Breaking Down Washington’s Big Ten Schedule, Path to March Madness
The Big Ten men’s basketball schedule has been released, and it looks favorable compared to years past for the Washington Huskies. Head coach Danny Sprinkle is on the hot seat and needs to push for an NCAA Tournament berth to save his job.
While every game is important, winning games in one of the best conferences in the country is crucial to building Washington’s tournament résumé. The Big Ten is top-heavy, similar to last year, with the top five or six teams likely being the conference’s primary contenders. The middle is deep, with the next eight or nine teams clustered together and trying to break out of the pack.
Washington has a roster capable of competing, with the Bart Torvik ranking system placing the Huskies at No. 67 nationally and No. 14 in the Big Ten. Sprinkle has a potential bubble team for the third year in a row. It is time for him to capitalize on it.
Here is a breakdown of the Huskies’ conference schedule:
December 2 - at USC
Spread: 7.8-Point Underdogs
On the road to face their old Pac-12 foe, the Huskies will be welcomed by a stacked USC roster primed to compete. Rodney Rice, Alijah Arenas and Jacob Cofie return to pair with transfer portal additions KJ Lewis and center Eric Reibe to form an elite starting lineup.
The Huskies will have to shoot the lights out to win this West Coast showdown.
Verdict: Loss
December 13 - vs. UCLA
Spread: 1.4-Point Underdogs
The Bruins have a well-rounded and deep team featuring Rainier Beach alum Jaylen Petty, who transferred from Texas Tech to lead the UCLA backcourt.
Look for Washington to pull out a win in its conference home opener.
Verdict: Win
January 2 - at Michigan
Spread: 11.3-Point Underdogs
Michigan landed another elite transfer class, including power forward J.P. Estrella and center Moustapha Thiam. The two form a formidable frontcourt that will test Washington’s young and unproven bigs.
Nikola Dzepina will need to prove himself capable of handling the challenge to give Washington a chance at the upset.
Verdict: Loss
January 5 - at Michigan State
Spread: 11.9-Point Underdogs
The daunting Midwest road trip continues as the Huskies try to earn at least a split. Winning one of the two games in Michigan would be a victory for Sprinkle and company.
Legendary coach Tom Izzo will deploy second-team All-American point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. to test a Huskies team that struggled to contain explosive guards last season.
Verdict: Loss
January 9 - vs. Indiana
Spread: 0.2-Point Underdogs
The Hoosiers are built around star guard Markus Burton, a transfer from Notre Dame. The Huskies will key in on him, and if they can slow him down, Indiana’s lack of a reliable option outside Burton could result in another toss-up game going Washington’s way.
Verdict: Win
January 13 - vs. Nebraska
Spread: 2.9-Point Underdogs
Standouts Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager return to lead another good Nebraska team intent on making another NCAA Tournament run.
Washington’s spacing and ability to match up Sandfort with LeJuan Watts should give Nebraska issues on its West Coast road trip.
Verdict: Win
January 16 - at UCLA
Spread: 9.1-Point Underdogs
Washington fans should be content with a season split against the rival Bruins. After potential big wins against Indiana and Nebraska, the Huskies fall in a difficult road matchup at UCLA.
Verdict: Loss
January 20 - vs. Northwestern
Spread: 5.1-Point Favorites
This is the first game in which the projection systems favor the Huskies. The Wildcats lack the depth and top-end talent to beat Washington at Hec Ed.
Verdict: Win
January 23 - at Wisconsin
Spread: 6.2-Point Underdogs
Losing star John Blackwell to Duke leaves Wisconsin without an established star as the Badgers look to build around Nolan Winter (13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game).
Outside of their 7-footer, the Badgers’ roster has more hope than proven returning production. The pieces fit well together, but this is a game Washington could steal if it plays to its potential, as nothing about Wisconsin is particularly overwhelming.
Verdict: Win
January 26 - at Minnesota
Spread: 2.2-Point Underdogs
The second game of another difficult road trip, Washington will likely be feeling the effects of a brutal conference schedule.
