
Husky Hoops To Open Season At Home Hosting UAPB
November 02, 2025 | Men's Basketball
SEATTLE – The 2025-26 men's basketball season is set to commence Monday night as the Washington Huskies play host to the Arkansas - Pine Bluff Golden Lions at Alaska Airlines Arena.
 
Tipoff from Hec Ed is set for 8:00 p.m. PT, with the game set to stream live on B1G+ and on your radio dial on Sports Radio KJR. Links to live stats are available at HuskyStats.com.
 
OPENING TIPS
» Washington begins its second season in the Big Ten and second season under Danny Sprinkle
» The Huskies return two players from last season's roster in Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang
» UW brought in the No. 3 ranked transfer class in the nation per On3.com
» Among the group were two top-30 transfers in Wesley Yates III and Desmond Claude, USC's top-two leading scorers a season ago
» UW also added further Big Ten experience through the transfer portal in Lathan Sommerville from Rutgers and Bryson Tucker from Indiana
» UW is one of three schools in the nation with multiple players that earned their conference's Player of the Year Award in Jacob Ognacevic and Quimari Peterson
» UW has won 24 of its last 30 season openers
» UW has never faced a team from Arkansas
 
ABOUT UABP
» UAPB is in its fifth season under Solomon Bozeman, one of the youngest coaches in NCAA Division I basketball at 37 years old
» During his tenure, Bozeman has led the Golden Lions to a 36-88 overall record including 22-50 in SWAC play
» UAPB finished the 2024-25 season at 6-25, finishing 11th in the SWAC with a 3-15 league record
» The Golden Lions were picked to finish 11th in the SWAC Preseason Coaches Poll receiving one first-place vote
» UAPB returns three letterwinners from last season's team, including leading returning scorer senior forward Kyle Brown, who averaged 6.9 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting from the floor
» Among UAPB's 11 newcomers is senior guard Quion Williams, who led Abilene Christian in scoring a season ago at 13.7 PPG
 
SERIES HISTORY - UAPB
» Monday's game will not only be the first-ever meeting between UW and UAPB but also Washington's first-ever game against a team from the state of Arkansas
» The Huskies are 7-0 all-time against SWAC competition, most recently defeating Grambling State 86-38 at home in 2014
 
GRAND OPENING
» Washington is 94-31 all-time in season-openers
» The Huskies have won 24 of the last 30 openers, including 16 of the last 20 and seven of the last 10
» Monday's game will mark the fifth-straight season the Huskies have started the season at Alaska Airlines Arena
» In last season's season-opening game, Washington outlasted UC Davis, 79-73
» Five different Huskies reached double figure scoring
» Great Osobor stuffed the stat sheet to lead UW, posting 15 points, 17 rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks
» Zoom Diallo made his college debut with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting while leading Washington with four assists
» Franck Kepnang posted 10 points and swatted a team-high three shots
 
BAND'S BACK TOGETHER
» 2025-26 sees the return of a pair of former Huskies in cousins Wesley Yates III and Quincy Pondexter
» A top-40 recruit out of high school, Yates signed with UW ahead of the 2023-24 season, sitting out the campaign due to injury
» Yates, who played last season at USC, was one of the Big Ten's top scorers during conference play with averages of 17.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists
» Pondexter, a three-year assistant at UW, spent the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach for Yates and the Trojans, returning to his alma mater this summer
» An eight-year NBA veteran, Pondexter was an All-Pac-10 and Honorable Mention All-American for the Dawgs, ranking fifth all-time in scoring
» Pondexter led Washington to the 2009 Pac-10 Regular Season Championship and the 2010 Pac-10 Tournament Title, the latter of which he captured with fellow UW staffer Abdul Gaddy
NEW LOOK DAWGS
» Washington returns just two players from the 2024-25 roster in Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang
» Diallo appeared in all 31 games, including 22 starts and ranked second among all Huskies in points (11.2) and assists (3.1) per game during Big Ten play
» Kepnang missed a string of 17 games due to injury, starting the final eight contests of the season
PORTAL HOPPING
» UW revamped its roster with one of the most heralded transfer classes in the nation, ranking as the No. 3 class by On3.com
» Three of UW's transfers are ranked in the top-100 in the class, including two inside the top-30 in Wesley Yates III (24th, 247Sports) and Desmond Claude (29th, On3.com)
» Claude and Yates were the two leading scorers at Big Ten foe USC a season ago
» Quimari Peterson was ranked at No. 73 in the class by 247Sports
» Washington's transfer class was ranked No. 8 in the nation by HoopsHQ, while ESPN rated UW as the No. 5 team that added the most talent in the transfer portal
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
» The Dawgs also bolstered its squad with a nationally heralded freshman recruiting class
» UW's class was ranked as the 15th-best in the nation by 247Sports, the top class in the Big Ten
» UW's class was also ranked No. 21 by On3 and No. 25 by ESPN
» Per 247Sports, Washington added four four-star true freshmen
» Hannes Steinbach was rated as UW's top-signee with a rating of 97, but was not included in 247Sports' national player rankings
» JJ Mandaquit was ranked as the No. 74 player in the class, the No. 10 PG
» Jasir Rencher was ranked as the No. 90 player in the class, the No. 24 SF
» Courtland Muldrew was ranked as the No. 103 player in the class, the No. 18 SG
» Mady Traore was rated as a three-star, the No. 5 ranked JUCO player in the nation
CREAM OF THE CROP
» Washington is one of three teams in the nation featuring multiple players that were named their conference's player of the year, joining Big Ten rival Iowa and Kansas State
» Quimari Peterson reeled in Southern Conference Player of the Year Laurels, leading the conference in points, points per game, field goals, steals, steals per game and three-point field goal percentage
» The 6-1 guard was named a Finalist for the 2025 Lou Henson Award
» Peterson reached double-figure scoring in 31-of-32 games, including 15 20+ point outings
» Jacob Ognacevic was tabbed the ASUN Player of the Year after leading the league and ranking 19th in the nation in scoring at 20.0 points per game
» Ognacevic was efficient too, shooting 57.5 percent from the field, the 25th best average in the country
» The Wisconsin native also pulled down 8.0 rebounds per game, 4th in the ASUN
» Ognacevic will be sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury sustained during the preseason
 
