2 in Pac-10; Washington 12-2, 1-2.
Update -- Washington has won three consecutive games in its series with the Trojans and five of six. The Huskies have not lost at the Sports Arena since the 2001-02 season.
Tickets -- (213) 740-4672.
