Meet The Opponent: Indiana Begins West Coast Trip At Washington
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has played itself back into the NCAA Tournament picture after winning three of its last four games. But in order to secure a bid to the big dance, it likely needs at least one win during its upcoming trip to the pacific northwest against Big Ten newcomers Washington and Oregon.
That begins at 6 p.m. ET Saturday against Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. The Huskies are in their first season under coach Danny Sprinkle, who took over for Mike Hopkins after one successful season at Utah State.
Here’s a full breakdown of Washington.
Key players
- F Great Osobor: 14.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 47.3 FG%
- G Tyler Harris: 12 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 49.4 3pt FG%
- G Zoom Diallo: 11.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 48.4 3pt FG%
- G Mekhi Mason: 9.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 42.0 3pt FG%
- G DJ Davis: 9.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 36.2 3pt FG%
- C Franck Kepnang: 6.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 53.6 FG%
- G Luis Kortright (suspended): 4.9 ppg, 34.4 FG%
- F Wilhelm Breidenbach: 4.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 50.6 FG%
- G Tyree Ihenacho: 3.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 39.8 FG%
- F Christian King: 2.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 38.5 3pt FG%
- G Jase Butler: 2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 29.6 3pt FG%
- C KC Ibekwe: 1.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 58.3 FG%
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Key departures
- F Keion Brooks Jr.: 21.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 38.0 3pt FG%
- G Sahvir Wheeler: 14.3 ppg, 6.1 apg, 26.7 3pt FG%
- F Moses Wood: 11.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 39.6 3pt FG%
- G Koren Johnson: 11.1 ppg, 2.7 apt, 37.3 3pt FG%
- G Paul Mulcahy: 5.5 ppg, 3.4 apg, 31.3 3pt FG%
- C Braxton Meah: 5.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 77.0 FG%
- G Nate Calmese: 4.1 ppg, 0.8 apg, 26.5 3pt FG%
- G Anthony Holland: 2.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 36.8 3pt FG%
2024-25 schedule (13-15, 4-13)
- W, 79-73 vs. UC Davis
- L, 63-53 at Nevada
- W, 77-62 vs. Seattle Pacific
- W, 74-69 vs. UMass-Lowell
- W, 77-60 vs. Alcorn State
- W, 73-67 vs. Colorado State (neutral site)
- W, 76-69 vs. Santa Clara (neutral site)
- L, 69-58 at UCLA
- L, 85-61 vs. USC
- W, 87-69 vs. Eastern Washington
- W, 89-73 vs. Washington State
- L, 79-70 vs. Seattle
- W, 90-53 vs NJIT
- W, 75-69 vs. Maryland
- L, 81-77 vs. No. 22 Illinois
- L, 88-54 at No. 16 Michigan State
- L, 91-75 at No. 24 Michigan
- L, 69-58 vs. No. 17 Purdue
- L, 82-71 at No. 15 Oregon
- L, 65-60 vs. UCLA
- W, 71-68 at Minnesota
- L, 86-72 vs. Nebraska
- W, 76-71 vs. Northwestern
- L, 93-69 at Ohio State
- W, 75-73 at Penn State
- L, 89-85 (OT) vs. Rutgers
- L, 85-79 at Iowa
- L, 88-62 at No. 11 Wisconsin
Head coach: Danny Sprinkle
Sprinkle is in his first season at Washington. He replaced Mike Hopkins, who was fired after a 118-106 run and one NCAA Tournament appearance across seven seasons with the Huskies. Sprinkle coached Utah State in 2023-24 to a 28-7 record and a Mountain West Conference title. He was named Mountain West coach of the year. The Aggies earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat TCU in the Round of 64 before losing to No. 1 seed Purdue.
Sprinkle, 48, got his first head coaching job at Montana State in 2019. He had an 81-43 record across four seasons, including two conference tournament titles and a Big Sky regular season title. Montana State reached the NCAA Tournament twice in four seasons under Sprinkle. He was named 2022 Big Sky coach of the year. Prior to becoming a head coach, Sprinkle was an assistant at Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge and Montana State. A Pullman, Wash., native, Sprinkle played at Montana State from 1995-99 and graduated as the school’s seventh all-time leading scorer.
