Story Links SEATTLE – Riding the momentum of Thursday’s victory over No. 24 Maryland, Washington will look to make it back-to-back wins over ranked opponents on Sunday, hosting No. 20 Illinois at Alaska Airlines Arena at 1 p.m. PT. The game will air on the Big Ten Network and on your radio dial on 93.3 KJR-FM. […]
SEATTLE – Riding the momentum of Thursday’s victory over No. 24 Maryland, Washington will look to make it back-to-back wins over ranked opponents on Sunday, hosting No. 20 Illinois at Alaska Airlines Arena at 1 p.m. PT.
The game will air on the Big Ten Network and on your radio dial on 93.3 KJR-FM. Links to live coverage are available on the schedule page at GoHuskies.com and at HuskyStats.com.
OPENING TIPS
» UW wraps up a seven-game homestand vs. No. 20 Illinois
» It will be Illinois’s first trip to Seattle since 1927
» The Huskies are coming off of a 75-69 win Thursday over No. 24 Maryland
» It was UW’s first matchup with a ranked opponent of the season and UW’s first Big Ten win
» The 69 points were a season-low for the Terrapins
» The Dawgs held Maryland star Derik Queen to a season-low four points on 1-of-7 FG
» Great Osobor posted his fourth double double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds
» Vazoumana Diallo registered career-highs with 18 points and six assists
» Making three threes and all six attempts from the charity stripe, DJ Davis’ 17 points were his third most in a game this season
» Making 18-of-23 free throws, UW shot over 75% from the line for the second straight game, the only two such performances of the season
ABOUT ILLINOIS
» Illinois is in its eighth season under head coach Brad Underwood
» Underwood owns a 153-91 record at Illinois
» Underwood has guided the Fighting Illini to the NCAA Tournament four straight seasons, including last season’s Elite Eight
» Under Underwood, Illinois has won a pair of Big Ten Tournament titles, as well as the 2022 Big Ten Regular Season Championship
» The Illini are ranked No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 22 in the Associated Press Poll
» Illinois is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Net Rankings, UW’s highest ranked opponent of the season
» Illinois enters Sunday’s game with a 10-3 record, 2-1 in Big Ten play
» Illinois is coming off of a dominant 109-77 win at No. 9 Oregon on Thursday
» The 32 points is the largest margin of victory over an AP top-10 team on the road in men’s college basketball history
» Illinois ranks sixth in the nation in scoring and eighth in scoring margin, second best in the Big Ten in both categories
» The Fighting Illini rank second in the nation in rebounding (45.23), ranking No. 1 in defensive rebounds per game (32.38) and No. 4 in rebounding margin (12.4)
» Illinois attempts the ninth most three pointers in the nation (31.9)
» True freshman Kasparas Jakucionis leads UI in scoring at 16.3 points per game
» The Lithuania native also paces Illinois and ranks fifth in the Big Ten at 5.4 assists per game
» Croatian sophomore Tomislav Ivisic leads UI and is third in the Big Ten in rebounding, hauling in 9.2 boards per game
SERIES HISTORY – ILLINOIS
» Washington leads the all-time series with Illinois, 4-2
» The two sides have played just three times since 1927 and just once since the turn of the century
» UI was the first college opponent UW ever faced at Hec Edmundson Pavilion
» UW and Illinois squared off three times between December 27-30, 1927 in the dedication of what was then known as the University of Washington Pavilion, with the Huskies claiming 2-of-3 gamesPORTAL HOPPING
» Washington bolstered its roster with eight D1 players out of the transfer portal
» The eight additions via the transfer portal are the most in a single season for UW
» Four Huskies (DJ Davis, Tyree Ihenacho, Luis Kortright, Great Osobor) have transferred twice in their collegiate careers
» In total, 10 of UW’s 16 players came to Washington via the transfer portal
» Washington has added at least three players through the transfer portal in each of the past four years
THE GREAT ONE
» Great Osobor has spent his entire collegiate career with UW head coach Danny Sprinkle, following Sprinkle from Montana State and Utah State
» Osobor was named an AP Honorable Mention All-American in 2023-24
» Osobor was also tabbed the Mountain West Player and Newcomer of the Year
» Osobor earned Big Sky Top-Reserve honors as a sophomore at Montana State
» Osobor landed on the watchlists for the Karl Malone Award and Wooden Award
» Osobor was named a Preseason All-American by CBS’s Jon Rothstein and ESPN’s Jay Bilas
» Osobor was ranked at the No. 15 on CBS’ Top 100 and 1 Best Players Entering the 2024-25 season
» Osobor was one of 10 players named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team
FREE MONEY
» DJ Davis led the nation in free throw percentage in 2023-24 at 95.0 percent
» Davis was perfect from the charity stripe in 23-of-27 games in which he attempted at least one free throw
