> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Huskies Men’s Basketball Can’t Keep Up With Red-Hot Hoosiers As Challenges Await - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/huskies-cant-keep-up-red-hot-hoosiers-challenges-await/ - Published: 2026-01-05T03:52:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:54:07.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Huskies, Washington Men's Basketball, Hannes Steinbach, Desmond Claude, Bryson Tucker, Quimari Peterson, Zoom Diallo \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3549"\] ![ Washington Huskies center Franck Kepnang (11) dunks the ball against Indiana Hoosiers forward Reed Bailey (1) during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27934475-format-original.jpg) Washington Huskies center Franck Kepnang (11) dunks the ball against Indiana Hoosiers forward Reed Bailey (1) during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images \[/caption\] Following a close first couple of minutes, the Washington Huskies men’s basketball team couldn’t keep pace with a red-hot Indiana Hoosiers offense in a 90-80 road defeat to open their Big Ten schedule on Sunday, Jan. 4, at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Huskies (9-5, 1-2 Big Ten) showed some fight in their first trip to Indiana since 1978\. This was just the sixth-ever meeting between the two teams. It was also UW’s fifth straight loss to the Hoosiers during that series. Indiana (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) kept its hot start going, and it’s now won three straight. Here’s what we learned from the Huskies’ disappointing loss to the Hoosiers to open the league schedule on Sunday. ### **Hoosiers seize early lead** Indiana loves to shoot the three. The Hoosiers average nearly 11 makes from beyond the arc per game, and it has become their bread and butter. So, Indiana’s start to the game shouldn’t be surprising. All of their first five shots were from beyond 3-point range, and all five went in. Senior guard Tayton Conerway drilled a rapid trio of triples and fellow senior guard Conor Enright hit two to begin the game. Even with that efficiency and rapid onslaught of points, the Huskies kept pace for a while, mostly thanks to senior guard Desmond Claude and Quimari Peterson. Indiana’s shooting efficiency was outrageous in the first half, and UW’s offense was eventually unable to keep up. The Hoosiers converted 18 of 27 shots (67%) in the first 20 minutes. UW’s defense had no answer to a red-hot Indiana offense that dropped in six made threes. UW shot 55% from the field, but Indiana was just better. Huskies head coach Danny Sprinkle stuck with a two-big lineup for much of the period, and Indiana took advantage of it with their ball movement and outside shooting. It helped that Indiana also got nine for free-throw attempts. When they weren’t tossing it from deep, the Hoosiers were initiating contact on the interior to force fouls. The Hoosiers built up a 12-point lead at halftime as a result, led by a combined 29 points from Conerway and Enright. Peterson had a team-high 11 points for the Huskies in the first half. ### **A short surge** UW began the second half with a 10-2 run. Similar to the game against Utah, Huskies senior center Franck Kepnang came alive to lead the Huskies’ defense. Star freshman forward Hannes Steinbach made up six of those first 10 points, providing a spark for the Huskies’ offense. But it didn’t last. A run that included seven straight made field goals pushed the Hoosiers’ lead up to 15 near the midway point of the half. Freshman forward Trent Sisley came on in the latter period for Indiana, and that got its offense going again. The Huskies kept the pressure on for the remainder of the game, but they couldn’t make a big enough dent in the Hoosiers’ lead to make it close. They still fouled near the end to extend the game, even if it just kept the players on the court longer. Steinbach still surged in the second half to finish with 20 points, 10 rebounds and one assist. Claude totaled 18 points, while sophomore guard Zoom Diallo (16 points), Peterson (13) and sophomore forward Bryson Tucker (11) also finished in double figures. Senior guard Lamar Wilkerson was big for the Hoosiers in the second half, and he finished with a team-high 22 points, four rebounds and three assists. Conerway added 20 for Indiana. ### **It doesn’t get any easier** The Huskies hoped to head into a matchup with No. 5-ranked Purdue (11-1, 3-0 Big Ten) with a 2-1 Big Ten record. They are now at risk of falling to 1-3 in league play when they face one of the best teams in the country at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7. Two games later, UW has No. 2 Michigan (13-0, 3-0 Big Ten) on Wednesday, Jan. 14\. That starts a stretch of three straight games against ranked opponents. This is what the Huskies bought into when they joined the Big Ten: Tougher competition and a much more difficult schedule game to game. It’s the kind of challenge that could either put the Huskies on the national map or quickly sink them to the bottom of the conference standings.