UW Men's Basketball Notebook: Huskies split at home, D.J. Davis Shines
Week of January 6-12: Washington Huskies Earn First Big Ten Victory
Overall Record: 10-5
Big 10 Record: 1-3
Net Ranking: 91
Last Week’s Recap
Washington restarted Big Ten Conference play with an impressive 75-69 victory over No. 23 (NET) Maryland on January 2nd. Great Osobor led the Huskies with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Zoom Diallo pitched in 18 points and D.J. Davis added 17. In the second half, Washington outscored Maryland by 9 points to secure the program’s first-ever Big Ten conference victory.
On Sunday, the Huskies fell to No. 7 Illinois, 81-77 in a competitive game that came down to the final minute. Illinois built a 17-point lead with 7 minutes remaining in the first half, but the Huskies battled back, eventually tying the game at 75-75 with 47 seconds remaining. Illinois dominated inside, out-rebounding the Huskies 43-30, and holding a 52-30 advantage of points in the paint. D.J. Davis led Washington with a career-high 31 points on 7 for 14 shooting from beyond the arc.
Player of the Week
In last week’s two games, D.J. Davis exploded for 48 points, shooting 10-for-20 from three-point land, and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Davis’ seven three-pointers against Illinois were the most by a Husky since Dominic Green hit seven against Eastern Washington in 2018.
Stat of the Week
Great Osobor leads the Big Ten in steals per game (2.3).
This Coming Week
Washington travels to Michigan State on Thursday, January 9th for a 5:00 pm tip (Big 10 network).
While Michigan State’s top scorer is Jaden Akins (13.7 points per game), Coen Carr is the one to watch. This guy might be the nation’s best dunker and is the Spartans’ fourth-leading scorer. Overall, Tom Izzo has a deep roster with 10 players averaging more than 14 minutes per game, all contributing in scoring.
Seriously though, watch these dunks.
Washington continues their road trip to Michigan on Sunday, January 12th at 11:00 am (Big 10 network).
Get ready for the twin towers of Danny Wolf (7 feet) and Vladislav Goldin (7’1). Wolf is averaging a double-double (12.5 points and 10.4 rebounds) while Goldin is leading the Wolverines in scoring at 13.7 points per contest. Here is the crazy part. Wolf is the playmaker in the pick-and-roll with Goldin. Yes, Wolf is essentially a guard at seven feet tall.
National Games to Watch
#14 Michigan at #18 UCLA
Tuesday, January 7th at 7:00 pm on Peacock
#94 USC at #7 Illinois
Saturday, January 11th at 9:00 am on Big 10 Network
Big 10 Standings
Big 10 record and net ranking in parentheses
Michigan (3-0, #14)
Michigan State (3-0, #19)
Indiana (3-1, #56)
Illinois (3-1, #7)
Purdue (3-1, #27)
Nebraska (2-1, #33)
UCLA (2-1, #18)
Oregon (2-2, #20)
Penn State (2-2, #48)
Wisconsin (2-2, #25)
Ohio State (2-2, #31)
Iowa (1-2, #58)
USC (1-2, #94)
Maryland (1-3, #22)
Northwestern (1-3, #53)
Washington (1-3, #91)
Rutgers (1-3, #90)
Minnesota (0-4, #157)
Recruiting Corner
2025 Commit PF Niko Bundalo (6-10, 215 lbs) - Prolific Prep (Napa, CA)
Bundalo’s Prolific Prep squad is ranked No. 5 in the nation on MaxPreps, and holds a 16-3 record as of January 2nd. In early December, Bundalo scored 18 points and collected 5 rebounds in his team’s win over Utah Prep. Highlights below courtesy of The Grind Session:
2025 Commit PG JJ Mandaquit (6-1, 190 lbs) - Utah Prep (Hurricane, UT)
Mandaquit scored 21 points, dished out 7 assists, and collected 4 rebounds, helping lead his Utah Prep team to a 117-77 win over Albuquerque Prep according to The Grind Session. The game took place in Hawaii and was a homecoming for Hilo-native Mandaquit. Video courtesy of Hawaii News Now:
2025 Commit SG Courtland Muldrew (6-3, 170 lbs) - HarBer HS (Mouth of Wilson, VA)
Starring for HarBer High School, Courtland Muldrew poured in 25 points to help lead his team to an 83-66 victory over Rogers.