Washington Huskies, Dec 21st

[AUloggerhead 2,227]

I'll be attending this game since it is (relatively) in my locale.  The game is going to be a "Purple Out."  Not sure if I'll be able to get there early enough to snag a purple towel that's being given away.  I've been catching a few UW games on TV to gage what kind of team AU will be facing.  Here goes:  

UW has 7'-1" center, Braxton Meah, that is a dominating presence in the middle.  They had another big man, Franck Kepnang, but he had knee injury earlier this month & is out for the season.  Leading scorers are Keion Brooks & Cole Bajema -- both can hit 3s.  This will not be an easy game for AU.  UW likes to play a 3-2 zone (the kind that Memphis & USC used to give AU trouble.)  

Anyways, looking forward to seeing my Tigers! 

[AUloggerhead 2,227]

Observations from last night:  the game was said to be a sellout but I believe the cold weather (mid-20s temps, earlier snowfall & lots of ice on the roads) contributed to all the no-shows.  Surprisingly, a fairly large & vocal contingent of AU faithful showed up -- mostly in the section we were sitting(!)  Saw lots of AU families too.  Sitting in the row in front of us was a father with 3 boys all under 10.    

Low scoring start to the game.  The zone U-dub was playing did give AU trouble at first.  Then it was nice to see Broome & Jaylin get their inside game going to defeat it.  Would love to see Cardwell develop an inside game too.  A few times he'd get a pass inside in the paint and then ... he would pass it right  back to the perimeter(!?) instead of turning around & using his 6'11" size to take a short jumper.  The refs were letting a lot of physical play happen.  I even overheard the UW fans behind me say they weren't calling anything.  AU's strengths are in the depth they have plus size.  They have a rebounding edge with their size.  They need to learn they can & should work the ball inside for scores.   

All in all, a very enjoyable evening seeing the Tigers in person.  So glad CBP schedules games like this West Coast tour.  WDE