SEATTLE – The Washington men’s basketball team will face USC Wednesday night at Alaska Airlines Arena in a Big Ten matchup, marking the Huskies’ final regular season home game. Prior to tip-off, Washington will honor seniors Franck Kepnang, Jacob Ognacevic, and Quimari Peterson for their contributions to the program.
The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Fans can too listen to the game on 950 KJR-AM, with coverage led by Tony Castricone and Jason Hamilton. Live coverage links are available on the University of Washington Athletics website, GoHuskies.com.
Washington is coming off a 90-73 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, a defeat that tied the season’s largest margin of defeat. The Badgers connected on 17 three-pointers, marking only the fifth time this season the Huskies have allowed double-digit three-point makes. Despite the loss, UW shot 62.9 percent in the second half, their third half shooting over 60% in the last seven games.
Hannes Steinbach led the Huskies with 22 points and 11 rebounds, his 18th double-double and 10th 20-point, 10-rebound performance of the season. Steinbach was subsequently named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, his third such honor this season. He has shot 70.8 percent from the field over the last two games. Zoom Diallo added 21 points, scoring 16 in the second half.
USC enters Wednesday’s game with an 18-11 overall record and a 7-11 mark in Big Ten play, having lost their last five games. The Trojans recently fell 82-67 at home to No. 12 Nebraska. A significant development for USC is the departure of leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara, who is no longer with the team, according to a Sunday announcement. Baker-Mazara averaged 18.5 points per game this season, and scored 21 points against Washington in December.
USC leads the all-time series against Washington 85-76, but the Huskies hold a 43-34 advantage in games played in Seattle. Washington defeated USC 84-76 in Los Angeles earlier this season, erasing an 18-point halftime deficit in the process.
The Trojans average just 6.2 three-pointers per game, the fewest in the Big Ten, even as ranking fifth nationally in free throw attempts per game. Defensively, USC’s 5.6 blocks per game are second in the conference and 10th nationally. Sophomore forward Jacob Cofie, a Seattle native, ranks fifth in the Big Ten averaging 1.69 blocks per game.
Hannes Steinbach has been named to the Top-10 Watchlist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given annually to the nation’s top center. He leads all players on the watchlist in both points and rebounds per game. Washington has faced or is scheduled to face 15 of the 50 total players on the watchlists for the Naismith Hall of Fame Player of the Year awards.
Franck Kepnang has been recognized for his off-court contributions, being named to the Allstate NACDA Winter Good Works Team for his charitable perform through the Franck & Family Foundation, which supports orphanages in Cameroon and provides care packages to people experiencing homelessness.
The Huskies have utilized 13 different starting lineups this season, due to injuries that have sidelined 10 different players for a combined 99 games. Zoom Diallo and Quimari Peterson are the only players to have appeared in every game this season.