» Davis converted a career high 10 free throws twice last season, vs. SEMO (11/10) and vs. Texas Tech (11/30)
» Davis shot 86.5 percent from the free throw line over three seasons at UC Irvine, including 90.4 percent as a sophomore
» Davis owns an 88.6 percent free throw percentage for his career
» Davis has shot 100 percent on free throws for a game with at least five attempts 15 times in his career
A B1G NEW ERA
» Washington enters its first season in the Big Ten Conference in 2024-25
» The Big Ten received six bids to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, tied for third most of any conference
» UW was a founding member of what would eventually become the Pac-12 Conference, chartering the Pacific Coast Conference in 1915
» Washington also remained in the Northwest Intercollegiate Athletic Association until 1925
» Washington is 359-349 all-time against current Big Ten member institutions
» UW is 48-33 against Big Ten opponents not including Oregon, UCLA and USC
» Washington has played 15-of-17 fellow Big Ten Members
» UW has never faced Penn State or RutgersRESTOCKING THE CUPBOARD
» Washington returns just three letterwinners from last season
» Wilhelm Breidenbach is the only returning Husky to play in more than 10 games a season ago
» UW returners started just 16 games in 2023-24, or 10 percent of Washington’s total number of starts
» UW’s 9.7% returning scoring is the 16th lowest in the nationIT’S A TERP!
» UW had the high ground in its Star Wars Night matchup with No. 24 Maryland, earning its first-ever Big Ten win, 75-69
» It was the first matchup with a ranked opponent of the season for UW
» The Huskies held the Terrapins to season lows in points, three pointers, rebounds and assists
» It was just the third time all season that Maryland had been out-rebounded
» UW held McDonald’s All-American and five star recruit Derik Queen to a season-low four points
» Great Osobor posted his fourth double double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds, his second 20+ point performance of the season
» Vazoumana Diallo registered career highs with 18 points and six assists, adding five rebounds
HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES?
» UW claimed the 300th Apple Cup game against Washington State, 89-73
» Washington had six players in double figures for the first time since last season’s 100-99 double overtime win over Seattle U
» It was UW’s largest margin of victory over Washington State since 2019
» UW’s 89 points were its most against WSU since scoring 99 in 2016
» Washington’s 10 threes were tied for its most in a game this season
» WSU’s 22 turnovers were its most of the season and the most the Huskies have forced in a game in 2024-25
» A game after not attempting a single shot, DJ Davis buried three threes and 10 free throws to lead UW with a season-high 21 points
KEEP ‘EM HONEST
» A key to UW’s success has been the ability to keep the paint clear with three point shooting
» UW is 7-1 when shooting 30% or better from three, 3-3 when under 30%
» The Huskies are shooting 35.2% from three in wins, 25.9% in losses
» UW is averaging 7.0 made threes in wins, 5.3 in losses
DAMAGE DOWN LOW
» 46.4 percent of Washington’s points this season have been in the paint
» The Huskies are 9-3 when scoring at least 30 points in the paint
» UW has scored 40+ points in the paint five times
» UW has outscored its opponent in the paint in 10 games, including 9-of-10 wins
» Not counting free throws, Great Osobor has scored 125-of-152 (82.2%) of his points in the paint
ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM
» Vazoumana Diallo has scored 10+ points 10 times, including the last six
» Diallo’s 36 assists are the second most for the Huskies
» The former Tacoma Curtis star was UW’s highest-rated recruit since the Dawgs signed five-star prospects Jaden McDaniels and Isaiah Stewart in 2019
» Diallo was a consensus four-star prospect per 247Sports, ESPN, On3 and Rivals
» Diallo is Washington’s ninth-ever McDonald’s All-American and the fourth in the last five years, joining Jackson Grant (2021), McDaniels and Stewart (2019)
» The No. 1 player in Washington and 2022-23 Washington Gatorade Player of the Year, Diallo was rated the no. 3 point guard and no. 43 player in the country by ESPNVET SCHOOL
» Washington players have appeared in 948 total collegiate games
» The Huskies own 554 career starts
» Four Huskies have played in triple digit games: Great Osobor (117), DJ Davis (128), Chris Conway (109) and Luis Kortright (114)
» 10 of Washington’s 16 players are upperclassmen
» UW’s roster features six seniors and one graduate student
DESERT DAWGS TAKE ACRISURE TITLE
» Washington won the Acrisure Invitational, sweeping games over Colorado State (73-67) and Santa Clara (76-69)
» It was the second MTE championship in the last three seasons for UW, which claimed the 2022 Wooden Legacy title
» Great Osobor was named the event’s MVP after averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals
