Coming off Top 10 win, Washington takes on Seattle

Field Level Media|published: Sat 16th December, 20:47 2023

Dec 9, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies guard Sahvir Wheeler (5) and forward Keion Brooks Jr. (1) celebrate after a scored against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. credits: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Washington got a signature victory last Saturday, defeating then-No. 7 Gonzaga 78-73.

The Huskies will look to build on that when they face Seattle University in the Battle for Seattle on Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena.

"When you get that game that gets you over the hump, it's an unbelievable feeling and that there is now evidence," Huskies coach Mike Hopkins said. "What I was trying to tell them is we haven't done anything yet. It's a great win. But there's a lot more ways that we can become better as a team and that's our goal. ... What can we become?"

Keion Brooks Jr. led the Huskies (6-3) with 17 points and eight rebounds against Gonzaga, and Sahvir Wheeler, like Brooks a transfer from Kentucky, added 16 points and four assists. Center Franck Kepnang had 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

"I don't think a lot of people really believed we could go out there and win this game," Brooks said. "I feel like a lot of people, when they went on their run were like, here's the same old Washington.

"But I was just proud of how much we fought, how much we stayed together and how our coaches put us in a position to win and we went out and executed."

The Redhawks (6-4) lost 62-59 on Wednesday at San Francisco. Cameron Tyson scored 22 points for Seattle, making six 3-pointers.

Tyson is scoring 17.9 points per game, one of four active Redhawks with a scoring average in double figures.

John Christofilis, a transfer from Creighton, scored 18 points in the season opener before breaking his right hand. He's expected to miss a few more weeks.

"I told the guys that it's a long year and there's going to be a lot of things that we didn't plan for that's going to happen," Seattle coach Chris Victor said last month. "There's going to be adversity that that comes in different forms at different times. You never want it to hit in the very first game ... but here we are."

Washington leads the all-time series 34-4, having won the past 18 meetings between the teams. Last season, the Huskies overcame a two-point halftime deficit to win 77-66 at home.

—Field Level Media

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