Washington Opens Pac-12 Tournament Against Utah

The Washington men's basketball team takes on Utah in the first round of the PAC-12 Basketball Tournament, Wednesday, March 9, in T-Mobile Arena at 8:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on PAC-12 Networks, with Ted Robinson (PxP), Bill Walton (Analyst) and Jordan Kent (Sideline Analyst) on the call. Tony Castricone and Jason Hamilton will call the action on the Washington Sports Network, locally on Sports Radio KJR-AM 950.

Notable:

During PAC-12 Conference play, Washington defeated Utah 68-74 and 73-77 (2OT). In those games, Terrell Brown Jr., scored 30 and 15 points, respectively. In the second matchup, Daejon Davis (16) and Terrell Brown Jr. (15), and Cole Bajema (15), Jamal Bey (14) led the Huskies to the 2OT victory. ... Brown Jr. currently leads the Pac-12 in scoring (21.7 ppg) and steals (2.1 spg) and is the only player in the country averaging 21.7 ppg, 4.2 apg and 2.2 spg ...Daejon Davis currently sits at 498 career assists, just 2 short of 500 for his career ... With seven assists in the team's first game against Oregon State this season, Davis has had five games with five assists. ... The Huskies have held opponents to 50% or lower shooting from the field in 21 of 29 games this season ... Terrell Brown Jr. has reached double-digit points in all 29 games. He has scored 20+ points in 18 games, 30+ in four, including a career-high 32 vs. South Dakota State. He has eclipsed double-digits 72 times in 115 career games, 20-plus 45 times and 30-plus eight times.

Coach Hopkins (84-74 at UW/5th Year): Head Coach Mike Hopkins is in his fifth year at Washington, and
fifth as a head coach after becoming the 19th head coach in UW history. During his 22 years as an assistant at Syracuse, Hopkins was a part of teams that reached the NCAA Tournament 16 times including the 2003 National Championship, four Final Fours, five Elite Eights and 10 Sweet 16s along with four NIT berths. Syracuse never dipped below a 55.0 percent record while Hopkins was on staff. Hopkins is a two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, winning the honor in each of his first two seasons with the Huskies as he led UW to back-to-back 20 win seasons with postseason appearances each year. (2018 NIT, 2019 NCAA Second Round).

The Team: The Huskies have two returning starters from 2020-21, Jamal Bey and Nate Roberts. Bey is the Huskies leading returning scorer at 10.3 points per game and shot a Pac-12-leading 50.8% from three-point range. The Huskies added four transfers from Division I schools -- Terrell Brown Jr. (Arizona), Daejon Davis (Stanford), PJ Fuller (TCU) and Emmitt Matthews Jr. (West Virginia) -- that bring with them 12 years of high-level playing experience. Combined, the foursome who all hail from the Seattle/Tacoma area, entered the year having played in 336 games (256 starts), scored 3,238 points, grabbed 1,295 rebounds and dished out 964 assists. Brown enters the year with 1,254 points in three seasons (1 at Arizona, 2 at Seattle U) and Davis 1,064 career points and 429 assists.

Signing Day: The Huskies added 6-7 forward Tyler Lindhardt (Seattle, Wash./King's HS) and 6-2 Keyon Menifield Jr. (Mount Morris, Mich./Phoenix [Ariz.] Prep) to the roster for 2022-23. Lindhardt is the No. 1 rated player in the state of Washington and averaged 21.8 ppg, 12.3 rp and 3.5 apg as a sophomore. Menifield played four years at Beecher HS in Flint, Mich. and was the Michigan Division 3 POY in 2021 after averaging 26 ppg, 9.3 apg, 6.6 spg and 4.7 rpg. He is currently enrolled at Phoenix Prep.

NBA Connections: Not only are there nine former Huskies currently active in the NBA, but there are two former players on the Huskies' coaching staff with NBA experience. Seventh-year coach Will Conroy spent part of four seasons in the NBA, while first-year coach Quincy Pondexter just wrapped up a nine-year career in 2019. Isaiah Thomas became the ninth former Husky to join a NBA roster when the Los Angeles Lakers signed him to a 10-day contract on Dec. 17. The following nine players are currently on NBA rosters: Markelle Fultz (Orlando Magic), Justin Holiday (Sacramento Kings), Jaden McDaniels (Minnesota Timberwolves), Dejounte Murray (San Antonio Spurs), Jaylen Nowell (Minnesota Timberwolves), Terrence Ross (Orlando Magic), Isaiah Stewart (Detroit Pistons), Marquese Chriss (Dallas Mavericks) and Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia 76ers).