TAKING THE WORLD STAGE
» A pair of freshman Huskies battled it out on the world stage this summer at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup as JJ Mandaquit and Hannes Steinbach battled it out in the Gold Medal game
» Mandaquit and Team USA captured the Gold, with the Hawaii native averaging 5.4 assists per game, 12.8 per 40 minutes
» In the Gold Medal game, Mandaquit led Team USA with six assists, adding seven points on 3-of-4 shooting
» The McDonald's All-America nominee shot 44.4 percent from the field, including 6-of-10 from behind the arc, knocking down all 13 free throw attempts
» Steinbach was one of the standouts of the tournament, leading Germany to Silver and earning All-Star Five honors
» The Würzburg native scored 17.4 points per game, the eight highest average of the tournament
» Steinbach pulled down 13.0 rebounds per game, second most at the World Cup
» Steinbach finished with four double doubles over seven games, including 19 points and 19 rebounds in the opener against Slovenia
» Against Serbia in the Round of 16, Steinbach dropped in seven field goals and nine free throws for 23 points, while reeling in 19 boards
» Additionally, sophomore transfer Christian Nitu played for Romania at 2025 FIBA U20 Eurobasket
 
DEUTSCH CONNECTION
» Hannes Steinbach is the latest in a German pipeline to Montlake
» Christian Welp, a native of Delmenhorst, West Germany, is UW's all-time leading scorer with 2,073 points
» Welp was a three-time All-Pac-10 selection ('85, '86, '87)
» Welp was named the 1984 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and 1986 Pac-10 Player of the Year
» Welp was drafted No. 16 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1987 NBA Draft
» Welp played three seasons between the 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors before seeing his NBA career cut short due to injury
» A teammate of Welp's for two seasons, Detlef Schrempf moved to Centralia, Washington, from Leverkusen, West Germany, for one season before joining the Huskies
» Schrempf ranks 18th all-time in scoring at Washington with 1,449 points
» Schrempf was a two-time First Team All-Pac-10 honoree ('84, '85)
» Schrempf was named a Third Team All-American by the NABC in 1985
» Schrempf was drafted No. 8 overall in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks
» Schrempf enjoyed a 17-year NBA career with the Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Seattle Supersonics and Portland Trailblazers
» Schrempf earned three NBA All-Star selections ('93, '95, '97), was tabbed Third Team All-NBA in 1995 and won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year Awards in 1991 and 1992
» Welp and Schrempf won back-to-back Pac-10 Championships with the Huskies in 1984 and 1985
» Schrempf was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 1995, while Welp followed in 2001
MONTLAKE MAGIC
» Over the last 20 seasons, Washington is 240-95 (.716) at Alaska Airlines Arena
» The Huskies have posted a winning record at home in 17 of those 20 seasons, registering double-digit home wins 16 times
» UW has posted at least a .600 home record in 13 of the past 20 seasons
» Washington has won at least 80% of its home games eight times over the last 20 seasons, including 90% or more three times
 
Meant for Montlake is officially live! Catch the first five episodes of this deep dive podcast into the serendipitous, intertwining stories that brought this season's Washington team together. Brought to you by the voice of the Huskies, Tony Castricone, and presented by Colburn Law, Meant for Montlake is available at GoHuskies.com/MeantForMontlake or wherever you get your podcasts.
 
