Men's Basketball to Face UCLA, USC
Feb. 23, 1998
Thurs., Feb. 26 - UW vs. USC, 7:00 p.m. PST (No Television)
Sun., Mar. 1 - UW vs. #18 UCLA, 11:00 a.m. PST (CBS Television)
Both Games at Edmundson Pavilion (7,900); Seattle, Wash.
"Now we have to finish out what games we have and see what happens. I have no predictions, no crystal ball." Washington Coach Bob Bender
The Washington Huskies (15-9, 8-7) close out their regular-season home schedule this week, hosting a pair of games against conference rivals from Los Angeles. The final three games are crucial for the Huskies who are hoping to halt a two-game losing streak and revive their NCAA Tournament aspirations. Washington is in pursuit of its first NCAA berth in 12 years. The Huskies, who been absent from the NCAA Tournament longer than any Pac-10 school, are in fourth place in the standings. Washington entertains USC (7-17, 3-11) on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. The UW won the first meeting this year, a 101-86 decision on Jan. 29 in Los Angeles, and are in position to sweep the season series from the Trojans for the second time in the last three years. The 18th-ranked UCLA Bruins (20-6, 10-4) visit Seattle on Sunday, March 1 at 11 a.m. Washington was swept last week in the Bay Area, losing at No. 10 Stanford (90-73) and California (84-67). Washington won its last two home games, sweeping Oregon State and Oregon. The UW has a 10-2 home record this year and has won 22 of its last 27 games at Edmundson Pavilion.
Steady Improvement: Washington's overall and Pac-10 records have improved each of the previous four seasons under Coach Bob Bender.
Year Overall Pac-10 (Place) Non-Conf. Year Overall Pac-10 (Place) Non-Conf. 1994 5-22 3-15 (9th) 2-7 1996 16-12 9-9 (5th, tie) 7-2 1995 10-17 6-12 (7th, tie) 4-5 1997 17-11 10-8 (6th) 7-2
Television / Radio: There is no television scheduled for Thursday's game with USC. Sunday's game against UCLA will be televised live at 11 a.m. on CBS. Ted Robinson and Marques Johnson call the action. All Washington men's basketball games are broadcast live on KOMO Radio (AM 1000) and its affiliates by play-by-play announcer Bob Rondeau. The radio broadcasts can be accessed via the internet at: http://www.audionet.com/schools/washington/
Probable Husky Starting Lineup: Washington Huskies (15-9, 8-7 in Pacific-10 Conference)Pos.-No. Name Hgt. Wgt.Yr. Hometown Points Rebs. F -- 22 Patrick Femerling 7-1 255 Jr. Dusseldorf, Germany 6.1 6.6 C -- 50 Todd MacCulloch 7-0 280 Jr. Winnipeg, Manitoba 18.7 9.7 G -- 4 Deon Luton 6-4 200 So. Del City, Okla. 15.2 2.3 G -- 5 Jan Wooten 5-10 185 Sr. Elizabeth, N.J. 5.6 1.9 G -- 24 Donald Watts 6-4 200 Jr. Kirkland, Wash. 17.1 3.9
Notable: Todd MacCulloch (18.7), Donald Watts (17.1) and Deon Luton (15.2) account for 65-percent (51.0) of the team's offense (78.3) and are the second-highest scoring trio in Husky history, trailing only the 1972 group of Steve Hawes (21.7), Charles Dudley (16.5) and Louie Nelson (15.1) who averaged 53.3 points . . . Washington's current 78.3-point scoring pace is the school's highest since the 1976 squad averaged 80.2 points per game . . . The average margin of Husky victories this season is 9.6 points while their defeats average 16.0 points.
If Washington Wins . . .- The UW evens the all-time series with USC at 54-54.
- The Huskies defeat USC for the sixth time in seven meetings and sweep the season series for the second time in the last three years.
- The UW reaches the 16-victory plateau for the third consecutive season.
The USC Series:> USC has a slim 54-53 lead in the all-time series that began in 1925.
> The two teams split the season series last year, each winning on its own home court. USC won 77-58 on Jan. 2, 1997 and the UW won 94-84 on March 8.
