Washington Defeats Virginia

The Washington Huskies are an incredibly fun team to watch. They play a smothering defense and on offense they run and shoot at full tempo. Last night in Maui they played as well as they can play against Virginia. Virginia is not a great team, but the Huskies' win was still very impressive. They shot 58% from the field. They shot 65% from 3-point land. They scrapped for loose balls and rebounds. They were just on.

The Huskies individually looked dramatically improved from last year. Isaiah Thomas, Justin Holliday, and Abdul Gaddy were tremendous. The freshman C.J. Wilcox couldn't miss. Transfer center Aziz N'Diaye from Senegal gives the team a long-needed big man. Everyone that entered the game played well.

Tonight at 6:30 the Huskies take on the Kentucky Wildcats. It will be a chance for the Huskies to show they're a contender against a marquee team. Plus, there's some added drama. Last year Portland high school senior Terrence Jones announced at a press conference amidst much fanfare that he would be attending the University of Washington. Immediately after making the announcement, however, Jones had second thoughts. He didn't sign the letter of intent to make his commitment official. A month or so later, Jones reneged on his commitment and announced he would attend Kentucky.

Terrence Jones is now arguably Kentucky's best player. Without Jones, the Huskies are still a darn good team, and an exciting one at that. With Jones, however, they would be that much better.

It's gonna be a barn-burner of a game tonight. Go Dawgs!

Isaiah Thomas photo: AP/Eugene Tanner