Tipoff from Hec Ed is set for 8:00 p.m. PT, with the game set to stream live on B1G+ and on your radio dial on Sports Radio KJR. Links to live stats are available at HuskyStats.com.
OPENING TIPS
» Washington begins its second season in the Big Ten and second season under Danny Sprinkle
» The Huskies return two players from last season's roster in Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang
» UW brought in the No. 3 ranked transfer class in the nation per On3.com
» Among the group were two top-30 transfers in Wesley Yates III and Desmond Claude, USC's top-two leading scorers a season ago
» UW also added further Big Ten experience through the transfer portal in Lathan Sommerville from Rutgers and Bryson Tucker from Indiana
» UW is one of three schools in the nation with multiple players that earned their conference's Player of the Year Award in Jacob Ognacevic and Quimari Peterson
» UW has won 24 of its last 30 season openers
» UW has never faced a team from Arkansas
ABOUT UABP
» UAPB is in its fifth season under Solomon Bozeman, one of the youngest coaches in NCAA Division I basketball at 37 years old
» During his tenure, Bozeman has led the Golden Lions to a 36-88 overall record including 22-50 in SWAC play
» UAPB finished the 2024-25 season at 6-25, finishing 11th in the SWAC with a 3-15 league record
» The Golden Lions were picked to finish 11th in the SWAC Preseason Coaches Poll receiving one first-place vote
» UAPB returns three letterwinners from last season's team, including leading returning scorer senior forward Kyle Brown, who averaged 6.9 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting from the floor
» Among UAPB's 11 newcomers is senior guard Quion Williams, who led Abilene Christian in scoring a season ago at 13.7 PPG
SERIES HISTORY - UAPB
» Monday's game will not only be the first-ever meeting between UW and UAPB but also Washington's first-ever game against a team from the state of Arkansas
» The Huskies are 7-0 all-time against SWAC competition, most recently defeating Grambling State 86-38 at home in 2014
GRAND OPENING
» Washington is 94-31 all-time in season-openers
» The Huskies have won 24 of the last 30 openers, including 16 of the last 20 and seven of the last 10
» Monday's game will mark the fifth-straight season the Huskies have started the season at Alaska Airlines Arena
» In last season's season-opening game, Washington outlasted UC Davis, 79-73
» Five different Huskies reached double figure scoring
» Great Osobor stuffed the stat sheet to lead UW, posting 15 points, 17 rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks
» Zoom Diallo made his college debut with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting while leading Washington with four assists
» Franck Kepnang posted 10 points and swatted a team-high three shots
BAND'S BACK TOGETHER
» 2025-26 sees the return of a pair of former Huskies in cousins Wesley Yates III and Quincy Pondexter
» A top-40 recruit out of high school, Yates signed with UW ahead of the 2023-24 season, sitting out the campaign due to injury
» Yates, who played last season at USC, was one of the Big Ten's top scorers during conference play with averages of 17.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists
» Pondexter, a three-year assistant at UW, spent the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach for Yates and the Trojans, returning to his alma mater this summer
» An eight-year NBA veteran, Pondexter was an All-Pac-10 and Honorable Mention All-American for the Dawgs, ranking fifth all-time in scoring
» Pondexter led Washington to the 2009 Pac-10 Regular Season Championship and the 2010 Pac-10 Tournament Title, the latter of which he captured with fellow UW staffer Abdul Gaddy
NEW LOOK DAWGS
» Washington returns just two players from the 2024-25 roster in Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang
» Diallo appeared in all 31 games, including 22 starts and ranked second among all Huskies in points (11.2) and assists (3.1) per game during Big Ten play
» Kepnang missed a string of 17 games due to injury, starting the final eight contests of the season
PORTAL HOPPING
» UW revamped its roster with one of the most heralded transfer classes in the nation, ranking as the No. 3 class by On3.com
» Three of UW's transfers are ranked in the top-100 in the class, including two inside the top-30 in Wesley Yates III (24th, 247Sports) and Desmond Claude (29th, On3.com)
» Claude and Yates were the two leading scorers at Big Ten foe USC a season ago
» Quimari Peterson was ranked at No. 73 in the class by 247Sports
» Washington's transfer class was ranked No. 8 in the nation by HoopsHQ, while ESPN rated UW as the No. 5 team that added the most talent in the transfer portal
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
» The Dawgs also bolstered its squad with a nationally heralded freshman recruiting class
» UW's class was ranked as the 15th-best in the nation by 247Sports, the top class in the Big Ten
» UW's class was also ranked No. 21 by On3 and No. 25 by ESPN
» Per 247Sports, Washington added four four-star true freshmen