> The Huskies won five of the last six meetings, including a 101-86 decision on Jan. 29, 1998 in Los Angeles.
> Washington has a 30-23 advantage over USC in Seattle, including wins in the Trojans' last three visits to Edmundson Pavilion.
> Third-year USC Coach Henry Bibby has a 1-3 record against Washington.
> Fifth-year Washington Coach Bob Bender has a 6-3 record against USC.
The Last Meeting: Washington 101, USC 86 (Jan. 29, 1998; Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Deon Luton scored 22 of his 31 points in the first half and Donald Watts tallied all of his 22 points in the second half, lifting Washington to a 101-86 victory over USC at the Sports Arena. The Huskies posted the 21st 100-point game in school history, their first in 153 games dating back to a 130-67 win over Chico State on Dec. 1, 1992. Luton hit six of his school-record seven 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Huskies to a team single-game record 14 treys. Washington took control early as Luton hit four straight 3-pointers in the opening five minutes. The Huskies extended a 39-35 halftime edge to 31 points with a 37-10 run. The Trojans closed to within 10 points inside the final minute. Adam Spanich had 35 points to lead USC which also got 17 from Kevin Augustine and 13 from Greg Lakey. Spanich converted seven of the Trojans' eight 3-pointers. Todd MacCulloch registered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies who outshot USC 54 percent (33-61) to 38 percent (27-72).
Six-Game Shooting Slump: February has been a difficult month for the Huskies and much of their 2-4 record can be attributed to shooting woes. Following their final game of January, which includes the first 18 games of the season, Washington was shooting 49.5 percent from the field. The UW topped the 50-percent plateau in their final four games of January, averaging 53 percent from the field. The Huskies failed to shoot 50 percent in any of six February outings and were held below 40 percent during their last two games. During February, the Huskies are shooting only 43.1 percent (154-357). Washington's is converting only 29 percent of its 3-pointers during February, compared with 36 percent through January.
Hot Shots: Despite their recent shooting woes, the Huskies are converting 47,8 percent of their shots as a team with four players shooting better than 47 percent. Todd MacCulloch, who led the nation last season at 67.6 percent, leads the current squad at 65.5 percent followed by Thalo Green (52.2), Donald Watts (47.4) and Patrick Femerling (47.0). Washington was the nation's seventh-most improved field goal shooting squad in 1997, converting 48.3-percent of its shots as a unit to rank second in the Pac-10. That figure was a 4.72% improvement from the 1996 season. The 1996 Huskies ranked seventh among Pac-10 teams (43.6 percent) after ranking last in 1995 (41.7) and 1994 (40.8). Last year's team shot better than any UW unit since 1989 (49.2%). The Huskies shot better than 50 percent during 11 games last year, one more than in Bob Bender's first three UW seasons combined. Washington won nine of 10 games this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
Court Report: The Huskies' defeat at California on Saturday marked the first time they lost this season when they held the lead at halftime. Washington now has an 11-1 record in games they led at halftime. . . Stanford's Kris Weems scored 32 points on Thursday, becoming the sixth opponent to reach the 30-point plateau against the Huskies this season . . . Donald Watts averages 17.1 points per game, nearly twice his scoring average of 8.9 points last season . . . Deon Luton has accounted for nearly half of the team's 3-pointers, hitting 59 of Washington's 120 treys . . . Despite losing their last five road contests, the Huskies have matched last year's total of five road victories, including three in Pac-10 play. The last time a Husky team posted more road wins was in 1986 with six Pac-10 and nine overall triumphs . . . Todd MacCulloch shoots 68 percent, averaging 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds during road games and 63 percent, 16.8 points and 8.8 boards at home . . . Patrick Femerling converted 15 of his 18 free throw attempts during the last four games, including a string of 12 consecutive successful shots. Prior to the last four games, Femerling was shooting only 54 percent (29-54) from the line . . . Donald Watts leads the team with 21 double-digit point performances while Deon Luton and Todd MacCulloch have 20 apiece . . . Fifth-year Coach Bob Bender ranks fourth among all-time Washington coaches with 63 victories. On Feb. 12 he posted his 62nd win and moved past Andy Russo (1986-89) into the No. 4 spot. Bender's overall Husky record is 63-71 (.470). He will be in the No. 4 spot for a long time as the third position is held by TippyDye (1951-59) who recorded 156 victories . . . Donald Watts, who never had a 20-point game in two previous seasons, leads the Huskies in scoring during Pac-10 games with an 18.9-point average. Watts reached the 20-point plateau a team-leading 11 times.
