SEATTLE – For Washington, it’s a chance to finally play a team that will make critics take notice. For Gonzaga, it’s another chance to help its national standing before it enters weaker conference play.
No matter how much both teams try to downplay it, it’s clear that today’s Huskies-Bulldogs men’s basketball game is a big one.
When No. 18 Washington (6-0) and No. 6 Gonzaga (4-1) tip off at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, it marks the first time in 42 meetings that both teams will have been ranked when they play. The Bulldogs will be the first ranked team the Huskies have played this season, and UW marks the fourth ranked foe on the Zags’ schedule.
“It’s going to be the first time we play an opponent that, when we walk out on the floor, they’re just as talented, if not more talented, than we are,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “They’re also a team that has now established some tradition and are accustomed to winning games, and winning games against anyone in the country. They’ll have a lot of confidence.”
In fact, both teams shouldn’t be short on confidence. Gonzaga, despite struggling in wins over Idaho and Portland State, has wins over Maryland and Michigan State and lost on a last-second shot to Connecticut. The Bulldogs have also defeated the Huskies seven times in a row, three of those coming in Seattle.
As for Washington, it is winning games by an average of 33 points (albeit, against a weak schedule). The Huskies have shown that they are deep thanks to the instant lift they’re getting from their freshmen. Washington also has the nation’s longest home-court winning streak at 28 games (Gonzaga is second at 27 in a row).
Romar says this is a different Washington team than has faced Gonzaga previously. He says past teams did not have the confident attitude the team has now, and masked it by talking a better game than it played.
“We’ve beaten the No. 1 team in the country here,” Romar said. “We played in a Sweet 16 game, we were a No. 1 seed, we won a Pac-10 (tournament) championship. We just have a little different attitude than we had in the past. That does not guarantee victory at all. But we’ve had games just as big, if not bigger, than this game.”
That may be true, but there’s no question this will be the biggest – and maybe only real – test Washington has on its non-league schedule. The two best teams the Huskies have played so far – Air Force and Loyola Marymount – were defeated by 11 and 47 points, respectively. New Mexico could pose a challenge next week, but Gonzaga is easily the best team – league or non-league – the Huskies could play all season.
“It’s the biggest game we’ve had, one of our biggest games of the year,” Washington guard Ryan Appleby said. “They’ve got so many shooters. And the shooters can put it on the ground and take it off the dribble. And they’ve got a presence down low. They’re all-around a good team.”
The game is most important to Washington from a postseason standpoint. As impressive as the Huskies have been, people will look at who they’ve beaten, couple it with who UW lost from last season (Nate Robinson, Will Conroy and Tre Simmons) and question just how good this team is.
“Gonzaga is going to have a very high RPI this year,” Romar said. “They do every year, when we’re talking NCAA tournament. Those are games that, when it comes down to the end of the year, if you have those on your resume, it helps your cause.”
“If we beat Gonzaga,” senior forward Bobby Jones said, “that should put all the critics to rest as far as our schedule goes.”
Besides being a challenge for this year, Gonzaga is somewhat of a blueprint of what Washington is trying to do. The Bulldogs are no longer looked at as a cute story of a small school playing Cinderella. They are now legitimately one of the top programs in the country, a spot the Huskies are building toward. But while the Huskies are getting to that level by recruiting prep All-Americans, the Bulldogs have done it by grabbing recruits many teams overlook.
“They did not do this by a quick fix,” Romar said. “They did it more like a farmer might do it. They went out, took their time, got the ground laid, planted, waited for everything to come up, and began to pick the fruit off of it. Gonzaga didn’t just get good overnight. They’ve done a fantastic job of evaluating guys that were not only better than most thought, but did a great job in their system.”
So, how does Washington break through a Gonzaga system that has dominated the rivalry for almost a decade? The Huskies couldn’t do it last year despite having the best team in its history. The last time Washington did win – in 1997 – it got a big performance from center Todd MacCulloch. But that was a Bulldogs team that was still in the building stages, and this year the Huskies’ best post player – Jon Brockman – will be facing another star post player in J.P. Batista. Washington should have a depth advantage as the Bulldogs will be without injured reserves Josh Heytvelt and Erroll Knight.
“They can go inside-out,” guard Brandon Roy said. “Most teams we’ve been playing, they have a good big guy or they have good wings. They have good wings and good big guys. It’s like a Pac-10 game. It’s a challenge we need.”
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