UW Outdogs The Bulldogs In NCAA Tournament

The national pundits questioned how the University of Washington, an average outside shooting team, was going to deal with Mississippi State shot blocking center Jarvis Varnado. The Huskies responded with Jon Brockman, the bruiser of a center who took Varnado so completely off his game that he had more fouls than points three quarters of the way through the game.

The game was close to start. Both teams battled hard but it wasn’t long before the physicality and quickness of the Huskies took its toll on the Bulldogs. The Dawgs out-worked Mississippi State all over the floor, getting a marvelous effort from Venoy Overton off of the bench.

And then Quincy Pondexter took over. His career high 23 points more than picked up the slack left by the struggling Isaiah Thomas and Justin Dentmon. Brockman added 10 more but it was his bullying of Varnado that set the tone for the teams. Brockman also showed his willingness to sacrifice his body going for a rebound and landing hard on his side that will be in the highlight replay of this tournament. He showed his toughness by jumping up quickly and hustling down the floor to get into position for the offense.

Overton also gave up his body, getting completely blindsided on a pick while coming down court at full speed. He bounced up like a rubber ball and didn’t miss a step in his defense. More amazingly, the smile never left the young man’s face, impressing the announcers more. Overton plays basketball like he’s a child that has just gotten the keys to the candy store for Christmas.

After being tied at 10 after eight minutes, Washington was clinging to a 16-14 lead when Jon Brockman left the game with two fouls and 9:11 left in the first half. Pondexter took the game over offensively at that point, blowing open the match and a 38-27 halftime lead.

The second half started the same way with UW scoring the first 6 points, effectively finishing off Mississippi State as they never got any closer. The final score of 71-58 was indicative of how the game went.

Next up for the Dawgs is Purdue on Saturday. Described as a fundamental half court team, they may present some matchup problems for UW. Coach Romar described the Boilermakers to the WSU Cougars, a team that game the Huskies problems. It will be interesting to see how the Dawgs deal with that kind of team on the big stage. It will not be an easy task. President Obama, for one, has already picked Purdue.

Article Author: Russ Evenhuis

I am a writer in a mid-life crisis. My passions are Seahawks football, triathlons, rugby, sports in general, Guinness, reading, writing, television, music, computers, family, and movies.

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