Series history
Indiana leads the all-time series, 3-1. The Hoosiers won the most recent matchup 102-84 on Nov. 21, 2013 at Madison Square Garden under former head coach Tom Crean. Troy Williams led the Hoosiers with 22 points, and CJ Wilcox had 24 points for the Huskies. That was the first matchup since 1978, when Indiana and Washington played twice. The Hoosiers won both games, 71-57 in Portland, Ore., and 73-56 in Bloomington. Washington won the first-ever matchup 81-79 on Dec. 29, 1966 in Portland.
Strengths
Sprinkle brought one player with him from Utah State, leading scorer and rebounder Great Osobor, who was the 2023-24 Mountain West player of the year. Osobor also played for Sprinkle at Montana State. His numbers have dropped a bit as he’s made the jump to the Big Ten, going from 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game on 57.7% shooting last year to 14.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game on 47.3% shooting this season.
But he’s still one of the better forwards in the Big Ten, and he’ll be at the top of Indiana’s scouting report. Osobor does a bit of everything for the Huskies. He scores primarily in the post, but he’s shot more 3-pointers than any previous season, going 11 for 43, or 25.6%. He’s also a point-forward of sorts, averaging a team-high 3.4 assists per game. He passes well out of the post when double-teamed and makes plays for his teammates out of the high post. Osobor is a key matchup for Indiana bigs Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau, who missed Wednesday’s game with an illness.
Zoom Diallo was Washington’s prized recruit, considered a four-star prospect and the No. 42 player in the class of 2024. He’s averaging 11.1 points per game, but is not much of a 3-point shooting threat at 4 for 24 on the season.
Washington is not a great 3-point shooting team overall, but it has a few shooters who Indiana must keep an eye on. DJ Davis leads the team with 5.3 attempts per game, and he shoots 36.2%. Mekhi Mason shoots 42% on four attempts per game, and Tyler Harris shoots 49.4% on 3.1 attempts per game. Defensively, it ranks 65th and 37th in 3-pointers made and attempted per game, respectively.
Weaknesses
Sprinkle had to rebuild Washington’s roster with eight transfers and two freshmen, and it’s been a challenge for all parties playing in the Big Ten. Six of the eight transfers came from non-Power Five programs, except for center KC Ibekwe from Oregon State and former Butler guard DJ Davis. The overall talent level just isn’t there to compete at a high level in the Big Ten. Playing in a new conference with increased travel obligations has made it even more difficult.
Washington ranks outside the top 100 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The Huskies have a negative average rebounding margin, as well as the worst assist-to-turnover ratio and point differential in the Big Ten. They shoot just 67.8% at the free throw line, which ranks 317th nationally. Washington ranks 127th in 3-point percentage at 34.9% and 283rd with 20.3 attempts per game. Its defense has struggled in recent games, allowing 85-plus points in three straight losses.
Season and game outlook
Washington is essentially playing for pride and to get into the Big Ten Tournament at this point. The Huskies are in last place in the Big Ten at 4-13, which is not far off their 15th-place projection in the preseason Big Ten media poll. Washington is also last among Big Ten teams at No. 100 in the NET rankings, including a 2-11 Quad 1 record and a 4-3 Quad 3 record. At No. 97, the Huskies are also last in the conference in KenPom’s rankings.
KenPom projects a 75-72 Indiana win and gives the Hoosiers a 61% chance of victory. It would count as a Quad 2 victory for Indiana’s resume, which on its own wouldn’t greatly help its NCAA Tournament chances. It’s more important that the Hoosiers avoid their first Quad 2 loss of the season. Indiana is 3-5 on the road this season, most recently winning at No. 11 Michigan State. The Hoosiers have played some of their best basketball of the season lately, and Washington is a team it should be able to handle.