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Mar 7, 2026; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Danny Sprinkle looks on during the first half against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images
The next time the Washington Huskies take the floor, it’ll be in the Big Ten Tournament. Before the season, that sentence was supposed to carry excitement. Washington was dubbed the sleeper team in the offseason by the national media thanks to a surplus of experienced transfers. An at-large team, perhaps. A bubble squad that could play its way into the NCAA Tournament with a strong showing in the conference tourney.
Instead, Washington will enter the tournament fresh off a brutal 85–79 defeat in which the Huskies rallied from 21 down to take the lead, only to lose it at the end. The worst part? The loss dropped Washington to 15–16 on the year while Oregon improved to just 12–19.
The lasting image from Saturday will be Oregon’s Kwame Evans catching fire, scoring the final nine points. Four came on a single play.
UW led 79–76 with 24 seconds left after a pair of free throws from Hannes Steinbach. Evans launched a three and was fouled by Quimari Peterson. He buried the shot and the free throw to give Oregon an 80–79 lead.
On Washington’s final possession, Steinbach was mugged in the paint. No whistle. Turnover.
Sprinkle was irate. Officials swallowed their whistles when Steinbach had a chance to win the game, but called a foul on Peterson when Oregon was hunting for a tie (and eventual lead). The Husky head coach received two technicals and was ejected. Washington trailed 85–79 with two seconds left by the time it got the ball back.
There will be plenty of negative takeaways. Here are a couple positives.
Steinbach will be one of the best ever to don a Husky uniform. His monster outings get lost in the team’s poor play, but he has the consistency of an NBA player which is no easy feat for a freshman in college. The German scored 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds.
The on-court performance has been disappointing for everyone involved. If you’ve stopped watching games, I don’t blame you; there are several better ways to spend an evening. Washington, however, hasn’t quit.
The players and coaches deserve credit for that. It sounds like the bare minimum, but staying engaged during a season like this, especially when the transfer portal opens soon, is a challenge. The Huskies were getting blown out in this game, but fought back. They were also locked in a tight battle with USC on Wednesday before turning it into a blowout victory.
Before the next section, it’s worth noting that not all of Washington’s struggles this season are due to a lack of talent or poor coaching.
The injury bug has infested the locker room this year, and it has eaten away at the foundation.
Another challenge is expectation. The yearning for a return to relevancy is strong on Montlake, but Romarville wasn’t located in Big Ten Country. The conference is significantly tougher than the Pac-12, especially in an era where roster continuity is an unrealistic dream. Big Ten spenders roam the Midwest, and they’ll keep the conference among the best in the nation.
Were expectations too high?
Possibly. Excitement may have overshadowed the reality that this roster needed time to mesh. Particularly when many of the players on the floor haven’t experienced sustained winning at the collegiate level.
All of that being said, what an ugly season it’s been.
Washington’s injury luck has clearly impacted on-court cohesion, but the team looked just as clunky against Oregon as it did against Baylor in the third game of the season.
Washington’s perimeter players are aggressive shot takers who have been cold practically all year. The offense relies heavily on getting to the basket, just like last season. Speaking of last season, million-dollar man Great Osobor didn’t live up to his price tag, partly because the spacing was nonexistent. With no perimeter threats, defenses clogged the paint and forced Osobor into traffic. He also lacked the athleticism to consistently play above the rim.
Steinbach is significantly better than Osobor.
If he played on a team with legitimate shooters, he’d be a National Player of the Year candidate. But he doesn’t. So he’ll likely become yet another first-round pick who didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament at Washington, through no fault of his own.
High-volume three-point shooters are necessary in basketball. This isn’t some phenomenon created by Stephen Curry’s absurd shot-making ability.
Another first-round pick who didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament was Tony Wroten. His name doesn’t belong next to three-point shooting, but his ability to attack the basket and find open teammates was made easier by the players around him. Scott Suggs, C.J. Wilcox, Andrew Andrews, and Terrence Ross were all ready to knock down triples.
The evolution of basketball says today’s rosters should have better shooters than teams from over a decade ago. That hasn’t been the case at Washington.
As mentioned earlier, the Huskies haven’t quit. That says a lot about Danny Sprinkle’s leadership. Players appear to want to play for him and continue competing despite the results.
Personally, I like Sprinkle.
But the verdict is still out on whether he’s the right coach for Montlake. The football program spent years searching for a coach who truly viewed Washington as a forever home. The men’s basketball program has one. But the pressure is mounting rapidly.
Washington’s next game will come in the Big Ten Tournament.
After that, Sprinkle must rebuild the roster and find shooters. Doing so successfully could save the program from mediocrity. Along with his job.
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