 |
Lorenzo Romar and the Huskies have won the last two conference tournament championships -- an event that will once again be broadcast by FSN and CBS in 2012.
|
March 6, 2012
• Complete Release 
• Romar Press Conference Video
SEATTLE - The No. 1 seed Huskies (21-9, 14-4) start their quest for a third-straight Pac-12 Tournament crown on Thursday, where they will face either No. 8 seed Washington State or No. 9 seed Oregon State at 12:10 p.m. inside the STAPLES Center. Washington earned the No. 1 seed after winning the conference regular season title for the 23rd time dating back to 1911. The Huskies have won 18 of those titles outright, but 16 of those came from 1953 and earlier. In the 58 years since, UW has scored four conference crowns (1984, 1985, 2009, 2012), but only the two most recent ones were not shared. The streaking Dawgs have won 10 of 12, 13 of 16, and 16 of 20 overall.
Thursday's game will be broadcast nationally on FSN TV (ROOT Sports locally). Kevin Calabro and Don MacLean will call the action with Rebecca Haarlow providing sideline reports. If Washington advances, the same TV team will cover the semifinals game. Bob Rondeau and Jason Hamilton will provide home radio coverage on KJR 950 AM & 102.9 FM and the Washington IMG College Sports Network throughout the Pacific Northwest. UW Director of Writing Gregg Bell will host a LIVE chat on GoHuskies.com.
Post-Season Hardware
Awards are starting to roll in. Lorenzo Romar won conference coach of the year for the third time, the sixth time a UW coach has won the award. Tony Wroten is the fifth Husky to win Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and added all-conference honors along with Terrence Ross. C.J. Wilcox got an honorable mention nod. Aziz N'Diaye is the third Husky to get All-Defensive team honors.
Lorenzo Romar: Pac-12 Coach of the Year
Tony Wroten: Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Pac-12 First Team, All-District IX Team, College Sports Madness 3rd Team All-American
Terrence Ross: Pac-12 First Team, All-District IX Team
C.J. Wilcox: Honorable Mention Pac-12
Aziz N'Diaye: Pac-12 All-Defensive
Washington-WSU History
Since their first meeting in 1910, Washington holds a 174-100 advantage over their cross-state rivals, with a record of 100-35 at home, 72-62 away, 2-3 at neutral sites including 1-1 at the Pac-12 Tournament. Washington is 7-2 over the last eight against WSU, but the Cougars were 7-0 during the previous three-year stretch from 2006-08. UW beat WSU 89-87 in the quarterfinals of the tournament last year despite 43 points from Klay Thompson. The Huskies lost the only other tourney match up, 74-64 in the 2007 quarterfinals. Romar is 12-10 in all games vs. WSU and Ken Bone is 2-8 all-time against UW, including an 0-3 record as head coach of Portland State. The Huskies swept the regular season, winning 75-65 on Jan. 15 in Seattle and 59-55 on Feb. 25 in Pullman. In both games, Washington overcame a double-digit second half deficit to rally and win.
Washington-Oregon State History
UW leads the all-time series between the two schools by a 154-136 margin since the first meeting in 1904. The series is the longest continuous rivalry for the Huskies and the 290 games are the second most UW has played against any opponent. Overall, UW is 1-1 in post-season tournament history against the Beavers. UW beat OSU 59-52 in the 2010 quarterfinals and lost 80-61 in the 1988 quarterfinals. Since 2004, the Huskies have dominated the series, going 16-3 during that stretch. Lorenzo Romar is 16-5 all-time against the Beavs (including 9-1 in Seattle, 6-4 in Corvallis and 1-0 in the Pac-12 Tournament). OSU coach Craig Robinson is 1-8 all-time against UW. The Huskies earned their sixth regular season series sweep in 10 years under Romar, beating OSU 95-80 at home on Dec. 29 and 75-72 in Corvallis on Feb. 12.
