Washington didn’t go down without a fight, but in the end, couldn’t outlast Baylor in a 78-69 defeat on the road.
Winning in Big 12 country isn’t an easy feat. Baylor, as expected, boasted a great college hoops environment in the Sunday clash. But the Huskies weren’t rattled by the crowd noise and ESPN’s bright lights. Evidence of that was the start UW got off to, taking control of the game early. Eventually, Baylor began to find a rhythm, and it grew increasingly clear that the game plan was to eliminate true freshman Hannes Steinbach as an offensive threat. Doing so isn’t simple, but having help defenders consistently show their presence was effective for the Bears. That, and counting on UW to pose minimal to no threat from beyond the arc. That gamble paid off as the Huskies went just 3-of-20 from three.
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The difference in this game was Baylor’s dedication toward attacking the rim, resulting in a free-throw discrepancy. Baylor went 20-of-29 from the stripe, and UW went 10-of-15.
Zoom Diallo was the leading scorer off the bench, scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He played great minutes down the stretch before fouling out. Quimari Peterson was the second leading scorer, and he came off the bench as well. He added 11 points and had a couple of near makes from three-point land that could’ve swung the game in UW’s favor. True freshman duo Hannes Steinbach and J.J. Mandaquit were the only other Dawgs to finish in double figures. Steinback logged 10 points and 15 rebounds while Mandaquit added 10 points.
Washington continues to look the part of a team that can reach the NCAA Tournament. Baylor’s ridiculous amount of poster dunk attempts is evidence of how athletic that team is, yet UW never felt a step too slow despite the differing preference in pace.
After Sunday evening’s physical bout, UW doesn’t play again until Nov. 14 when it travels to Pullman to battle Wazzu at 8 p.m. on ESPN+.
