Intimidated? Excited Better Describes UW Huskies Underdawgs Against Uconn, But It’s Not A New Role
The Washington Huskies aren’t as worried as you might think about the prospects of facing the other Huskies left in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
So what if the No. 11-seeded Huskies from Seattle will be big underdogs when they face second-seeded Connecticut in the East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday night. They’re having too much fun to quit now. Besides, they’ve been underdogs all along this month.
“It’s just been a great ride to get in and we’re not about to get off,” 7-foot junior center Todd MacCulloch said Monday. “Things have just come together.”
Said coach Bob Bender: “It still comes down to 40 minutes and what are you going to do with that opportunity. It’s a real nice opportunity for us.”
Washington earned its first trip to the Sweet 16 in 14 years with an 81-66 victory over No. 14 Richmond.
The Washington Huskies aren’t going to be intimidated by Connecticut’s talent and reputation.
“I’m really looking forward to the matchup,” said MacCulloch, who had 31 points and 18 rebounds in 31 minutes against the smaller Spiders.
“I think the competitiveness of our group is very high right now,” Bender said.
MacCulloch and Bender know that UConn - with a lineup that includes freshman point guard Khalid El-Amin, Big East player of the year Richard Hamilton and Kevin Freeman - has the quickness of Arizona and UCLA, and the size of Stanford, Pac-10 teams Washington went 1-5 against this season. UConn beat Stanford 76-56 at home in February.
The eastern Huskies defeated Indiana 78-68 in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, after the Washington Huskies beat Richmond.
His team might be favored, but UConn coach Jim Calhoun wasn’t about to talk down Washington.
“We’re playing a team that certainly has some terrific, impressive wins,” he said Monday during a conference call. “The win over UCLA kind of really stands out at you, especially after watching the Bruins (on Sunday).”
He said his Huskies were taking bad shots and hurrying their game in their first two tournament victories.
“In turn, we have a great deal of emotion and energy in wanting to stay in the tournament,” he said.
Washington became the seventh No. 11 seed to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
MacCulloch, who is averaging 23-1/2 points and 13 rebounds in the tournament, is going to be the key player for Washington against UConn. If he can score against 6-11 Jake Voskuhi, UW will have a chance. If not, the Huskies will be back in Seattle shortly.
“The progress that Todd’s made has been considerable,” Bender said.
Bender said Connecticut will try to move MacCulloch off the blocks and deny him his low post opportunities. It also will put a lot of pressure on UW’s point guard trio of Jan Wooten, Chris Thompson and freshman Dan Dickau.
In contrast, one of Washington’s major defensive problems will be trying to stop El-Amin, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound lightning bug.
“We have to keep fresh people on him,” Bender said. “You can’t pick him up early or you can’t pick him up at half-court or he’ll blow right by you.”
Calhoun said El-Amin’s spark comes at the right time.
“Clearly, Khalid has brought us a sense of competitiveness, a sense of excitement, a sense of energy that every team needs in times of lulls,” he said.
Washington returned from the nation’s capital for one day of finals before heading East again. The Huskies are scheduled to leave this morning. Bender has scheduled practices at Duke, where he was a player and an assistant coach.
Meanwhile, UConn - on spring break this week - was bedding down in Richmond, Va. - away from Washington, D.C., and not yet headed for Greensboro.
“We’re just trying to isolate the kids as much as we can,” Calhoun said.
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: East Regional Thursday at Greensboro, N.C. N. Carolina (32-3) vs. Michigan St. (22-7), 4:39 p.m. Connecticut (31-4) vs. Washington (20-9), 6:59 p.m.