Washington makes successful return to NCAA Tournament, beats Utah State 78-61

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Eight years had gone by since Washington made an NCAA Tournament bracket. The Huskies’ award-winning players made their return successful.

Noah Dickerson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and ninth-seeded Washington pulled away at the end in a 78-61 victory over Utah State on Friday.

The Huskies (27-8) finally got back to the tournament, and they got a win.

“It feels really good, actually,” Dickerson said. “When I was a little kid, I used to watch this tournament all the time, hoping one day I would have a chance to play in it.”

The Pac-12’s regular-season champions swept the conference’s awards – top player, best defensive player and coach of the year – and got something from all of them against one of the hottest teams in March.

Eighth-seeded Utah State (28-7) had won 10 in a row and 17 of 18 while taking the Mountain West title. The Aggies, who received the highest seed in school history, were trying to end their long NCAA Tournament drought. They haven’t won since 2002, dropping eight in a row – including in 2006 against the Huskies.

“It’s been a good year for us, definitely, getting Utah State back to where Utah State basketball needs to be,” said Aggies guard Sam Merrill, who had 10 points. “But obviously, this is still very disappointing. We felt like this was a real opportunity to make that next step for this program.”

Washington followed the lead of its top players.

Jaylen Nowell, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, had 19 points and five assists. Top defender Matisse Thybulle helped the Huskies surge ahead to stay late in the first half, but was limited by foul trouble the rest of the way. He finished with 10 points, five steals and three blocks.

Pac-12 Coach of the Year Mike Hopkins received a $17.5 million extension through 2025 on the eve of the game, then led the Huskies to their long-awaited win.

“It’s a feeling you never want to give away,” Hopkins said. “And so this elevates where we want to be.”

Thybulle helped the Huskies build the game’s first significant lead. He hit a 3-pointer and had a steal and dunk during a 13-3 run that ended the first half and put Washington ahead 40-28. Thybulle also had an emphatic block on Abel Porter’s jumper from the perimeter.

The Huskies pushed the lead to 13 points early in the second half before Thybulle went to the bench with his third foul. Utah State cut it to 54-53 on Sam Merrill’s 3-pointer, but Nahziah Carter hit back-to-back 3s that blunted the comeback. Washington was never seriously threatened down the stretch.