Utes Ready For Washington Schools After Strong Showing In Arizona
Jan 9, 2019, 5:05 PM | Updated: 5:08 pm
Utah Utes guard Sedrick Barefield (2) moves with the ball during a basketball game against the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After an impressive first week of Pac-12 Conference play, the Utah Utes are feeling pretty good about themselves as they prepare for Washington and Washington State.
“We’ve just proven that we can play with anyone and beat anyone in the conference,” said Utah guard Parker Van Dyke to Dirk Facer of the Deseret News. “In the future, we’ve got great confidence and hopefully we keep up the focus going into this next week.”
The Utes narrowly lost to Arizona 84-81 in overtime after defeating Arizona State 96-86 earlier in the week.
NEXT UP: Pac-12 Home Opener!!
Thur, Jan. 10 🆚 Washington 8pm MST
Sat. Jan. 12 🆚 Washington State 6pm MST🎟 >> https://t.co/xLRuDTITZ5#GoUtes🏀🔴 | #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/aJ7ZmXBiaU
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 7, 2019
Barefield Has The Hot Hand
Utah is feeling high on themselves but perhaps no Ute is feeling better than senior guard Sedrick Barefield. He averaged 25 points per game in the opening two games against the Arizona school and has three consecutive games of 20-plus points.
Barefield has been coming off the bench to provide a scoring punch for the Utes, a role that he does not mind at all.
“I’m about this team. I’ll do whatever it is to help this team, whether it’s wave a towel, whether it’s get somebody some water, or put some points on the board,” Barefield said to Facer. “Whatever it is, I love this team and I love being a Ute.”
Sedrick Barefield in the last three games for @UtahMBB:
33 points vs. Nevada
24 points at ASU
26 points at Arizona🔥 #goutes pic.twitter.com/MgJSstX1ku
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) January 9, 2019
Scouting The Huskies
Against Washington on Thursday, the Utes will bring with them a six-game winning streak over the Huskies, having swept them in the season series for three straight years.
Washington has a 10-4 overall record and is the winner of three straight. The Huskies won their Pac-12 opener against Washington State and are 1-0 in conference play.
The Huskies are led by Jaylen Nowell, who leads the squad in scoring with 17.3 point per game. Right behind him is Noah Dickerson with 14.5 points per game. Dickerson is also the team’s leading rebounder with 6.6 boards per game.
🚨ATTENTION STUDENTS🚨
👉TOMORROW is our Pac-12 Home Opener vs Washington❗️
Coach K’s Giveaway will be a Signed Memorabilia by #NBA Players @kylekuzma & @delonwright.
Admission is 🆓 with your @UUtah ID ➕ 4 friends for 🆓. #GoUtes🏀🔴 | #PackTheHuntsman pic.twitter.com/2a2fMFghoC
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 9, 2019
A Look At The Cougars
While the Huskies are hot coming into the Huntsman Center, the Washington State Cougars are not.
The Cougars have a 7-7 record and have lost four straight.
The Utes seem to have Washington State all figured out at home as well as they have yet to lose to the Cougars at home in Pac-12 play in six contests.
Washington State’s roster boasts the conference’s leading scorer in Robert Franks, who is averaging 22.1 points per game. Unfortunately for Wazzou, he has yet to play since the Cougars’ loss to New Mexico State on Dec. 23. It is not clear whether or not he will be able to take on the Utes on Saturday.
Broadcast Info
The game against Washington will tip off at 8 p.m. and be broadcast on FS1.
The matchup against Washington State will begin at 6 p.m. and be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
