Another Top-10 Foe On The Horizon As Huskies Visit No. 9 Illinois Thursday

Thursday, January 29

Champaign, Ill.

6:00 p.m. PT

University of Washington

Illinois

Jacob Ognacevic attempts a three pointer vs. Oregon

Another Top-10 Foe On The Horizon As Huskies Visit No. 9 Illinois Thursday

January 28, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Taking on its fifth top-12 opponent in the last seven games, and its third on the road, Washington makes way for the Land of Lincoln on Thursday, taking on No. 9 Illinois Thursday Night at State Farm Center.

Tipoff for Thursday's game is set for 6:00 p.m. PT, airing on FS1. Tony Castricone and Jason Hamilton will have the call on your radio dial on 950 KJR-AM. Full links to live coverage are available on the schedule page at GoHuskies.com.

OPENING TIPS
» Thursday's game will be the second-ever visit to Champaign for Washington
» Ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, Illinois will be the fifth top-12 ranked team UW has faced in the last eight games
» UW is seeking its highest ranked road win since defeating No. 2 Kansas in 2017
» The Huskies are coming off of a 72-57 home victory over Oregon
» It was UW's largest margin of victory in a league game since beating UCLA by 17 in 2024
» Franck Kepnang and Hannes Steinbach became the first UW teammates to record a double double in the same game since 2017
» Washington knocked down at least 10 three pointers for the third time all season and the first since Dec. 13
» Jacob Ognacevic and Wesley Yates III combined for seven of those makes behind the arc, missing just once each
» Washington matched its season-high with 18 offensive rebounds en route to 45 total
» Holding the Ducks to a season-low 23 boards, UW controlled the rebound battle by a season-best 28 rebounds

ABOUT ILLINOIS
» Illinois is in its ninth season under the direction of head coach Brad Underwood
» Underwood has led the Fighting Illini to five consecutive NCAA Tournament bids
» Illinois is one of four schools nationally with at least six consecutive 20-win regular seasons
» Ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, Illinois enters Thursday's game with a 17-3 overall record, tied for second in the Big Ten with an 8-1 league record
» The Fighting Illini have won nine straight games, including an 88-82 road victory over then No. 4 Purdue on Saturday
» Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally with an 11.2 rebounding margin, leading the conference averaging 13.40 offensive boards per game
» The Fighting Illini own the Big Ten's second-best scoring offense, averaging 85.5 points per game, while knocking down 11.1 three pointers per game to lead the league and rank 12th nationally
» Illinois ranks third nationally with a B1G-best 79.4 free throw percentage
» The Fighting Illini are led offensively by freshman guard Keaton Wagler at 17.5 PPG
» Wagler is coming off of a 46-point performance at Purdue, knocking down nine threes
» Freshman forward David Mirkovic ranks fifth in the Big Ten at 8.4 rebounds per game
» Junior center Zvonimir Ivisic is averaging 2.35 blocks per game, second best in the B1G

SERIES HISTORY - ILLINOIS
» Washington owns a narrow 4-3 lead in the all-time series with Illinois
» UW has visited Champaign just once, a 76-55 Illinois win in 1991
» Illinois was the first college opponent UW ever faced at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in 1927

DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE
» Against Oregon, Franck Kepnang and Hannes Steinbach became the first Husky teammates to record a double double in the same game since Nahziah Carter and Isaiah Stewart in against Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2019
» It was the second double double of the season for Kepnang, the first time in the center's six-year career with multiple in the same season

TOUGH SLEDDING
» Ranked No. 9, Illinois will be Washington's fifth top-12 AP ranked opponent since Jan. 7
» It will be the first time a team has faced five different teams ranked inside the top-12 in a 25-day span since Marquette during the 2010-11 season
» A win on Thursday would give UW its highest-ranked road win since the 2017-18 season, when the Huskies defeated No. 2 Kansas 74-65 in Kansas City
» Washington has not defeated a top-10 ranked opponent in its home gym since defeating No. 9 Kansas 74-64 in 1974

LIKE CLOCKWORK
» Hannes Steinbach leads the Big Ten 12 double doubles in 17 career games and is one of seven players nationally with 12 or more in 2025-26, one of three at a Power 5 school
» Steinbach is tied with Texas Tech's JT Toppin for the most games with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds against Power Five opposition with five
» Steinbach is three double doubles away from breaking Isaiah Stewart's record of 14 set in 2019-20
» Steinbach is the first Husky to record a double double in five straight games since Jon Brockman rattled off seven in a row in 2007-08
» Steinbach is the first Husky freshman to record at least one double double since Isaiah Stewart in 2019-20
» If current averages hold, the German would post the 19th season since 1947-48 in which a Husky averaged a double double, the first ever by a freshman

DIALLO'S DYNAMIC DECEMBER
» In December, Zoom Diallo posted averages of 16.0 points and 4.0 assists per game
» The Tacoma native was nearly perfect from the charity stripe during the month, knocking down 14-of-15 attempts
» Diallo's break out performance came at month's end, setting new career highs of 24 points and seven assists vs. Utah

HISTORIC PACE
» Hannes Steinbach is fourth in the nation in rebounding at 11.2 RPG
» The German international would be the first Husky freshman in history to average double-digit rebounds in a season

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
» UW is shooting 48.5% in the second half and OT, up from 42.3% in the first half
» The difference is even greater behind the arc, with UW shooting 36.6% in the second half and OT and 25.4% in the first half

