Hopkins Sees Team Toughness as Huskies Open Final Pac-12 Schedule

Washington has benefited from a testy non-conference slate.

Four times in the first 11 games, the Washington basketball team has trailed at halftime only to rise to the occasion in the second half and come out victorious.

Coach Mike Hopkins, in his seventh Pac-12 season with the Huskies and fielding an 8-3 team, could have another win or two if two factors had gone better — more rebounding and less fouling.

"I learned how tough these guys are," Hopkins said after the UW wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a 73-66 win over Eastern Washington.

Against Nevada, at Alaska Airlines Arena in mid-November, the Huskies trailed by 11 points at halftime before losing 83-76.

A week later against another Mountain West opponent, San Diego State, Hopkins' team was down just three points at the break, 43-40, before the Aztecs needed overtime to hold off the Huskies 100-97 in the Continental Tire Main Event championship in Las Vegas.

In both games the UW had more fouls while the Aztecs proved to be better on the boards, hauling down seven more rebounds than the Huskies.

Once the calendar turned the page to December, it appeared the UW also turned corner.

The team outrebounded then-No. 7 Gonzaga, 36-28, and finished with nine fewer fouls to earn just the second win over the Bulldogs in program history, 78-73, on Dec. 9.

For Hopkins, now it's about the Huskies proving it game after game.

"I think my thing with this team is, with our experience, with our depth, it's just being more consistent on the defensive end," he said.

The UW opens its Pac-12 schedule by allowing the third-most points per game at 74.4, just above Stanford (74.6) and California (75.9), who have a combined 9-12 record this season.

Hopkins' former Kentucky duo of forward Keion Brooks Jr. and point guard Sahvir Wheeler has been a big part of the Huskies' success. They lead the conference in points and assists per game, respectively.

The 6-foot-7 Brooks is scoring 20 points while also pulling down 7.6 rebounds per game — which is fourth most in the Pac-12.

While the 5-foot-9 Wheeler averages 7.1 assists per game and been influential in the team making three second-half comebacks in December. He's also second on the team in scoring averaging at 15.6 points per outing.

Washington returns to the court on Friday to face Colorado (9-2) in Boulder to begin its final Pac-12 hoops season.

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