Huskies Lose Badly at Utah; It Was An Inside Job

The UW has its three-game winning streak come to an end.

Utah is a basketball team that uses its big men to its advantage, while Washington is a Pac-12 entry that clearly does not.

Big problem.

On Saturday in Salt Lake City, the Huskies once more chose to fire away from the perimeter without much success rather than look inside and lost 86-61, watching their three-game win streak come to an abrupt end.

There was nothing wrong with the UW's 7-foot-1 Braxton Meah, other than his teammates almost never looked for him, in fact, just once in the opening half. 

While playing all but a minute and a half before the break, Meah didn't take a feed inside until 3:15 was left. He attempted just one shot before half, self-generated on a rebound follow. He couldn't have been tired as the teams left the floor.

Meantime, Utah (14-7 overall, 7-3 Pac-12) went to its 7-foot center Branden Carlson whenever and however it could, and he responded with a game-high 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting while chipping in 8 rebounds and 3 rebounds.

Meah, playing two-thirds of the game, went scoreless on two measly shot attempts for the Huskies (12-9, 4-6) while grabbing 3 rebounds. Teammate Keion Brooks topped these guys with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

This lopsided approach largely was responsible for the UW trailing from start to finish and finding itself already down 32-13 by the 8:39 mark of the opening half.

Game over.

Langston Wilson tries to block a shot at Utah :: Rob Gray/USA TODAY Sports

The UW's reluctance to engage its big man on the offensive end has been a season-long coaching lapse for Mike Hopkins, who seems to realize this disparity but far too late.

On the first possession of the second half, with the Huskies trailing 44-30, Hopkins had his team purposely look for Meah. He took a feed inside, but didn't have shot and it came back out.

That was it. So much for post play, a forgotten art at the UW.

Meah didn't get another shot until the 15:05 mark of the second half, when he grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up, only to have Carlson swat it away. The Huskies by now trailed 55-35.

This is the difference between the UW and the upper echelon of the Pac-12. The Huskies are half a team when using, or not using, its firepower and far too predictable. 

They could stand to get a lot more out of Meah, who came into the game averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 68.6 percent, even if his field goals mostly were dunks. At least his teammates before were looking for him at times.  

The Huskies return to action against Arizona State (15-4, 6-2 entering its game with USC) at home on Thursday night, with an 8 p.m. tipoff. 

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