Tonight's 62-60 loss to USC was not nearly as ugly as the Washington Huskies' other recent losses.
They picked up the defensive intensity in the second half, seemed to gain some momentum, got close with Darnell Gant or Aziz N'Diaye playing limited minutes, and managed to bring the game within six points late.
But for whatever reason, they couldn't hit shots.
UW coach Lorenzo Romar noted earlier in the week that their loss to Washington State was due to taking rushed threes and missed layups. Tonight was much of the same: down the stretch UW just couldn't put the ball in the basket, whether it was guard missing layups off drives, failing to finish through contact in the paint, or taking rushed 3-point shots.
With the loss, UW falls to 11-7 in the conference and will face Washington State again to open the conference tournament.