The Huskies have been hampered by some injuries, having used nine different starting lineups this season over the course of their 19 games played.
Bryson Tucker has missed six games this season, Wesley Yates has missed most of eight games with a broken bone in his wrist, and is just now starting to come back. Lathan Sommerville has only appeared in 11 games.
And now Desmond Claude has stepped away from the team to prioritize his health after dealing with leg injuries.
Despite the missed time, the Huskies have been playing tough.
Wednesday night, they ran into a buzz saw at Nebraska, losing 76-66 in Lincoln.
Pinnacle Bank Arena is a tough place to get a win, even when the Huskers are struggling—let alone the seventh-ranked team in the nation, and perhaps the best team in the conference.
The loss pushed the Huskies to 2-6 in Big Ten play this season.
Washington’s average loss in conference play is 9.5 points. If you take out the weekend stumble to 10th-ranked Michigan State, the Dawgs’ five other losses in the league have come by an average of 8.2 points.
That includes an eight-point loss at fourth-ranked Purdue and a 10-point defeat to third-ranked Michigan.
Along with the loss at Nebraska last night, four of the six losses UW has experienced in Big Ten play have been to teams currently ranked in the Top 10.
That is a Murderer’s Row of opponents, especially with a depleted squad.
While the results have not always been there, this Washington team is vastly improved over last season’s version. A big reason for that improvement has been the development of Zoom Diallo from his freshman season to this year.
The sophomore from Tacoma has seen his scoring jump from 11.4 to 15.2 points per game.
Much of his improvement can be attributed to the game slowing down for him. He is a big guard who can get downhill and make plays. Unlike last season, when his game sometimes seemed forced and out-of-control, Diallo has found his rhythm.
As Danny Sprinkle pointed out earlier this season, following the Indiana game, “He is playing under control and taking good shots and making good decisions with the basketball this season.”
That controlled approach has paid off, with him shooting better than 50% percent. His three-point shooting has nearly doubled, as he is connecting on 32.5% of his triples.
Diallo is also distributing and making plays for the Huskies. His assists per 100 possessions have jumped to 7.6, up from 6.4 a year ago, while his turnovers have dropped by the same metric.
He is also getting to the foul stripe more often this season than he did as a freshman. He attempted 96 all season as a freshman and has already attempted 72 in the first 18 games this season.
That is four charity attempts per outing, and when he is there, he’s connecting on 89% of them.
The Huskies are so close to turning the corner, but for them to turn some of these close losses into big wins, they might need even more production from Diallo.
The stretch run will ease up a bit for Washington, and the wins will surely follow. As the Huskies gets healthier, things should also get a bit easier.
Either way, Year Two of the Danny Sprinkle tenure is showing promise, even if the results have not come consistently yet.
With Diallo in the fold along with a group of talented freshmen, notably the double-double machine of Hannes Steinbach, the Huskies time near the bottom of the Big Ten standings is limited.
Now, they just need to stay healthy.
