What to Know About UCLA Hoops' Next Opponent, Washington

The UCLA Bruins are preparing for the start of Big Ten play next week as they face a familiar foe from their former conference in the Washington Huskies. It will be the first matchup for both team's in their new conference.

Mar 21, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Utah State Aggies head coach Danny Sprinkle talks to the media during the practice day at Gainbridge FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (6-1) are coming off their fifth-straight win against mid-major opponents and will take a nice six-day rest before beginning Big Ten play against the Washington Huskies (4-1), a team that transitioned from the Pac-12 with the Bruins at the end of last season.

The Huskies have a few potent scorers and have had a very similar start to their season, although they have played much closer games against lesser opponents, whereas the Bruins are winning all of their ballgames to this point by 30 or more points.

The Huskies are led by first-year head coach Danny Sprinkle, who came over from Utah State, where he spent just one season, led the Aggies to a 28-7 record, 14-4 in conference, a Mountain West regular-season title, and NCAA Tournament at-large appearance.

Sprinkle would help his former team win their first tournament game since 2001 which prompted larger schools to seek his coaching skills. The Huskies were able to corral him and have gotten off to the right foot in the 2024-'25 season with just one loss to Nevada in early November.

There are just two players for the Huskies averaging double-digits, but both are complete game-changers. Sophomore transfer guard Tyler Harris leads the squad in points (14.6) and blocks (2.6) per game. He also pulls down a fair amount of rebounds, averaging 6.2 per contest.

Harris is in his first year with the Huskies since transferring from Portland University where he averaged 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 22 games played.

The other top scorer for the Huskies came over with Sprinkle from the Aggies this past offseason and his been with the head coach for his entire collegiate career.

Senior forward Great Osobor is playing for his third school in four years just as Sprinkle's coaching career has gone, spending his first two years at Montana St, one with the Aggies, and now the Huskies.

Osobor is averaging 13.4 points per game and a team-high in rebounds (11.2), assists (3), and steals (3.4). He is the best player in this group with the most experience and will be expected to pose some issues on the interior against the Bruins' big men.

The Huskies are scoring an average of 72 points per game which ranks second-worst in the Big Ten. They are the worst shooting percentage team in the conference at 41.6% and third-worst in three-point shooting percentage (28.1%).

If the Bruins play their brand of basketball and are able to control Osobor and the paint with some key outside shooting, they should be able to start Big Ten play on the right foot with a win at home to extend their winning streaking seven games.

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