» Hannes Steinbach was rated as UW's top-signee with a rating of 97, but was not included in 247Sports' national player rankings
» JJ Mandaquit was ranked as the No. 74 player in the class, the No. 10 PG
» Jasir Rencher was ranked as the No. 90 player in the class, the No. 24 SF
» Courtland Muldrew was ranked as the No. 103 player in the class, the No. 18 SG
» Mady Traore was rated as a three-star, the No. 5 ranked JUCO player in the nation
CREAM OF THE CROP
» Washington is one of three teams in the nation featuring multiple players that were named their conference's player of the year, joining Big Ten rival Iowa and Kansas State
» Quimari Peterson reeled in Southern Conference Player of the Year Laurels, leading the conference in points, points per game, field goals, steals, steals per game and three-point field goal percentage
» The 6-1 guard was named a Finalist for the 2025 Lou Henson Award
» Peterson reached double-figure scoring in 31-of-32 games, including 15 20+ point outings
» Jacob Ognacevic was tabbed the ASUN Player of the Year after leading the league and ranking 19th in the nation in scoring at 20.0 points per game
» Ognacevic was efficient too, shooting 57.5 percent from the field, the 25th best average in the country
» The Wisconsin native also pulled down 8.0 rebounds per game, 4th in the ASUN
» Ognacevic will be sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury sustained during the preseason
TAKING THE WORLD STAGE
» A pair of freshman Huskies battled it out on the world stage this summer at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup as JJ Mandaquit and Hannes Steinbach battled it out in the Gold Medal game
» Mandaquit and Team USA captured the Gold, with the Hawaii native averaging 5.4 assists per game, 12.8 per 40 minutes
» In the Gold Medal game, Mandaquit led Team USA with six assists, adding seven points on 3-of-4 shooting
» The McDonald's All-America nominee shot 44.4 percent from the field, including 6-of-10 from behind the arc, knocking down all 13 free throw attempts
» Steinbach was one of the standouts of the tournament, leading Germany to Silver and earning All-Star Five honors
» The Würzburg native scored 17.4 points per game, the eight highest average of the tournament
» Steinbach pulled down 13.0 rebounds per game, second most at the World Cup
» Steinbach finished with four double doubles over seven games, including 19 points and 19 rebounds in the opener against Slovenia
» Against Serbia in the Round of 16, Steinbach dropped in seven field goals and nine free throws for 23 points, while reeling in 19 boards
» Additionally, sophomore transfer Christian Nitu played for Romania at 2025 FIBA U20 Eurobasket
DEUTSCH CONNECTION
» Hannes Steinbach is the latest in a German pipeline to Montlake
» Christian Welp, a native of Delmenhorst, West Germany, is UW's all-time leading scorer with 2,073 points
» Welp was a three-time All-Pac-10 selection ('85, '86, '87)
» Welp was named the 1984 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and 1986 Pac-10 Player of the Year
» Welp was drafted No. 16 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1987 NBA Draft
» Welp played three seasons between the 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors before seeing his NBA career cut short due to injury
» A teammate of Welp's for two seasons, Detlef Schrempf moved to Centralia, Washington, from Leverkusen, West Germany, for one season before joining the Huskies
» Schrempf ranks 18th all-time in scoring at Washington with 1,449 points
» Schrempf was a two-time First Team All-Pac-10 honoree ('84, '85)
» Schrempf was named a Third Team All-American by the NABC in 1985
» Schrempf was drafted No. 8 overall in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks
» Schrempf enjoyed a 17-year NBA career with the Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Seattle Supersonics and Portland Trailblazers
» Schrempf earned three NBA All-Star selections ('93, '95, '97), was tabbed Third Team All-NBA in 1995 and won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year Awards in 1991 and 1992
» Welp and Schrempf won back-to-back Pac-10 Championships with the Huskies in 1984 and 1985
» Schrempf was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 1995, while Welp followed in 2001
MONTLAKE MAGIC
» Over the last 20 seasons, Washington is 240-95 (.716) at Alaska Airlines Arena
» The Huskies have posted a winning record at home in 17 of those 20 seasons, registering double-digit home wins 16 times
» UW has posted at least a .600 home record in 13 of the past 20 seasons
» Washington has won at least 80% of its home games eight times over the last 20 seasons, including 90% or more three times
Meant for Montlake is officially live! Catch the first five episodes of this deep dive podcast into the serendipitous, intertwining stories that brought this season's Washington team together. Brought to you by the voice of the Huskies, Tony Castricone, and presented by Colburn Law, Meant for Montlake is available at GoHuskies.com/MeantForMontlake or wherever you get your podcasts.
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