Minnesota is a similar-caliber team to Washington, but home-court advantage combined with the travel demands on the Huskies could prove too much to overcome.
Verdict: Loss
January 30 - vs. Rutgers
Spread: 4.5-Point Favorites
Returning star guard Tariq Francis, who averaged 17.0 points per game while shooting 35.1% from 3-point range, is the primary threat for Rutgers.
Washington should be able to key in on the versatile guard, limit his efficiency and overwhelm the Scarlet Knights with its depth and shooting.
Verdict: Win
February 7 - at Oregon
Spread: 7.3-Point Underdogs
The rival Ducks have very little returning production but welcome a host of four-star transfers who will try to mesh quickly.
The talent should eventually win out, but Washington might have the chemistry advantage at this point in the season. Home-court advantage could be the deciding factor.
Verdict: Loss
February 10 - vs. USC
Spread: 0.2-Point Favorites
Another opportunity for a season split, Washington will look to win its home game against USC in another toss-up matchup.
Verdict: Win
February 14 - at Ohio State
Spread: 10.2-Point Underdogs
Playing Ohio State at home might have kept this game close, but facing the Buckeyes on the road presents a much tougher challenge.
Ohio State brings in five-star recruit Anthony Thompson to pair with guard John Mobley Jr., who averaged 15.7 points per game while shooting an elite 41.1% from 3-point range.
It will be a great test for Washington stars Wesley Yates and Watts to see whether they can contend with potential NBA talent.
Verdict: Loss
February 17 - at Penn State
Spread: 0.8-Point Favorites
Facing the projected last-place team in the conference, Washington should handle Penn State despite the narrow projection.
Even traveling across the country should not prevent the Huskies from picking up a much-needed road win.
Verdict: Win
February 20 - vs. Maryland
Spread: 0.7-Point Favorites
Another cross-country opponent, Maryland will force the Huskies to bring their best to compete with a talented Terrapins squad.
Maryland combines strong returning production with a good transfer class and a top-tier recruit in power forward Babatunde Oladotun. Hosting the Terrapins should give Washington an edge, but this will likely be a close game either way.
Verdict: Win
February 23 - vs. Illinois
Spread: 5.2-Point Underdogs
The elite Stefan Vaaks was brought in after averaging an efficient 15.8 points per game at Providence last season. He will combine his talents with stretch forward David Mirkovic to lead what could be one of the best offenses in the country.
The Huskies could upset Illinois but would likely need a cold shooting night from the Fighting Illini to do so.
Verdict: Loss
February 27 - vs. Purdue
Spread: 1.6-Point Underdogs
Purdue lost a remarkable amount of talent in Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer and two-time All-American Braden Smith.
It will be a vastly different roster but the same floor-spacing system coach Matt Painter runs so well. If his new players can execute it, Purdue will be dangerous. If not, a late-season trip to Seattle could prove difficult.
Verdict: Win
March 2 - vs. Iowa
Spread: 1.6-Point Underdogs
The Hawkeyes lost significant talent but brought in Camas, Washington, product Ethan Harris in what will likely be a rebuilding year for Iowa.
However, a rebuilding year for the Hawkeyes comes with a much different standard than Washington’s. Iowa’s lack of star power should allow the Huskies to finish the homestand strong with a win.
Verdict: Win
March 6 - vs. Oregon
Spread: 0.5-Point Favorites
Another matchup against their rivals, the Huskies will need to close the regular season strong to bolster their NCAA Tournament résumé.
With the game at Hec Ed and Washington potentially playing for its postseason life, the Huskies finish conference play with a win.
Verdict: Win
Summary
An 11-9 conference record in this scenario would likely put Washington in the NCAA Tournament conversation, assuming the Huskies avoid damaging losses during nonconference play.
There are plenty of toss-up games on the schedule in which Sprinkle will need to show he can outcoach his peers and consistently put his players in positions to succeed. With his job potentially depending on Washington’s postseason fate, turning enough of those close games into wins could define the Huskies’ season.