BLOCK PARTY
» Franck Kepnang is third in the Big Ten and ranks 14th nationally with 46 blocks, sitting third and 19th, respectively, at 2.30 BPG
» Kepnang has blocked multiple shots 45 times in his career
» Kepnang has blocked three or more shots eight times this season
» Kepnang has failed to block at least one shot just 24 times in 104 career games, including just 8-of-52 games as a Husky

MASH UNIT
» Eight different UW players have combined to miss 70 games through injury
» Washington has implemented 10 different starting lineups this season

TRIPLE THREAT
» After making six total three pointers during his freshman season, Zoom Diallo has made 15 threes through 20 games in 2025-26
» Diallo shot 18.2% from behind the arc a year ago, improving to 32.6% this season
» Diallo is also shooting 89.2% from the charity stripe, up from 71.9% a year ago

BREAK OUT THE WINDEX
» The Huskies have outrebounded 13 of their first 20 opponents this season, though just two of its last eight
» UW has grabbed at least five more boards than its opponent 11 times, owning the rebound battle by double digits seven times
» UW ranks fourth in the Big Ten in rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the league in offensive rebounds per game
» Hannes Steinbach (11.2) and Franck Kepnang (7.0) rank first and 12th in the Big Ten in average rebounding, respectively

LETTING IT FLY
» Quimari Peterson is seventh in the Big Ten with 130 total three point attempts
» Peterson has knocked down at least three threes eight times
» As a team, UW has attempted at least 20 threes in 14-of-20 games
» The Huskies have launched 25 three pointers five times this season, a mark reached just twice during the entire 2024-25 season
» UW has failed to shoot above 30 percent from three in eight of the last 12 games, but posted its second-best three point percentage of the season vs. Oregon (47.6)

ROOKIE RECOGNITION
» Hannes Steinbach pulled in his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week nod in Week 8 after posting three-straight 20+ point double doubles against San Diego, Utah and Indiana
» Averaging 26.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists against UCLA and USC, Steinbach also received the honor for Week 5
» Steinbach is UW's first-ever player to earn a Big Ten weekly award and the first conference weekly award winner for UW since Sahvir Wheeler was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Dec. 18, 2023
» Steinbach was also named the CBS Sports/USBWA National Freshman of the Week, Andy Katz's Freshman of the Week and Dick Vitale's weekly Diaper Dandy for his efforts against the Bruins and Trojans

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
» Trailing No. 24 USC by 18 points at the break, Washington overcame its largest halftime deficit in recorded history, defeating the Trojans 84-76 in Los Angeles
» The win snapped an 11-game losing streak to USC
» UW shot 58.6% from the field in the second half, holding the Trojans to 25.0%
» UW made 5-of-8 threes in the second half after making just 1-of-12 in the first
» UW closed the game on a 27-9 run, making seven of its final eight field goal attempts
» Hannes Steinbach led the way for UW with his fifth-straight double double, posting 24 points and 16 rebounds
» Former Trojan Desmond Claude scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half
» USC transfer Wesley Yates finished with 16 points
» Franck Kepnang posted five blocks, one shy of his season and career high

OUR STATE
» Washington picked up its third straight win over Washington State on Friday, defeating the Cougars 81-69 for a second consecutive win in Pullman
» UW improved to 11-2 in its last 13 games against in-state teams during non-conference play
» Wesley Yates III scored 26 points, the most by a Husky this season
» Yates knocked down four three pointers, tying the season-high for UW, and pulled down a career-high seven rebounds
» Making his first start of 2025-26, Zoom Diallo tied his career-high with 20 points
» Hannes Steinbach secured his third straight double double, grabbing 13 rebounds and adding 14 points

STATEMENT START
» Washington opened the 2025-26 season with a 94-50 victory over UAPB
» It was UW's first 40+ point victory since 2017, when the Huskies defeated Bethune-Cookman by 51, 106-55
» The victory marked Washington's first 40+ point win in a season opener since 2007 and UW's 44-point margin of victory was its largest in an opener since defeating Morgan State 118-51 (67 points) on Nov. 13, 2005
» Monday's win was UW's fourth-straight to open a season
» A year after opening the season with just two makes from three, the Huskies knocked down 10 makes from behind the arc, led by four from Quimari Peterson
» UW held UAPB to a .254 field goal percentage, the worst shooting performance by a Husky opponent since USC shot .200 from the field on Jan. 2, 2020
» True freshman Hannes Steinbach led the Huskies in his college debut with 21 on 9-of-11 shooting, adding seven rebounds
» In his first-ever college start, Bryson Tucker posted his first career double double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds
» Point guard JJ Mandaquit dished out eight assists in his college debut

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

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
» Washington recently announced that Welp and Schrempf's jersey numbers will be retired on Jan. 11 and Feb. 28, respectively

MONTLAKE MAGIC
» Over the last 20 seasons, Washington is 246-98 (.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

SPRINKLE ON TOP
» Danny Sprinkle has led his team to 25 or more wins in three of the last four seasons, guiding three-consecutive teams to NCAA Tournament appearances between Utah State and Montana State
» Sprinkle has twice been named his conferences coach of the year, earning the 2023-24 honor from the Mountain West and 2021-22 award from the Big Sky
» Sprinkle led Utah State to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2001
» Montana State's ninth-leading scorer all-time, Sprinkle led his alma mater to its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1996 (2022 & 2023)
» An MSU Hall of Fame inductee in 2021, Sprinkle led the Bobcats to consecutive 25+ win seasons for the first time since 1927-29

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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