NCAA Tournament Second Round Recap - New Mexico vs Washington

(11) Washington 82, (3) New Mexico 64

Just ten days ago the Washington Huskies were squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.  Despite a slew of athleticism and experience, the Huskies were mired in a bad Pac-10 Conference threatened to only get one team into the Tournament.  That team was not Washington.  Fast forward to the third Saturday in March and the Huskies punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a dominating performance over higher-seeded New Mexico, 82-64.

Despite coming in as the higher seed, the Lobos did not look the part.  New Mexico shot a porous 39 % from the field and missed 12 3-point attempts.  This was an important development because the Lobos do not have a player in their rotation that stands above 6’8”.  An inability to hit the outside shot was more than New Mexico could overcome.

The Huskies were continually on the attack throughout the ball game.  Ironically, it was the smaller Lobos who had trouble getting back in transition and the Huskies made them pay.  The Washington combo of Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas combined for 33 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. 

Despite winning the Pac-10 Tournament the Huskies were given one of the lowest seeds from a BCS conference.   They look to be taking the slight personally.  After rallying from a fifteen-point second half deficit to beat 6th-seeded Marquette, this Husky victory was never in doubt.  After taking a 21-19 lead early in the 1st half, the Huskies never looked back.  Washington extended its advantage to 23 points late in the 2nd half.

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For New Mexico, which was looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history, it was a bitter end to a generally sweet season.  The Lobos set a school record with 30 victories and were awarded with the highest seed in school history.  The wheels seemingly came off during the Lobos’ postseason run as they lost 2 of their last 3 games, including a Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinal loss to San Diego State. 

The final score in this lopsided game against Washington could have been much worse were it not for a heroic performance from guard Dairese Gary.  The junior from Elkhart, Ind., finished with 25 points and 4 assists.

UP NEXT

Washington survives and advances to field of 16 to face the winner of the Missouri/West Virginia second round matchup.

By: Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Guest Writer