Tom Izzo and Michigan State Men’s Basketball will kick off a 2-game road trip to the Pacific Northwest this Saturday afternoon in Seattle for a matchup with the Huskies of the University of Washington. UW is off to a 10-7 start, along with a 2-4 Big Ten record so far, but don’t let the wins and losses fool you: this team is competitive. Washington has only suffered one loss by more than ten points, and recently has played both Indiana and Purdue tight- in two of the most storied venues in the country in Assembly Hall and Mackey Arena.
Unsurprisingly for a west coast Big Ten team, Washington has found more success on their home court. Their 82-72 loss against Michigan on Wednesday was good for only their second home loss of the season thus far, bringing their record in the Alaska Airlines Arena to 7-2. The Huskies are also a top-50 team according to KenPom, with the 61st ranked offense and number 54 defense in the land.
The Huskies are coached by Danny Sprinkle, a 49-year old, in his second season at the helm. Their 2024-25 season was not a successful one, as the purple and gold were welcomed into the Big Ten Conference with a 4-16 conference record, last place finish and no BTT appearance. This year, as is the norm in today’s world of collegiate athletics, Washington’s roster has experienced a great deal of turnover, both by way of the transfer portal and a surprisingly strong recruiting class of freshman. Let’s take a look at who the key contributors are for this Husky team, with projected starters in bold font.
#5: Zoom Diallo, Point Guard – 6’4 180 lbs
#0: Quimari Peterson, Guard – 6’1 190 lbs
#1: Desmond Claude, Guard – 6’1 201 lbs
#6: Hannes Steinbach, Forward – 6’11 weight not listed
#2: Franck Kepnang, Center – 6’11 253 lbs
#9: Wesley Yates III, Guard – 6’4 219 lbs
#8: Bryson Tucker, Forward – 6’7 207 lbs
#41: Jacob Ognacevic, Forward – 6’8 220 lbs
#23: JJ Mandaquit, Guard – 6’1 weight not listed
#24: Lathan Sommerville, Center – 6’10 275 lbs
The only two returners for Washington are Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang, with the rest of their rotation being made up of transfers and a talented freshman class. Zoom, as his name implies, is a speedy ball-handler who is averaging just under 15 points a game at 14.9. Kepnang plays the biggest share of minutes for UW at the center spot, and the big man has yet to attempt a single three pointer this season. It’s safe to say Carson Cooper will be able to give Kepnang a cushion on the outside.
Quimari Peterson, an East Tennessee State transfer, plays the 2-guard spot, and statistically has shot almost 3x more three-point field goals than two-pointers. He is averaging a smooth 10 points per game and shoots the three at a 35.4% clip. Desmond Claude, a highly regarded transfer from USC, has battled injury in recent games, only playing 8 minutes against UM. When healthy, he is good for around 13.3 points a game.
JJ Mandaquit, a freshman combo guard, gets around 20 minutes per game and will spell both of UW’s starting guards. He’s coming off his best game against UM, where he led Washington in scoring with 15. Indiana transfer Bryson Tucker provides depth at the 3-spot, and started the game against Michigan, scoring just two points. Sophomore Wesley Yates gets the most minutes off the bench, averaging just under 30, and scoring 13.8 per outing.
In terms of scoring, 6’11 Hannes Steinbach leads the way for the Huskies with 17.9 PPG. Steinbach is a freshman from Germany, and has burst onto the scene this season, averaging a double double (11.2 boards) and has taken home multiple Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards. He does most of his damage at the rim, but can also stretch the floor, shooting the long ball at a 30% rate.
Rounding out the UW lineup are bigs Jacob Ognacevic (6th year, Lipscomb transfer) and Lathan Sommerville (Sophomore, Rutgers transfer). Ognacevic was heralded as one of Coach Sprinkle’s top portal additions, as he averaged 20 PPG and 8 rebounds at Lipscomb of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Unfortunately, Ognacevic has been sidelined due to a foot injury until this week. In his debut for the Huskies this Wednesday, he put up ten points against UofM. As for Sommerville, he is largely a rotational big who will come in to spell starters Steinbach and Kepnang, averaging only 4.5 PPG and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Washington has the potential to be a solid Big Ten squad, but thanks to injuries and a lack of familiarity in a team of nearly all new faces, it has been a struggle so far for the Huskies. To make matters worse for UW fans, their squad is in the middle of an absolutely brutal stretch of conference play. Washington is in the midst of an eight game stretch in which they have played/will play five teams ranked in the AP top 15; on top of IU, Purdue, UM, and MSU, Nebraska still has to play at No. 8 Nebraska and No. 13 Illinois before the calendar turns to February. Not exactly ideal for Coach Sprinkle and company.
On the Spartan side, MSU will look to win their fourth in a row. Also undoubtedly on the mind of Tom Izzo and the entire Michigan State team is avenging the poor west coast trip from a season ago. Two of State’s three total conference losses in 2024-25 came in back-to-back matchups with former PAC-12 members in USC and UCLA. The Spartans will look to flip the script this year, and depart the Pacific Northwest with two wins over Washington and Oregon.
This matchup will tip off at 3pm local time, and 6pm Eastern Time, a welcome change for both Spartan fans back home and Husky fans looking to support their NFL team, the Seattle Seahwaks, in their playoff matchup at 8pm EST.
What’s your take on this matchup? Leave your predictions in the comments, and GO GREEN!
