Recent Stories with tag washington v. west virginia

A couple of friends are working on "Chicago Time" today--starting at 7 and leaving at 4, as mandated by a munificent employer who wants everyone to be able to catch today's Husky game. They may regret being given that chance, because from everything I'm reading about West Virginia, the Husky game could end up looking like a scene from Deliverance.

The Huskies struggled against taller teams this year, and West Virginia is the tallest they've played yet.The Mountaineers may start a lineup of players all above 6'7". That would make their shortest starter taller than all but one Husky. ("I'll bet you can squeal like a pig. Weeeeeee!")

At 5'8", Husky star Isaiah Thomas is used to guarding taller players. But a foot taller? ("What we, uh,  're-quire' is for you to get your asses away from the basket.")

The hope is that UW will outquick the Mountaineers. In an excellent game preview in today's P-I, Todd Dybas notes that against the all-forward lineup, Cleveland State's 6'2" Norris Cole scored 29 points. This being college basketball, anything can happen. But oddsmakers have West Virginia as a 4.5-point favorite for a reason. Still, I think the Huskies will keep it close, and the game will be quite the .... DUEL! Cue the music!...

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Husky fans celebrate the team's last Elite Eight appearance

Unless you are old enough for senior discounts (lucky!) you've never lived when a University of Washington basketball team made the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. Not since 1953 has UW made what's now called "The Elite Eight." But they will achieve that status if they win Thursday's regional semifinal against West Virginia. Longtime Husky fans like me are counting down the hours...and expecting the worst.

We've cracked open this door four times since '53, each time getting it slammed in our faces. Shall we review the litany of failure? Oh why not:

1984: The Detlef Schrempf-led Huskies lose 64-58 to Dayton. The Dawgs, hurt by foul trouble to starters Alvin Vaughn and Christian Welp, went seven minutes without a field goal in the second half. I listened to this game on a transistor radio at some church function. I may have said some extremely non-churchy-words.

1998: Oh nightmare. After Donald (son of Slick) Watts hit a three-pointer to give Washington a one-point lead with 33 seconds left, UConn's Richard Hamilton grabs a rebound, and, falling backward, sinks a bucket at the buzzer to beat UW 75-74. I watched this game at friend's dorm room. After Hamilton's shot went through, he said to me: "Well, I'm really glad I don't care who won this game." That guy now lives in Connecticut, so he got his comeuppance.

2005: The #1-seeded Huskies fall 93-78 to a hot-shooting Louisville team. Tight officiating hurts the Huskies, as star scorers Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons sit much of the second half with foul trouble. Robinson, playing his last game as a Husky before leaving for the NBA, had just one field goal. I watched this game at The Attic in Madison Park, where my friend David and I exchanged lots of "what do you do?" looks the whole game....

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