» Tyler Harris led the Dawgs over Colorado State, scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 from the field, knocking down a career-high five three pointers
» Harris had made just six three pointers all season prior to Thursday’s win
» The win over CSU snapped a three-game losing streak against the Rams for UW, while the Huskies have beaten Santa Clara in four-straightMIDSEASON BOOST
» Washington received a boost to its roster with the addition of French forward Dominique Diomande, who is still seeking a visa before arriving in the US
» Diomande has been projected to be a top-50 pick in the NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com and 1-of-11 “Under the Radar Freshmen with NBA Potential” by NBADraftRoom.com
» Diomande played in 2023-24 for French pro-club Blois ADA, primarily for the under-21 team, and has also played internationally for the Ivory Coast
MONTLAKE MAGIC
» Over the last 20+ seasons, Washington is 256-89 (.742) at Alaska Airlines Arena
» The Huskies have posted a winning record at home in 18 of those 20 seasons, registering double-digit home wins 17 times
» UW has posted at least a .600 home record in 14 of the past 20 seasons, including each of the last three seasons
» Washington has won at least 80% of its home games nine times over the last 20 seasons, including 90% or more four timesTHE SPRINKLE EFFECT
» Teams in their first year under Danny Sprinkle have increased their win total from the previous season
» Sprinkle-led teams have earned an NCAA Tournament bid three straight seasons
» During those three seasons, Sprinkle’s teams have lost just 11 conference games
» Sprinkle’s teams have had at least three players earn all-conference honors in each of the last four seasons
» Sprinkle took a Utah State team that returned nine minutes from the previous season and led the Aggies to their first-ever outright Mountain West title
» Was named a Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year finalist for his efforts at Utah State
» In year three at Montana State, Sprinkle led the Bobcats to their first NCAA bid in 26 years
» Sprinkle’s Montana State followed with a 25-10 record in 2022-23, winning the Big Sky Tournament to earn a second-consecutive NCAA bid
» It was the first time Montana State had posted back-to-back 25-win seasons since 1927-29
IT FEELS LIKE THE VERY FIRST TIME
» Danny Sprinkle is the 20th head coach in Washington men’s basketball history
» Since legendary coach Hec Edmundson took over on Montlake for the 1920-21 season, eight of UW’s 11 head coaches have posted a winning season
» In six of those 11 seasons under first-year head coaches, UW has posted a record of .600 or better
» Washington is 260-187 (.582) all-time under first-year head coaches
» Since Edmundson’s first season, first-year head coaches at UW have posted a record of 198-155 (.561)
HUSKY GREAT COMES HOME
» Former Husky standout Abdul Gaddy joins Danny Sprinkle‘s first Washington staff as director of player development
» Gaddy, who graduated in 2013, was a two-time captain for the Dawgs
» Gaddy ranks second all-time at Washington with 469 career assists
» Gaddy was a 2012 nominee for the Bob Cousy Award
» Gaddy played professionally in Italy, Latvia and Germany before playing four years in the NBA G League
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
» Washington’s 2025 high school recruiting class features three top-100 players in Nike Bundalo, JJ Mandaquit and Courtland Muldrew
» UW’s class ranks ninth in the nation and first in the Big Ten per On3
» Bundalo is rated as the 25 player nationally by ESPN, making him Washington’s eighth-highest ranked signee ever
» Mandaquit is ranked No. 43 in the nation by On3, sitting as the No. 3 point guard
» Also a consensus four-star prospect, Muldrew is rated No. 99 by 247Sports
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Related Links
STAT STUFFER
» Great Osobor ranks fourth in the Big Ten in rebounds per game (9.1) and steals per game (2.14)
» The senior ranks 33rd in the nation in RPG, sitting 44th in SPG
» He is the only player in the nation inside the top-50 in both steals and rebounds
» Osobor has attempted 99 free throws, ranking 15th in the nation and second in the Big Ten
» In UW’s season-opening win over UC Davis, Osobor became the first Power-6 player with at least 15 points, 17 rebounds and 6 steals since Blake Griffin in 2008
» Osobor is 1-of-4 players 6-8 or taller over the last 20 years to record 6+ steals in 2 games in a season (Corey Brewer, Marcus Dove, Cody Zeller)
» Osobor’s 7 steals against Seattle Pacific were the most by a Husky since Matisse Thybulle had 3 games with 7 steals during the 2018-19 season
» Osobor is one of four players in the nation with multiple 6+ steal games
» Osobor’s 18 rebounds vs. UMass Lowell were the most by a Husky since Nate Roberts pulled down 19 vs. Northern Illinois in 2021
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