UW Men's Basketball Preview: Mount St. Mary's
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UW vs. Mount St. Mary’s 7:30 p.m. PT | Thursday, November 19, 2015
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Kevin Calabro & Eldridge Recasner)
Radio: KOMO 1000AM & FM 97.7 (Bob Rondeau & Jason Hamilton)
All-Time vs. Mount St. Mary’s: First Meeting
UW Starts Two-Game Home Stand Thurs.
The Huskies return home for their only two contests at Alaska Airlines Arena in November starting with Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday, Nov. 19. The squads will face off at 7:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks with Kevin Calabro and Eldridge Recasner on the call. Additionally, fans can tune into KOMO 1000AM/FM 97.7 to hear Bob Rondeau and Jason Hamilton call the action. This is the first meeting between the two programs.
The Coach
Head Coach Lorenzo Romar, in his 14th year at Washington, has amassed a 271-159 (.630) during his time in Seattle and an overall mark of 364-247 (.596) in 19 seasons. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA tournament six times including three Sweet 16 appearances.
Quick Hitters
• Washington is 12-1 in home openers under Lorenzo Romar with its only loss coming against Montana State in 2002-03 ... UW has won 12-straight home openers
• UW’s 62 rebounds against Texas were its most in a game since the Dawgs pulled down 69 against McNeese St. on Nov. 13, 2010 and the second most by a Romar-coached UW team
• Malik Dime is the third player under Romar to post a double-double in his UW debut joining Jon Brockman and Aziz N’Diaye, who also hails from Dakar, Senegal
• Senior team captain Andrew Andrews moved into 29th all-time in scoring at Washington after scoring 23 against Texas to move to 1,123 career points ... additionally, he passed current assistant Will Conroy (1,113)
• Washington’s roster is the youngest in the Pac-12 and features the most players under the age of 20 (nine) and 19 (4)
• With 80 percent of the team listed as freshmen or sophomores, Washington ties with Wyoming for the fifth youngest roster of the 345 NCAA Division I squads.
• Andrews 23-point outing against Texas was the ninth of his career and the fourth over his last seven games dating back to last season ... additionally he has scored at least 14 points in 12-straight games
• Washington’s backcourt hails solely from the Pacific Northwest with Andrews, Murray, Crisp, Green, Dorsey and Thybulle all growing up in either Washington or Oregon (Andrews - Portland).
•Every player who recorded at least 2 minutes vs. Texas, pulled down at least one rebound, additionally, Dejounte Murray led all guards with 10 boards.
• Washington welcomes the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation (Scout.com) to the court this year which includes guard Dejounte Murray, forward Marquese Chriss, forward Noah Dickerson, forward Matisse Thybulle, forward Dominic Green, guard David Crisp, forward Malik Dime and forward Devenir Duruisseau. Washington is also the only school nationally with five Top 100 signees (Scout.com)
• The UW front court will have an entirely new look to it and will feature 6-9 freshman Marquese Chriss, ranked No. 49 in the class of 2015, freshman Noah Dickerson (6-8), ranked 52nd, along with junior college transfer Malik Dime (6-10) who helped Indian Hills CC advance to back-to-back NJCAA Championship game appearances
UW vs. Texas Notes
Team
-Washington posted the second most rebounds in the Romar era with 62
-Every player who recorded more than 2 minutes pulled down at least one rebound
-The Dawgs started four freshman for the first time under Romar
-UW had eight blocks, its most since nine against Tulane, Dec. 22, 2014
Individual
- Senior Andrew Andrews led the Dawgs with his ninth career 20+ scoring effort posting 23 points
- Malik Dime recorded his first double-double off the bench with 14 rebounds and 10 points
- Dejounte Murray registered 10 rebounds leading all guards
-Despite playing with four fouls, Marquese Chriss finished with 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field to go along with two blocks and one steal in 18 minutes
Dime’s Double Double
Malik Dime’s double double in his debut not only helped the Huskies earn the win over Texas in China but it also put him in rare company in regards to former UW players. He is one of just three Huskies to post a double-double in their debut under head coach Lorenzo Romar joining standout Jon Brockman (17 pts/10 rebs - Nov. 13, 2015) and fellow Dakar, Senegal native Aziz N’Diaye (13 pts/15 rebs - Nov. 13, 2010).
Freshman-Loaded Lineup
The Huskies started four freshman in their season-opening game against Texas, marking the first time under head coach Lorenzo Romar that four newcomers have gone through the starting introductions. Additionally the Huskies had four newcomers on the floor for 28 of 40 minutes during that game.
Racking Up Airline Miles
The Huskies will easily rack up their fair share of airline miles in just November alone as they will travel 17,000 miles over the first three weeks of the season. Roundtrip to and from Shanghai (not including the two-day trip to Hangzhou) came in at 11,422 miles. Then the Huskies get right back in the air six days after landing (and playing two home games) to head to the Bahamas which is 5,788 miles roundtrip. Not only will the squad log a lot of time in the air, only two players (senior Andrew Andrews and sophomore KJ Garrett) have ever flown farther than 5,000 miles roundtrip anywhere.
New Faces on the Bench
With a revamped roster featuring 10 newcomers, nine of which are eligible this season, Husky fans will have a lot of new faces to get used to. The nation’s sixth-ranked recruiting class will join the five returning Dawgs to make up the 2015-16 roster, which has the most newcomers and fewest returners since coach Romar took over in 2002-03.
Familiar ‘New’ Face on the Bench
While the player’s roster will have a new look, there will be another new face on the sidelines that will likely be familiar in new assistant coach Will Conroy, who donned the purple and gold from 2002-05 for coach Romar. Conroy joined the staff during the summer of 2015 and still holds the UW career record for assists (515).
Youth Movement
Not only is the roster revamped, but coach Romar reloaded with a group of talented teens as UW’s roster is the youngest in the Pac-12 with nine players starting the season at 19 and four of which are currently 18. Additionally, with 80 percent of the team listed as freshmen or sophomores, UW ties with Wyoming for the fifth-youngest roster of the 345 NCAA Division I squads. Only Georgia Southern (92 percent), Liberty (91 percent), Ohio State (85 percent) and Fairleigh Dickinson (85 percent) have a higher percentage of underclassmen on their current roster.
Washington-Based Roster
This year’s squad includes eight players from the state of Washington, the most since head coach Lorenzo Romar’s first season when 11 hailed from the Evergreen State. Over the last 13 seasons, Romar has had at least six players from the state five times. Those five teams have combined for three NCAA tournament appearances, two Sweet 16s and two Pac-12 titles (one regular season, one tournament).
Athleticism and Length
While Washington’s roster may not boast anyone over 6-9, its overall athleticism and length will surely make up for it. Highlighting that fact is freshman Matisse Thybulle who is 6-5, boasts a 7-0 wingspan and a 40 inch vertical while also running a 4:55 mile. Forward Malik Dime’s wingspan is eight inches bigger than his 6-9 frame at 7-5 while freshman Dejounte Murray’s 6-10.5 wingspan helps him on the court where he’s listed at 6-4.5.
