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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Big Ten road woes continue for UW men in loss to No. 24 Michigan

 (Connor Vanderweyst)
Percy Allen Seattle Times

The losses are starting to pile up for the Washington men’s basketball team, which fell 91-75 against No. 24 Michigan — its third straight defeat.

The Huskies (10-7, 1-5) ventured to the Midwest this week in search of their first Big Ten road win, but another lackluster performance against one of the elite teams in the conference raises questions on if UW will be able to notch a victory during a difficult stretch that includes matchups against seven straight teams ranked among the top 30 in the NET.

To beat the Wolverines, Washington needed to slow down their vaunted offensive attack and Michigan presented UW’s defense with too many problems.

On the first play, UM’s 7-foot duo flexed their muscles and imposed their dominance against the undersized Huskies.

Wolverines forward Danny Wolf reached over UW guard Tyree Ihenacho and snagged an offensive rebound before curling around a screen and passing to fifth-year center Vladislav Goldin who drew a foul to prevent a layup.

The sequence showcased a slew of deficiencies for the Huskies, who lost the rebound battle (36 to 34) and had six players in foul trouble.

It was an inauspicious start for Washington, which trailed 16-1 and 42-13 at halftime in Thursday’s 88-54 loss at No. 16 Michigan State.

However, this time standout forward Great Osobor broke out of a two-game slump in which she shot 2 of 16 from the field and outplayed UM’s towering combo of Wolf and Goldin in the first half.

Osobor connected on five of his first six shots and UW made three three-pointers to cut Michigan’s lead to 29-26 with 7:43 left in first half.

The Wolverines (13-3, 5-0) switched to a 2-3 zone that gave UW fits and Michigan peppered Washington’s 1-3-1 zone with three-pointers that prompted a 9-3 run to go up 38-29.

Washington trailed 48-38 at halftime.

The Huskies cut their deficit to eight points midway in the second half, but never got any closer in the final 13 minutes as the Wolverines relied on a balanced attack to pull away.

Osobor led UW with 23 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, but he appeared fatigued in the second half when he had seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.

Zoom Diallo and Mekhi Mason each had 13 points for Washington, which shot 41.3% from the field, including 9 of 21 on three-pointers.

Still, the Huskies couldn’t keep pace with the Wolverines, who shot 52.7% and canned 11 three-pointers.

Goldin tallied with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Wolf had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Not to be outdone, fifth-year guard Nimari Burnett finished with 16 points while connecting on 6-of-6 shots from the field and 4-for-4 free throws while Roddy Gayle Jr. had 15 points and Sam Walters 12 for Michigan.

Washington returns home and hosts Purdue (14-4, 4-1) on Wednesday.