Shootin' Luton: Sophomore Deon Luton has accounted for nearly half (59-of-120) of Washington's 3-pointers. Luton hit a school single-game record seven 3-pointers at USC on Jan. 29, eclipsing the standard of six established by Greg Hill in 1986. He already ranks second among all-time Huskies with 85 career 3-pointers. The school career record is 119 set by Eldridge Recasner (1987-90). Luton has 59 treys this year and is approaching the Washington single-season record of 68 established by Greg Hill in 1987. He has six 20-point performances, including a career-high 31-point outburst at USC. Luton ranks third on the team with 62 assists, doubling his total of 31 assists from last season. He has 20 double-figure games and led all Washington scorers during five games this season.
Streak Shooter: Deon Luton has proven to be a streaky shooter who is currently battling somewhat of a slump. His season can be summarized in three sections (see chart below), including a stellar nine-game stretch during the middle of the season in which he averaged 20.2 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point range.
Period (UW Record) Points (Average) Field Goal Percent 3-Pointers (Average) 3-Point Percent
First 8 Games (6-2) 11.1 (89) 27% (28-104) 2.0 (16) 30% (16-53)
Middle 9 Games (7-2) 20.2 (182) 50% (69-137) 3.4 (31) 47% (31-66)
Last 7 Games (2-5) 13.3 (93) 34% (32-94) 1.7 (12) 25% (12-48)
Wonderful Watts: Junior Donald Watts has drastically raised his level of play, ranking second on the team with 17.1 points per game. That figure has nearly doubled last season's average of 8.9 points. He reached 20-point plateau on 11 occasions after entering the season with a career-high of 19 points. Watts is shooting 47.4 percent from the field (128-270) after hitting 22- and 36-percent, respectively during his first two years. Watts leads all Washington scorers during Pac-10 play with an 18.9-point average. He ranks second among Pac-10 players with 9.1 free throw attempts per game in conference outings, including a 16-for-20 effort on Feb. 12 against Oregon State. Watts electrified Husky home crowds this season with his late-game heroics. He swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer with two opponents closely guarding him to force overtime against Saint Mary's. In the extra session, Watts hit the game-winning trey from the top of the key with 28.3 seconds remaining in the regular-season opener. He has twice tallied a career-high 28 points, against Arizona and California. In the exhibition opener against Brewster Packing, Watts lifted Washington to an 88-87 victory with a 3-pointer as time expired. Watts leads the team with 80 assists. His 411 total points are 87 more than the 324 he scored in his first two seasons combined.
Players of the Week: Washington players were honored on three occasions this year as Pac-10 Player of the Week for the first time ever. Junior guard Donald Watts garnered a Pac-10 Player of the Week award for the first time on Feb. 16 after combining for 49 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals in Washington's home sweep of the Oregon schools. Todd MacCulloch was twice named Player of the Week, on Dec. 1 and Jan. 19. MacCulloch joins Chris Welp as the only Huskies honored twice in the same season by the conference. Welp, who garnered three career Pac-10 weekly awards, won twice in 1986. Mark Sanford and Detlef Schrempf join MacCulloch and Welp as the only other Huskies to win weekly conference honors twice during their career.
Mistaken Identity: Todd MacCulloch worked as a volunteer at the Final Four in Seattle in April of 1995 and had autograph requests from spectators who mistook him for former 7-foot Oklahoma State center Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. "I'd take it as a compliment if my game is ever compared to his," MacCulloch remarked during the 1995 Final Four.
