The Danny Sprinkle era got off to a winning start with the Washington Huskies prevailing 79-73 over the UC Davis Aggies at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Both teams looked like it was their first game of the season, as neither executed or shot particularly well and did a ton of fouling on defense. All hallmark signs of early season play.

5 Huskies hit double figures with Utah State transfer Great Osobor leading the team with 15 points, Rice transfer Mekhi Mason scoring 13 points (and the only player to hit a 3), 4 star prospect Zoom Diallo chipped in with 12 points and returning forwards Frank Kepnang and Wilhelm Briedenbach both had 10 points. Portland transfer Tyler Harris also had 9 points. Osobor is clearly their best weapon on offense, but when he is double-teamed someone else will need to step up and fill the scoring void.

The starting backcourt of DJ Davis and Tyree Ihenacho were simply not good. They only combined for 6 total points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 turnovers. Neither one was able to get the team into their offensive sets or create any easy looks with their passing. Davis, in particular, had a horrendous shooting display going 0-8 FG’s (0-5 3-pt, 2-2 FT’s). He comes in as a highly regarded free throw shooter (95% last season at Butler), a career 36.5% 3-pt shooter and averaged 13.5 ppg in 2023/24, so scoring the rock is in his game. Hopefully he just had some first game jitters and will be an integral part of the Husky offense going forward.

Washington were getting buckets at the rim early on and looked like they were going to blow out UC Davis. The Dawgs were playing extremely fast in transition and looking to push the tempo every chance they got. The plan worked with Great Osobor and Frank Kepnang slamming home a couple of early dunks. The Aggies quickly regrouped and found their footing in the game. Their defensive aggression intensified and they mucked up the paint making it hard for UW to attack the middle. This change made it extremely difficult for the Dawgs to generate good, open shots regularly for the rest of the game – a hand was always in their face. UC Davis head coach Jim Les should be proud of his team’s effort on defense.

Guard TY Johnson was the Aggies best player on offense going for a career-high 35 points on 10-25 FG’s (2-8 3-pt, 13-16 FT’s). It didn’t seem to matter who UW had guarding him, as he was getting whatever shot he wanted. Driving into the lane and drawing a foul was his best weapon on offense. Thankfully, no other UC Davis player caught fire and helped supplement the scoring or else they might’ve pulled off the upset.

Even with Washington shooting a measly 2-14 from 3-pt (14.3%) and 21-38 from the free throw line (55.3%) they were able to survive and start the season with a win, which is all that matters.

Danny Sprinkle now has some actual game film to breakdown and make corrections in practice. No one was infallible, so finding something to improve shouldn’t be difficult to spot. Defending without fouling, cutting off passing lanes, boxing out, taking care of the ball and making free throws are just a few things that need to be remedied before Big Ten conference play.

The bones of a tournament team are there, but it’s up to Danny Sprinkle to refine the squad and put them in the right positions to maximize their talents.

Next up for Washington is a trip to Reno, Nevada for a Saturday night game (7:00pm tip) against the Nevada Wolf Pack, who are coming off a 91-75 win over the Sam Houston Bearkats. Guard Kobe Sanders put up 27 points on 9-14 FG’s (2-3 3-pt, 7-8 FT’s) with forward Nick Davidson scoring 26 points on 8-10 FG’s (3-5 3-pt, 7-9 FT’s). Former UCLA Bruins coach Steve Alford is the head man at Nevada and has led them to the NCAA tournament over the past two seasons. He’s got the program up and running, so this will be a tough early season road test for Danny Sprinkle and the Huskies.

GO DAWGS!