If your a fan of three point shots, a fast pace and lots of points; then set your alarm and get ready to watch the Washington Huskies take on the North Carolina Tar Heels for a spot in the Sweet 16.
For the Huskies, a win tomorrow would go a long way for the basketball program. In Lorenzo Romar's ninth season as the Huskies head coach, he has had to deal with a lot of off court issues. It even started before the season when Romar found out that he would be without the presence of forward Tyreese Breshers for the entire season.
It got worse in January when Romar found out that his starting point guard Abdul Gaddy tore his ACL in practice. Lastly, the problems grew when he had to deal with Vernoy Overton getting caught for inappropriate behavior.
Luckily for Washington, the Huskies were able to put all the off court problems out of their way to win the Pac 10 Championship and land them a number seven seed in the East Region. In addition, Overton's suspension was lifted in time for the Huskies 2nd round game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Overton had an average game Friday night. He scored six points, grabbed four redounds and dished out one assist.
The Huskies reward for overcoming all the adversity is a date with the North Carolina Tar Heels in their own state. In some ways it has been a frustrating season for the Huskies and their fans. The team was speculated to have maybe one of its best teams ever at UW. However, inconsistent play costed them a Pac 10 regular season title and a chance to play relatively close to home.
Consequently, the Huskies will have a chance to do something that they have never done in the Romar era. That is to beat a top notched program in their home state. The closest Washington has ever came to beating a top notched program was when they beat Illinois in 2006. However, that game was played in San Diego not in the state of Illinois. A day that I remember pretty clearly.
The day was March 18th 2006. The Huskies were about to take on last years National runner up the Illinois Fighting Illini. I thought that the Huskies would lose for sure. I thought that Dee Brown would score 30 points and the Huskies would be out of the tournament. What made me more nervous was that I had a softball practice and couldn't watch the first part of the game.
When my practice was over the Huskies were surprisingly up 28-14. I was really excited and was starting to believe that the Huskies could pull off the minor upset. The win wasn't going to come that easy though. Before the end of the half Illinois had closed the gap to 35-33. In the second half Illinois continued to force the issue and took the led 53-43 with 10 minutes to go.
I thought the Huskies season was going to end. The Huskies wouldn't let that happen. The Huskies went on a 24-11 run to lead 67-64 in the last few seconds. Illinois had the ball and a chance to hit a three. I was yelling at my TV set FOUL! FOUL! FOUL! The huskies decided to play defense on luckily Dee Brown's three ball was no good and the Huskies survived.
Five years later, the Huskies have a chance to knock off another elite program. This time it would be in UNC's home state. When I first looked at the draw on Sunday night when the bracket came out, I thought that we were given an okay draw. I think the Huskies have a good chance to win this game this morning if they played well. If the Huskies shoot the three ball well and finish inside with Matthew Bryan Amaning then the Huskies have decent chance to pull off the upset.
The Tar Heels are in the tournament this year as a number two seed. They are led by Freshman Harrison Barnes and Tyler Zeller. Their strengths like the Huskies is score and run the floor. North Carolina averages 76.7 points per game. North Carolina plays their best when they can establish a physical presence inside to rebound the ball. If UNC is going to avoid the upset they will have to make sure they rebound the basketball and take this Huskies team seriously. Washington is capable of pulling off the upset if they play fearless and smart.
This mornings game will for sure be the Huskies hardest test of the season. We will really see how this team can play when their backs are against the wall and a lot is at stake. A Huskies win could be huge for the program and more importantly get another shot at the Elite eight. I personally, have a good feeling about this game. If the Huskies play to their potential they will have a good chance to win this game. The last two Huskies seasons have ended to Purdue and West Virginia. Those two teams Washington did not match up well against. However, Washington matches up well against UNC. If the Huskies can stay out of foul trouble, which I think they will the Huskies win win 92-80.
The game starts bright and early in the morning at 9:15am and can be seen on CBS.
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