Century Club: Todd MacCulloch has 1,093 career points to rank No. 18among all-time Huskies. On Feb. 5 at Arizona, he scored his 1000th point to become the 25th player in Washington history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Climbing the Charts: Todd MacCulloch recorded his fifth career 30-point game on Jan. 15 with 31 points against Oregon. Only three other players have had as many as five 30-point performances during a Washington career. 30-Point Leaders: 1-Bob Houbregs (1951-53) 13; 2-Steve Hawes (1970-72) 6; 3 (tie)-Todd MacCulloch and Louie Nelson (1971-73) 5.
Provincial Playboy: A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada, Todd MacCulloch probably never dreamed his travels in the United States would take him to Playboy magazine headquarters in Chicago. He was selected as a 1998 Playboy All-American and joined nine other players and Coach Lute Olson in a photo shoot for the December 1997 issue. The other Playboy All-Americans are: Mike Bibby (Arizona), Zendon Hamilton (St. John's), Drew Hansen (Utah, scholar/athlete), Raef LaFrentz (Kansas), B.J. McKie (South Carolina), Paul Pierce (Kansas), Miles Simon (Arizona), Kenny Thomas (New Mexico) and Robert Traylor (Michigan). "It's kind of scary. You don't buy that magazine to look at someone like me," MacCulloch exclaimed of his apperance in Playboy. Featured on the cover was another Canuck, the 1995 Miss Canada.
Big Mac: Junior 7-foot center Todd MacCulloch led the nation in field goal shooting last season at 67.6 percent (163-241). He currently ranks among the top five nationally, shooting 65.5 percent (180-of-275) from the field. MacCulloch outplayed Brad "Big Continent" Millard of Saint Mary's in the season opener, amassing 20 points and 14 rebounds to 11 points and six boards for Millard. MacCulloch had a career-best 38 points last year at James Madison, the eighth-highest scoring game in Husky history and the most since Chris Welp had 40 against UCLA in 1986. He hit the game-winning layup as time expired at Portland this year to cap a 33-point performance. Against Arizona State on Jan. 8, MacCulloch amassed 30 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. He had 31 points and 15 rebounds at Oregon. That was MacCulloch's third 30-point outing this season. He is one of only three players to register two 20-rebound performances during a Washington career. He has 21career double-doubles with 12 of them coming this season. MacCulloch was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week on Dec. 1 and Jan. 19. He is the fourth Husky to earn multiple Pac-10 weekly honors. MacCulloch joins Chris Welp as the only Huskies honored twice in the same season by the conference. Welp, who garnered three career Pac-10 weekly awards, won twice in 1986.
Dan the Man: Freshman point guard Dan Dickau is the third point guard in the Washington rotation. Lately, he has been bidding for more playing time after hitting 9-of-13 shots from 3-point range over the last seven games. Dickau tallied 37 of his 86 points during the last seven games, including 10 against eighth-ranked UCLA and a career-high 12 at No. 4 Arizona. He had 11 points in the Huskies' first meeting with Arizona. All three of Dickau's double-figure scoring games came against top-10 ranked opponents. He hit 4-of-6 shots from 3-point range Feb. 5 at Arizona after entering the game shooting 5-of-12 on treys. He is averaging 5.1 points on 45-percent shooting in conference play, improving from 2.2 points on 36-percent shooting in non-conference games. Dickau is an avid fan of former NBA standout "Pistol" Pete Maravich. He collects memorablilia and owns every Maravich basketball card.
Last Game: California 84, Washington 67 (Feb. 21, 1998; Oakland, Calif.) -- Geno Carlisle and Thomas Kilgore combined for 41 points and limited Washington's guards defensively as California registered an 84-67 win at the New Arena in Oakland. Washington lost its fifth consecutive road game and fell to the Golden Bears for the ninth time in the last 11 meetings. The Huskies rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit, taking a 35-34 halftime advantage on the strength of a 20-7 surge. The UW had won all 11 previous games when leading at halftime. Todd MacCulloch led Washington with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He gave the UW its final lead at 54-53 on a layup with 9:40 left in the game. California responded with a 16-2 run over the next five minutes to take control. Carlisle scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half. Kilgore finished with 18 points and Sean Marks added 15. Donald Watts, recently named Pac-10 Player of the Week, was limited to six points after scoring 28 in the first meeting with Cal. Watts missed all nine field goal tries. The Huskies shot only 2-of-15 from 3-point range. Deon Luton scored 11 points for Washington which converted only 39 percent of its field goals (22-56).
