Huskies Men’s Basketball Snaps 3-Game Skid vs. Minnesota
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Washington forward Hannes Steinbach led the Huskies with 21 points and 14 rebounds against the San Diego Toreros on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington: Credit: Washington Athletics [/caption]
The Washington Huskies men’s basketball team finally got back on track, snapping a three-game skid with a dominant 69-57 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday, Feb. 14.
It was the Huskies’ hot shooting (63% FG) that fueled the victory, but their defense was much improved from the embarrassing loss to a flailing Penn State team just three days earlier.
With injuries, turnovers and inconsistent offense, Washington (13-13, 5-10 Big Ten) is far from making a statement in the conference, but the team does have a blueprint for what brings them success.
Huskies head coach Danny Sprinkle praised the efforts of the entire team, especially as they continue to have to dig deeper and deeper into their bench to get wins.
“That’s what it’s going to take,” Sprinkle said after the game. “For this team to keep moving forward, with the schedule that we’ve got coming up, going on the road, everybody’s gotta pull their weight. You can’t hurt us when you’re on the court, defensively. We’re going to miss shots, we’re going to turn it over. But on the defensive side, we have to continue to get more solid.”
Minnesota (11-14, 4-10 Big Ten) isn’t exactly a juggernaut in the Big Ten, and the Huskies’ chances of making the NCAA Tournament remain slim to none. But there’s still plenty to play for in a long season that could see Washington get healthier as the postseason approaches.
In the meantime, the Huskies will rely on freshman Hannes Steinbach, who led the team with 26 points (12 of 17 shooting), nine rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks.
Steinbach has been the team’s most dominant player all season, and it’s hard to imagine where they would be without him. Sprinkle still doesn’t think they’re using him consistently enough.
“We have to continue to get him close to 17 shots,” Sprinkle said of Steinbach. “Our guards have got to be able to create shots for him. He’s a creator, because when he catches the ball, he’s a willing passer, but our guards, we need to do a better job of getting him open, too, and finding him when he is open. Because he is such a threat, and teams are gameplanning for him.”
Sprinkle said he liked the Huskies’ energy on both offense and defense, noting it was “much better” than it was in the loss to Penn State.
“We need to keep it like that,” he added.
Guard Zoom Diallo added 17 points, three rebounds and four assists, missing just one of his eight field goal attempts. Wesley Yates III, Diallo’s backcourt mate, had just five points but tied his career high of four steals.
Freshman Courtland Muldrew, who has been seldom called upon this season to play a big role, played 22 minutes and posted season-highs in points (six) and rebounds (five). He also had a steal and a block, much to Sprinkle’s joy.
“I thought [Muldrew] did a really good job attacking, and it all started with his defense — getting steals and getting to the rim and finishing,” Sprinkle said. “And you can see, he has a burst that nobody else on our team has.”
Minnesota was led by senior guard Cade Tyson, who played all 40 minutes and scored 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Despite the positives for the Huskies, Sprinkle again emphasized the turnovers as a weakness. Washington turned it over 13 times, and they’re currently committing the sixth-most among Big Ten teams (10.9 per game).
“Thirteen turnovers is still too much,” Sprinkle said. “It’s still too much for us to continue to be on the right side of the win-loss column.”
The Huskies have another should-be favorable matchup against Maryland (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten) on Saturday, Feb. 21. That will be the first of two-straight games on the road, with the second at Rutgers (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten) on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
If Washington can return to Seattle at 15-13, there’s a chance they can finish the season on a high note over the final three games.
