Time for REVENGe baybee. Huskies will roll by 10+. Spread isnt out yet at my book but just listen to these guys. They've been on a roll and they want this one bad.
The Oregon Ducks were the first team to beat Washington on its home court this season, and the Huskies want payback in their Thursday rematch in Eugene, Ore.
“I just really remember the echoes of them celebrating after the game,” UW senior Quincy Pondexter said Tuesday. “That’s something I think we all remember as a team, and it really hurt. They played a terrific game against us and capitalized on a lot of our mistakes.”
Washington was 17th-ranked back on Jan. 2, when the Ducks arrived. But then Oregon not only pulled the upset, 90-79, but also did it behind a couple of sophomore surprises: guard Malcolm Armstead, who scored 21 points, and center Michael Dunigan, who scored 20.
“(Armstead) wasn’t a guy that we said, ‘This guy can single-handedly beat us,’ ” coach Lorenzo Romar said. “We didn’t talk about him like that, but we addressed who he was: He was talented, and he could get going, and we had to contain him. … I didn’t know he was as good as he played that night.”
While Armstead was spectacular, Dunigan did his damage within the flow of the game.
“Mike Dunigan was really good that night,” Romar said. “But I said after that game, when you look at his 21 points that were scored, he scored two of them when they threw him the ball one-on-one and he had a hook shot. Other than that, their guards were so good, they just spoon-fed him all night. He got a couple of offensive rebounds, put-backs and he got fouled.”
While both players looked like all-conference candidates against the Huskies, neither has sustained that type of play. Armstead goes into the final week of the regular season averaging 10.6 points, while Dunigan averages 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Meanwhile, it is the Huskies who may have added a couple of relatively secret weapons for the second meeting: rejuvenated power forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning and defensive-oriented forward Justin Holiday.
“Justin is a guy that hopefully we can put on one of their guys to maybe slow them down,” Romar said. “He’s definitely going to be valuable in a game like this.”
While Holiday moved into UW’s starting lineup soon after the loss to Oregon, Bryan-Amaning lost his starting job immediately after it. However, his demotion was accompanied by a heart-to-heart talk with Romar. The 6-foot-9 junior worked his way back into the starting lineup in time for UW’s first road win at Stanford, and has been a different player since, averaging 13.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.
“We had a one-on-one talk,” Bryan-Amaning said. “It was all right. … He just kept it positive, didn’t say anything too negative, really. It was part of what helped me turn around.”
Bryan-Amaning is ticketed for his fifth straight start Thursday, and he’d like to help his Huskies salvage a split against their Northwest rivals.
“Not many teams beat us on our home court,” he said. “So we’re definitely taking this one to heart.”
*Quotes courtesy 950 KJR AM Seattle