Femerling's Foreign Tour: Junior forward Patrick Femerling missed four early-season games while playing with the German National Team. The 7-foot-1 center/forward registered eight points, six rebounds and four blocks in the opener against Saint Mary's before immediately leaving en route to Dusseldorf, Germany. He participated for the Germans in three qualifying games for the 1999 European Championships. The European Championhips are a critical part of Germany's process to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Femerling previously participated with the German Nationals in exhibition games during the summer of 1996 against Lithuania and Yugoslavia. He was joined on the German National Team by 7-foot center Chris Welp who played at Washington from 1984 to 1987 and amassed a school-record 2,073 career points. The German nationals defeated Bulgaria and Belgium, but lost to Slovenia. Femerling rejoined the team Dec. 7 and scored 13 points with five rebounds at Brigham Young on Dec. 9. He was supposed to return for the Dec. 6 game at Oklahoma State, but a concussion suffered in the final game for Germany prevented him from making his scheduled flight from Europe. Femerling averages 6.1 points per game on 47-percent shooting for the Huskies. He ranks second on the team, averaging 6.6 rebounds.
This is the Army Mr. Femerling: During the summer of 1996, Patrick Femerling performed his mandatory military service as a German citizen. He spent a 10-week tour of duty with the German Army. Fermerling briefly went through manuevers in his sneakers because no size-16 army boots were available.
Husky Happenings: Washington defeated four teams that played in last year's NCAA Tournament with wins over Saint Mary's, Old Dominion, California and USC . . . The Huskies have used only two different starting lineups all season and the current lineup has started the last 18 games . . . Todd MacCulloch (11), Donald Watts (8) and Deon Luton (5) are the only players to lead the Huskies in scoring during a game this season . . . The Huskies have a 13-0 record this season in games when they post a better field goal percentage than the opposition. Last year's Washington team was 15-0 when outshooting opponents. The Huskies won the last 30 games in which their field goal percentage was superior, dating to a loss at Stanford on Feb. 24, 1996 . . . The UW has a 2-9 record when it is outshot . . . Todd MacCulloch recently moved into second place on the Washington career blocked shots list. His total of 89 career blocks is well shy of the school standard of 186 established by Chris Welp (1984-87) . . . Patrick Femerling is ranks fourth on the UW career blocks list with a total of 76 rejections.
Washington Versus Ranked Foes:> UCLA is the sixth ranked opponent this season for the Huskies who are 0-5 in those games. All five previous games were against teams ranked in the Top-10 at the time of the game. Washington lost at No. 4 Arizona (112-81), at No. 8 UCLA (105-94), vs. No. 5 Stanford (74-72), vs. No. 5 Arizona (110-91) and at No. 10 Stanford (93-70).
> The UW lost its last six meetings with ranked foes, last winning 75-61 over No. 20 Stanford on Feb. 22, 1997 in Seattle.
The UCLA Series:> The Bruins swept the last four season series against Washington. They are in position for a fifth sweep after winning 105-94 on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles.
> UCLA owns a 77-25 series lead and won the last 10 meetings. The Bruins won 21 of the last 23 games with the UW.
> UCLA averaged 84.3 points on 55.5-percent shooting (325-586) during its current 10-game winning streak over the UW. The Bruins topped the 50-percent plateau in nine of the last 10 games and twice shot better than 62 percent.
> UCLA has a 28-20 record and won the last four meetings in Seattle.
> Second-year UCLA Coach Steve Lavin has a 3-0 record against Washington.
> UCLA is the only Pac-10 team that fifth-year Washington Coach Bob Bender has not defeated, going 0-9 against the Bruins. Bender's Huskies have defeated every other conference foe at least twice (see list below).
