Washington Basketball: Keys for the Huskies to take down Utah State

By Neil Adler | Mar 21, 2019

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 16: Jaylen Nowell #5 of the Washington Huskies brings the ball up the court against Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks during the championship game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Huskies 68-48. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 15: David Crisp #1 of the Washington Huskies drives against Shane Gatling #0 of the Colorado Buffaloes during a semifinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 15, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Huskies defeated the Buffaloes 66-61. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

The Washington basketball team has a massive challenge looming large on Friday evening when they clash with Utah State. How can they win?

The Washington basketball squad is back in the Big Dance for the inaugural instance since 2011, and they will encounter a formidable foe in Utah State. The two units will battle it out on Friday night in the March Madness Round of 64 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Washington, the Pac-12 Conference regular-season champion, is the No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region, while its opponent, Utah State, is the No. 8 seed. The Huskies are slightly limping into the NCAA Tournament, having gone just 4-3 in their past seven affairs.

Utah State, meanwhile, finished up the 2018-19 regular season tied for first place with Nevada in the Mountain West Conference, and then the Aggies beat San Diego State to capture the league’s post-season crown. That latter result propelled Utah State into the AP and Coaches polls at No. 25. The Aggies own an NCAA NET rating of No. 29 and are 5-1 in neutral-site contests. Washington, at No. 45 in the NCAA NET system, is 4-3 when suiting up on neutral courts.

Although Utah State has not triumphed in the Big Dance for 18 stanzas, the Aggies possess a 57.3 percent chance to prevail versus the Huskies, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. Additionally, odds-makers in Las Vegas are anointing Utah State as a three-point favorite.

Washington’s 15 wins in the Pac-12 regular-season schedule are tied for the most in school history, and that led to head coach Mike Hopkins earning his second-straight conference Coach of the Year honors. Hopkins has also agreed to a contract extension that will keep him on the Huskies’ sidelines through 2025. All of that is super exciting, but what matters at this juncture is Washington buckling down and grabbing a victory.

Here are three things that the Huskies must do to advance to the round of 32.

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