The University of Washington probably isn’t the first team basketball fans think of when it comes to contending for the Big Ten championship.
But Washington, one of four new teams in the Big Ten this year from the old Pac 12, can make some noise in the new conference, said one of the Huskies stars after a 73-67 win over the Colorado State Rams in the first day of the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert.
“We are ready,” said Tyler Harris, whose 24 points and eight rebounds led the Huskies to the win. “Obviously, we’ve got some stuff to clean up, like turnovers, little defensive assignments. But I think we are ready for the Big Ten.”
On Thursday at Acrisure Arena, Washington held off a stubborn Colorado State team with key free throws in the final minutes and suddenly cold shooting from the Rams. The win improved Washington to 5-1 on the young season, while the Rams dropped to 3-3.
Colorado State held a 28-26 lead at the half, but Washington came out on a 23-13 run to grab a 49-41 lead. The Huskies never trailed after that, though Colorado State cut the margin to 67-65 with just 38 seconds left in the game. Washington made six free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Washington head coach Danny Sprinkles may not have been as enthusiastic about his team’s readiness level for the Big Ten, but he did see some strong play from his team Thursday.
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“It’s a brutal conference. I think it is the best conference in the country,” Sprinkle said. “We have a lot of room to grow, which excites me. There are some things we are doing well, but to really compete in the Big Ten, we have to execute. We have to be more efficient, set better screens. There’s a lot of little stuff we have to do, the details.”
Colorado State was led by guard Nique Clifford with 13 points, while Jalen Lake added 12 points and Kyan Evans scored 11 in the balanced attack. After Harris, Washington’s only other player in double figures was Great Osobor with 16 points.
“We are getting there. Every game we are doing something just a little bit better,” Sprinkle said.
Washington will meet Santa Clara in the championship at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Texas Christian and Colorado State meet at 11 a.m. Friday in the consolation game.
Santa Clara 69, Texas Christian 52
In the first game of the day, Santa Clara broke open a tight game in the middle of the second half with a 13-0 run on the way to a victory over Texas Christian.
The Broncos (3-4) held a 34-27 lead over TCU at the half, but the Horned Frogs rallied to take a 41-40 lead just eight minutes into the second half. That’s when Santa Clara went on its scoring run, taking a 52-41 lead and never being threatened after that.
Santa Clara was led by guard Carlos Stewart with 18 points and four assists, while forward Elijah Mahi added 13 points and guard Cameron Tongue scored 11. The Broncos shot 43 percent from the field and outrebounded TCU 51-41.
TCU (4-2) was hurt by its shooting, making just 35 percent including just one of 16 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Guard Frankie Collins led TCU with 15 points, while Noah Reynolds added 11 points.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Washington Huskies win opening game of Acrisure Invitational over Colorado State
