Solid Shooting, Tough Defense Propel Huskies to Win at Northwestern
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Washington Huskies guard Wesley Yates III (9) hits a 3-point shot against Northwestern at Welsh Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2025. Credit: Washington Athletics [/caption]
The march toward big games in March begins with a single win, and the Washington Huskies men’s basketball team got one at Northwestern on Saturday.
UW flipped a script that has cost the Dawgs all season, building a double-digit lead and staving off a comeback from a Big Ten opponent. Entering the game losers of five of seven games with all the losses coming to Top 12 opponents, the Huskies (12-10 overall, 4-7 Big Ten) finally faced an opponent below them in the conference standings.
Instead of being the chasers, the Huskies were chased by the Wildcats all night long. It was the type of performance UW needed to keep alive any hopes of reaching the NCAA tournament.
Washington hit 10 or more 3-point shots for just the fourth time this season in the 76-62 victory. Wesley Yates III sank five of 8 attempts on his way to 21 points. Hannes Steinbach recorded his 14th double-double in 19 games, finishing with 22 points (three of four 3s) and 14 rebounds. Zoom Diallo helped the Huskies close out Northwestern (10-12, 2-9) with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists.
It was Franck Kepnang, however, who set the tone early, blocking three shots in the first six minutes. The sixth-year big man scored just two points, but grabbed nine rebounds along with six blocks. His stuffs — many of which looked like volleyball spikes — helped Washington build a lead that stretched to 21 points.
“When we kind of got a lead and got off to a great start, he probably saved three layups coming over and blocking shots,” Sprinkle said. “Just that gave our team energy. And I think that was the biggest thing, like I said, coming into the game was we needed somebody to spark us and make those plays.”
Kepnang wasn’t the only one making things tough for the Wildcats. In addition to igniting UW’s 3-point shooting, Yates spent much of his team-high 35 minutes chasing around Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli, who averages 24 points against. Yates held the 6-7 forward to 19 points — his lowest scoring output since Dec. 3 (14 against Wisconsin).
“I think the coaches trusted me,” Yates told the Big Ten Network. “That was the main thing. They trusted me to take the matchup, and I was all in for it. I watched a lot of film [Friday] night. I pretty much knew all the plays he was going to get to, all the spots he liked to catch the ball.”
Like Washington, Northwestern has struggled with long-range shooting. UW held the Wildcats to 26% on 3s, and 38.6% overall. The Huskies also outrebounded Northwestern 45-31, including 19 on the offensive end for UW.
“I thought it was the best defense we played,” Washington coach Danny Sprinkle said. “I thought our guys had some urgency, some intensity to them every possession. We knew this game was going to come down to energy for us.
“We've been on the road a lot, and coming off a tough loss at Illinois, I was concerned. And we really challenged our team to bring that energy.”
Northwestern used a 13-3 run to pull back into contention, cutting UW’s lead to 53-45 with 9:27 to go. Diallo scored 15 in the final 9:13 to stave off the Wildcats.
Strong shooting. Imposing defense. A dominant big man. A closer.
The Huskies need more of that over their final nine regular-season games. After a brutal schedule to open conference play, UW will not face an opponent currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The next two, however, will be against two teams above Washington in the standings. The Huskies host Iowa (15-5, 5-4) on Wednesday before traveling to UCLA (15-7, 7-4) for a Saturday matchup.
