SEATTLE — OK, we mean it this time. This is the game of the year in the Pacific-10 Conference.
After Washington and Arizona State face off tonight, the winner leaves Hec Edmundson Pavilion alone in first place.
No. 21 Washington is currently 11-4 in the Pac-10, half a game better than 14th-ranked ASU. While neither team can clinch anything tonight, the losing team needs help the rest of the way to end up on top.
Ergo, tonight is the game of the year in the Pac-10. Not last week’s UW vs. UCLA game, not the UCLA vs. ASU showdown two weekends ago and not Washington’s early season win over UCLA.
“It seems like we’ve had one of those every week,” joked junior forward Quincy Pondexter. “Every game is important down the stretch, and every game feels like a tournament game.”
And that tournament-like feel in a sold-out arena will be good practice for a UW team that’s all but a lock to make it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006. Only one Pac-10 team has won 11 conference games and not made the tournament since 1993, and 20 of 24 11-win league teams have made the tournament since the field expanded to 64 in 1985.
“It’s another tournament-like atmosphere, and that’s good for the young guys to see what that will be like before they get to the tournament,” senior guard Justin Dentmon said.
And speaking of the NCAA tournament, Washington players and head coach Lorenzo Romar agree that tonight’s game holds the highest stakes since the Huskies’ tourney run in 2006.
“I know in terms of league play, it’s probably the biggest game I’ve had since I’ve been a Husky,” senior forward Jon Brockman said.
The Huskies’ hopes of hanging onto first place tonight could depend largely on how they handle ASU sophomore guard James Harden, the conference’s leading scorer.
In Washington’s win in Tempe, Ariz., Harden was held to five first-half points and just two field goal attempts as the Huskies built a 12-point lead. Harden got more involved in the second half, but still finished with just 15 points and 4-for-9 shooting from the field.
The Huskies — whose top three guards each stand no taller than 5-feet, 11-inches — frequently used taller forwards Darnell Gant and Justin Holiday to guard the 6-5 Harden in the teams’ previous meeting. When asked after that game about his low offensive output, Harden said he was simply trying to get his teammates more involved. Look for him to have more of a scoring mindset tonight.
Romar certainly doesn’t want to brag about the job his team did on Harden last month.
“Don’t say … any more than we did a good job on him, please,” Romar pleaded with a smile. “He’s a man with a lot of pride, and it’s better you say he could have done whatever he wanted that night, he just decided not to. It was his choice, it had nothing to do with us.”
Expect Harden to elevate his game tonight, and expect Hec Ed to be electric as the conference’s top two teams battle for the Pac-10 lead. And expect everyone involved to enjoy every minute of it.
“Yeah, it’s fun to be involved in these types of contests,” Romar said. “That’s what any competitor really plays for — to play against the best and play at the highest level.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com/huskiesblog
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