Last Time Out Vs. WSU (2/25/12)
AP -Tony Wroten scored 21 points and went 9 of 12 from the free throw line as he led UW over WSU in comeback fashion 59-55. UW erased a 45-32 deficit with 11 minutes left in the game. Ultimately, the game came down to free throws. WSU went 6 of 20 in the 2nd half, while the Huskies, who only went 2 of 5 in the first half, finished 17 of 24. The Cougars out-rebounded the Huskies 42-35. C.J. Wilcox finished with 16 points & Abdul Gaddy added 10. Brock Motum led the Cougars with 17 points and Marcus Capers added 14.
Last Game: Vs. OSU (2/12/12)
AP - Terrence Ross had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead Washington to a 75-72 win over Oregon State. C.J. Wilcox added 17 points. Jared Cunningham had 23 points and seven rebounds for OSU. UW took the lead for good at 61-58 on Abdul Gaddy's 3-pointer with 4:58 left. Tony Wroten grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 4:02 remaining to put the Huskies up five. Desmond Simmons made two free three throws, and teammate Terrence Ross added two more with 10 seconds left to ice the game.
Romar Among All-Time Best In Pac-12 Tourney History
Lorenzo Romar is 13-5 (.722) all-time as a coach in the Pac-10 Tournament. His win total trails only former Arizona coach Lute Olson (16) and his percentage trails former UCLA coach Walt Hazzard (.750) and Olson (.727). Hazzard only coached in the tournament twice, compiling a 3-1 record. Olson was 16-6 all-time. Romar has won the tournament three times, which once again only trails Olson (4).
Huskies Tough In The Tournament
The Huskies have the second best record in Pac-12 Tournament history. Washington is 16-10 (.615) in 14 tournament appearances. The 16 wins trails only Arizona (19) and the three tournament titles is tied for second with UCLA and trails only Arizona's 4.
Reviewing The 2011 Pac-10 Tournament
Washington won its second-consecutive Pac-10 tournament championship and third overall in team history. UW beat Arizona 77-75 in the first-ever overtime championship game on a buzzer-beating shot by Isaiah Thomas. Thomas played all but 90 seconds of Washington's three games and earned his second-straight Most Outstanding Player award. He joined Sean Elliott (1988 & 89) as the only two-time winner. Thomas averaged 19.7 points and set a tourney record for most assists (30). He also had 8 steals, which were the second most all-time. Terrence Ross joined Thomas on the All-Tournament team after averaging 15.3 points. He made his first career starts in the tourney, all the more remarkable after not playing a minute in the season finale vs. USC. C.J. Wilcox also flexed his muscles averaging 13.0 ppg and hitting a key three-pointer in the waning seconds that sent the championship into overtime.
Thomas Was Cold-Blooded In The Tournament
The Huskies unquestioned leader last year was Isaiah Thomas and he showed the world why during the Pac-12 Tournament. He turned in perhaps the most remarkable three-game stretch that Husky fans have ever witnessed -- perhaps all Pac-10 fans have ever seen. In the quarterfinals against Washington State, Thomas trumped Klay Thompson's 43 point performance by accounting for at least 43 of his own, scoring 21 and dishing out 11 assists. Against Oregon, he scored only 10 points, but dished out a Pac-10 tourney record 12 assists to lead UW to the finals. In the final vs. Arizona, he poured in 28 points, dished out 7 assists and hit a "cold-blooded" buzzer-beater in overtime to carry UW to its second consecutive crown. He left the Staples Center with his second Most Outstanding Player award and a tournament record 30 assists. Sean Elliott (1988 and 1989) is the only other player to win the MOP award twice.
Stuck In Neutral?
After the NYC trip, UW is 5-9 in regular season neutral site games (1-9 in the last 10) during Lorenzo Romar's 10-year tenure at the school. But, when it counts during the post-season, the Huskies are stellar on neutral site courts. The Huskies are 13-5 under Romar at the Pac-10 Tournament and have won three conference championships. UW is 8-6 on neutral sites for the NCAA tournament and have made three Sweet 16 appearances.
