Huskies men’s basketball opens season with easy win

SEATTLE — Monday’s matchup with Arkansas-Pine Bluff wasn’t exactly the Final Four, but the Washington Huskies basketball team showed some Big Dance-level moves in a 94-50 blowout.

Hannes Steinbach stole the show with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes.

The Huskies, who finished last in the Big Ten in 2024-25, used contributions from six new players from a roster with just two returners. Blending them into one unit is still a work in progress as tougher opponents loom during the season. Washington did what it was supposed to on Monday: Dominate a lesser foe from the tip.

“I loved our energy, our effort, and most of all, our intention,” Huskies second-year coach Danny Sprinkle said. “I thought we really played for each other, and we continue to play hard defensively. We really challenged our guys that every possession matters.”

Five different Huskies hit at least one three-point shot on a night when UW went 10-for-25 (40%) from beyond the arc.

Steinbach shines in college debut

The true freshman forward will face much stiffer competition against Baylor on Sunday and in the Big Ten play, but Steinbach is going to be a problem for opponents this season. The 6-11, 250-pound forward showed an assortment of moves during a 15-point first half as UW built a 41-18 lead, and appears to possess coast-to-coast ability on the floor. He showed some NBA draft lottery potential on Monday, though Big Ten coaches will undoubtedly make stopping the German native a priority.

Steinbach scored the first four points of the game, beating the shot clock with a turnaround, fade-away baseline jump shot, and then threw down a fastbreak dunk 15 seconds later.

“Pretty good,” Steinbach said of his performance. “I missed one free throw again, but will clean that up. The team did really good together. The team had 21 assists — amazing that we shot the ball like that.

True freshman gets the point

Steinbach was not the only true freshman to shine on Monday. JJ Mandaquit got the start and put his passing skills on display, handing out eight of UW’s 21 assists. Mandaquit struggled with his shot, but the freshman showed some upper-classman leadership. The offense seems to run more like a machine when Mandaquit is driving it.

Sprinkle believes Mandaquit will contribute more scoring during the season.

“I thought he was forcing it a little bit offensively early on with his shot,” Sprinkle said. He’s really good at — we call it stampede — ripping and going downhill. That’s when he’s elite.”

New pieces contribute on both ends

While the true freshmen opened eyes, sophomore shooting guard Wesley Yates III showed why Sprinkle welcomed the 6-4 guard back with open arms after Yates transferred from UW to USC following the dismissal of former Washington coach Mike Hopkins. Yates averaged 14.2 points for the Trojans last year, and put Golden Lions on their heels multiple times on Monday, scoring 14 points. His length on the perimeter made things difficult for UAPB.

Senior Quimari Peterson, the Southern Conference Player of the Year last year for East Tennessee State, gave Sprinkle a 3-point threat at the point guard position on Monday. Voted team captain by his teammates, Peterson shot 4-for-8 from three on his way to 13 points.

Bryson Tucker, who came off the bench in 23 games for Indiana as a freshman last year, got the start for the Huskies. The 6-7 forward rewarded Sprinkle for the decision with a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). He converted two alley-oop dunks off Mandaquit passes, and also made a pair of three-pointers.

“We’ve been on it, rebounding in practice, having to go against him,” said Tucker as he pointed to Steinbach, “box him out, rebounding above him and Franck (Kepnang). So it just really prepared me for these types of games, going against different competition.”

Sprinkle said Tucker’s aggressiveness and work on the defensive end led to an all-around strong game.

“He’s our most athletic, bouncy, fast-twitch guy,” Sprinkle said. “Couple of those lobs (from Mandaquit), they were above the white square, and he just kind of hung up there until the ball got to him.”

Rotation sprinkling

The Huskies ran a four-guard lineup at times against undersized UAPB. That included point guards Peterson and Mandaquit, as well as Zoom Diallo, who handled the ball at times while contributing 14 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Though it wasn’t needed against the Golden Lions, Washington can go big, with multiple options at 6-10 or taller.

Steinbach and Yates played the most in the first half, as each played 17 of 20 minutes. Mandaquit was next up with 14 minutes in the half. The Huskies used an eight-man rotation with several players coming back from injuries.

Reinforcement returning to the mix

Desmond Claude, a senior transfer from USC, should be back soon, Sprinkle said, but may not be available for Thursday’s game against Denver. Freshman forward Jasir Rencher and guard Courtland Muldrew are also working their way back from injury. Sharp-shooting forward Jacob Ognacevic is expected to be out until mid-January as he recovers from a broken foot. The Huskies also added Serbian forward Nikola Dzepina, and he’s expected to join the team in mid-December.

Note: Sprinkle mentioned that 6-11 forward Christian Nitu is planning to redshirt. When asked for the reason, Sprinkle said, “You’d have to ask him.”

This story originally appeared at www.emeraldcityspectrum.com.