Washington's Record vs. Pac-10 Foes Under Fifth-Year Coach Bob Bender:Arizona 3-7 Oregon 4-6 UCLA 0-9
Arizona State 4-6 Oregon State 8-2 USC 6-3
California 2-8 Stanford 2-8 Washington State 5-4
Last Meeting: UCLA 105, Washington 94 (Jan. 31, 1998; Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Kris Johnson scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half during which eighth-ranked UCLA took advantage of Washington center Todd MacCulloch's absence en route to a 105-94 victory at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins defeated Washington for the 10th straight time and the 12th time at home. MacCulloch made all five of his first-half shots before drawing his second foul at 14:52 with UCLA leading 13-11. He sat out the rest of the half and UCLA immediately went on a 25-9 runon its way to a 52-34 halftime advantage. The Bruins shot 64 percent (23-36) in the first half, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. The margin grew to as many as 30 points at 82-52 with 11:12 left in the game before the Huskies rallied to cut the lead to seven on three occassions. Washington closed to within 97-90 on a jumper by Michael Johnson with 1:38 remaining, but UCLA converted 6-of-8 free throws to secure the win. MacCulloch finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Huskies outscored UCLA 67-62 during the 23 minutes he played. The Bruins posted a 43-27 scoring margin over the 17 minutes MacCulloch was on the bench. Deon Luton tallied 18 points and Donald Wats added 15 for the Huskies. Toby Bailey had 22 points for UCLA hich also got 17 from Baron Davis and 16 from both J.R. Henderson and Jelani McCoy.
Last Meeting in Seattle: UCLA 87, Washington 85 (March 6, 1997; Seattle, Wash.) -- Charles O'Bannon scored 19 of his career-high 31 points in the second half, rallying ninth-ranked UCLA to an 87-85 victory over Washington at Edmundson Pavilion. The Bruins shot 57 percent for the game on 36-of-63 shooting from the field. O'Bannon connected on 13-of-17 shot attempts. The Huskies shot 65 percent (33-68) in the first half en route to a 52-44 halftime advantage. They led by as many as 16 points in the first half. The lead was 47-31 before UCLA closed the half with a 13-5 run, including six points from O'Bannon. The Bruins took the lead for good on a layin by J.R. Henderson with 3:12 left in the game. Charles O'Bannon followed with a short jumper at 1:42 to push the margin to 81-78. UCLA converted 6-of-8 free throws inside the final 30 seconds to secure the victory. Jamie Booker paced Washington with 27 points. Todd MacCulloch added 18 points, on 8-for-10 shooting, and Mark Sanford had 14. Patrick Femerling led a 34-31 Husky rebound advantage with 10 boards. Toby Bailey scored 18 points and nine assists for the Bruins.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Following are summaries of the three high school seniors who signed letters of intent to attend Washington next year.
Doug Wrenn--6-7 forward, Seattle, Wash. (O'Dea HS)
Rated among the national top-20 by numerous publications . . . Helped O'Dea to the 1997 Washington state title, averaging 17 points per game . . . Ranked No. 4 in Best in the West poll.
Senque Carey--6-4 guard, Redwood City, Calif. (St. Francis HS)
Averaged 26 points, 12.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game as a junior . . . Helped St. Francis to a 26-3 record . . . Ranked 96th nationally, No. 20 among point guards by Clark Francis in Hoop Scoop.
Grant Leep--6-7 forward, Mount Vernon, Wash. (Mount Vernon HS)
Averaged 18.2 points and 8.5 points as a junior, helping Mount Vernon to state runner-up finish . . . Honorable mention Street & Smith's All-American.
Magnificent MacCulloch
Husky junior Todd "Big Mac" MacCulloch led the nation in field goal accuracy last year (67.6%) and was named a 1998 Playboy All-American.
He amassed 33 points and had the game-winning basket at the buzzer at Portland. He totalled 30 points (and 21 rebounds) against Arizona State, his fourth career 30-point effort. MacCulloch outplayed Saint Mary's 7-foot-3, 345-pound Brad "Big Continent" Millard in the 1998 season opener. He amassed 20 points (on 8-of-13 shooting) and 14 rebounds while limiting Millard to 11 points (4-of-13) and six rebounds.
MacCulloch has 21 career double-doubles, including five of the last eight games. He averages 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds this year.
