Washington Basketball: What makes the Huskies a Pac-12 contender?

Washington basketball has a ton of talent returning from last season. With this being said, just how successful will the Huskies be in 2018-19?

Washington basketball projects as one of the most interesting teams in all of college basketball last season. After missing the NCAA Tournament a year ago due to dismal advanced metric rankings, the Huskies bring back just about every major contributor for this upcoming campaign. This includes several double-digit scorers per game and one of the best defensive players in the entire country. With this being said, many are projecting that Washington will compete for the Pac-12 title this season.

Strictly from a competition point of view, the Pac-12 looks quite open at the top this year. For the most part, this is due to the idea that Arizona, one of the conference’s powerhouse teams for the past few years, is expected to experience a down season for the first time in what feels like forever. Additionally, it seems as though there are several teams who have the potential to be top-25 teams this year, including Washington.

As the season draws closer, many are projecting that Oregon is the preseason favorite to win the conference. And while this certainly might be the case, Washington has a more experienced roster on the whole and could use this to their advantage throughout the year. There are several important factors that go into winning a conference title and the Huskies hit on quite a few of those. With this being said, let’s dive into three major reasons why Washington *might* compete for the regular season title.