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Husky Men's Basketball Blog

Seattle Times staff reporter Percy Allen provides a running commentary on the Huskies.

February 4, 2012 at 11:51 AM

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Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game

CORRECTED, UPDATED: 4:09 p.m.

Apologies for the mistake in tallying the results for the Guess the UW Score contest. We incorrectly named so confused the winner, but he emailed and set me straight.

The real winner is PoulsboDAWG who predicted Washington would win 71-67. The Huskies won 71-69 against UCLA.

Nice job. Contact me privately to claim your prize, which is a hot dog and soft drink at a UW home game.

(Note: Feb. 16 and Feb. 18 are the last days for winners to collect their prizes.)

OK let's move. Full slate of games and an early start so let's get to it.

TODAY'S PAC-12 SCHEDULE:

Arizona (15-8, 6-4) at Stanford (16-6, 6-4), noon (FSN)
Arizona State (7-15, 3-7) at California (17-3, 7-3), 2 p.m.
UCLA (12-10, 5-5) at Washington State (12-10, 4-6), 2 p.m.
Oregon State (14-8, 4-6) at Utah (5-17, 2-8), 2 p.m. (ROOT)
Oregon (16-6, 7-3) at Colorado (15-7, 7-3), 6 p.m. (ROOT)
USC (6-17, 1-9) at Washington (15-7, 8-2), 8 p.m. (FSN)
Times PST

Picks: Stanford, Cal, WSU, OSU and Colorado

AND THE UW-USC WINNER IS ...

The Huskies 68-55.

USC has won the past two games at Edmundson Pavilion, but the Trojans are limping into Seattle this time. Injuries have decimated their team. They're playing freshmen, walk-ons and a few newcomers who just aren't accustomed to winning on the road in the Pac-12.

The Trojans should keep things close because coach Kevin O'Neill is an outstanding defensive coach. This season more than ever, his strategy is to slow the pace in hopes of stealing a game in the final minutes.

It sounds good in theory, but it wasn't worked. USC began the Pac-12 with a eight straight losses, which was the worst conference start in school history. The Trojans destroyed Utah 62-45 at home to avoid an 0-18 league record, however, they returned to their losing ways Thursday at Washington State and fell 70-63.

Washington's leading scorer Tony Wroten Jr. is questionable due to a thigh bruise and C.J. Wilcox, the team's third leading scorer, is still hampered by a hip injury. The Huskies aren't at full strength, but they still possess enough talent to prevail at home.

Washington likes to get Aziz N'Diaye, Darnell Gant and Abdul Gaddy in an offensive groove early, but not sure if Terrence Ross can wait until the second half before taking over games. USC freshman Byron Wesley is a capable defender, but he's a freshman and he has a difficult task trying to stop a dynamic scorer like Ross. Wroten and Gaddy and should also enjoy a size advantage and mismatch against 5-7 Maurice Jones.


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uw 83 usc 66 i have to wait all day to do the highlights??? :( MORE
Thanks, Percy but I picked UCLA to win. I would like to claim the prize but I can not. MORE
aha best comment on ESPN... "I'm liking UW's chances. USC is no where near as... MORE

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