Huskies Humiliated at Hec Ed by Penn State in 63-60 Loss
SEATTLE, Wash. — RIP, University of Washington men’s basketball tournament hopes.
November 3, 2025 - February 11, 2026.
The Huskies’ Big Dance dreams spent the last few weeks on life support. Though there’s still the option of winning the Big Ten tournament to steal an automatic bid, that seems less likely than the New England Patriots rebounding from a 29-7 Super Bowl deficit with 4 minutes remaining against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
One may not know for certain it’s over, while being pretty darned sure it is.
Bitten by the injury bug and the somewhat mysterious disappearances of forward Christian Nitu before the season and guard Desmond Claude in the midst of it, a preseason of promise never delivered.
That was never more apparent than during a 63-60 loss to a bad Penn State team (11-14 overall, 2-12 Big Ten), which earned its second conference win in 14 chances on UW’s court at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Meanwhile, Washington (12-13 overall, 4-10 Big Ten) lost for the fourth time in five games while falling below .500 for the first time in its spiraling season.
“You have to find a way to win that game at home,” Huskies head coach Danny Sprinkle said. “But we have to play smarter. We have some of our best players playing like that — from an energy standpoint and a production standpoint — if you're going to win.
“Their guys, they make plays. We didn't tonight. I need to do a better job getting them in different positions and spreading some shots.”
Washington had two chances to tie it up late, but Quimari Peterson hit nothing but backboard on a 3-point shot with 6 seconds remaining, and Wesley Yates III tried a desperation heave off an inbounds play with 0.6 seconds to go that was released late and missed anyway.
“I feel like I got a good look,” said Peterson, who was the lone UW player to meet with the media after the game. “I just probably shot it too strong. I’m confident in that shot. I can make the shot.”
That shot, though, was not the issue. Washington missed an inordinate number of layups throughout the game, and registered more turnovers (12) than assists. UW shot 37.7% (23 of 61) despite taking just 18 attempts from behind the 3-point arc. Forward Jacob Ognacevic, who was expected to help Washington from deep this season, played just three minutes before entering for the final possession.
“We just missed too many shots at the rim, you know, layups, free throws, and the turnover bug just killed us again,” Sprinkle said. I think it was tied up there, and then in the second half, kind of in the middle of the second half, and we came and had just three terrible turnovers,”
It’s been a long season for the Huskies, but Hannes Steinbach double-doubles are virtually inevitable.
The Huskies freshman forward contributed 19 points and 14 rebounds, as he continues to build upon one of the best freshman big man seasons in the millennium. His 16 games of double-digit points and rebounds are the most in UW history, and tied for second most in the Big Ten since 1996-97 behind Jared Sullinger’s 18 during the 2010-11 season.
The freshman from Germany has been the one consistent factor in a confounding UW season.
#Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach joins some elite double-double company. https://t.co/vTFEdrOwAS pic.twitter.com/QExdjJd7OY— Aaron Coe (@Coe_Aaron) February 12, 2026
Guard Wesley Yates III scored Washington's first six points, and finished with 11 on 5-of-15 shooting. It was a tough night for point guard Zoom Diallo, who posted eight points, making three of 15 shots with three assists and five turnovers.
Now the attention turns to salvaging the remaining six games — all against unranked opponents — and gearing up for a miracle run at the Big Ten Tournament.
“We got to keep competing, like it ain't over,” Sprinkle said. “We still have a lot to play for. You know, we really do, and individually, collectively, like as a team, as a program, for all the players that wore that jersey before us, we have to play harder … There's no reason for us to not have energy tonight.”
