The Washington Huskies know they'll need to come up big in conference play if they hope to reach the NCAA Tournament this season and they did so on Thursday night as they defeated the Oregon St. Beavers. In what was the first Pac-12 conference game to go final, the Huskies won 95-80 in front of a sparse home crowd. Washington led for just about all 40 minutes.
Tony Wroten was unstoppable and ended his night with 26 points, nine rebounds and four assists. C.J. Wilcox added 15 points, Abdul Gaddy and Desmond Simmons scored 13, while Aziz N'Diaye and Terrance Ross added 10 points each. The Huskies struggled from behind the arc as they shot 4-for-20 from deep, but hit 17 of their 20 free throw attempts.
Oregon St. battled for most of the night, but they simply did not have the firepower to score with UW. Joe Burton led the way 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, although the crafty big man turned the ball over four times. Angus Brandt had a nice game with 16 points and four rebounds, while Jared Cunningham scored 15 of his own. The Beavers shot 50% from the field, but struggled from the free throw line, making just nine of their 17 attempts.
On Saturday, Washington will host Oregon, while Oregon St. will head to Washington St.
For more on these teams and continued Pac-12 hoops action, head on over to UW Dawg Pound and Building The Dam.