• SU at UW, 8 p.m., FSN
• AP poll • USA Today/ESPN poll
Monday was a good day for the Washington Huskies, which also made it a good day for the Seattle Redhawks.
In rapid succession, the Huskies climbed to season-high positions in both major national polls, senior forward Jon Brockman became the first member of the Huskies this season to be honored as Pacific-10 Conference player of the week, and coach Lorenzo Romar was named one of 10 finalists for the Jim Phelan Award, signifying the national coach of the year.
Meanwhile, the Redhawks delighted in every UW achievement because it brightens the spotlight on Hec Edmundson Pavilion tonight when they will face the Huskies for the first time since 1980.
“It’s a fulcrum game,” Redhawks coach Joe Callero said. “Their success helps leverage attention on our program. We’ve had a good amount of success ourselves this season at 19-7. It’s not a national story, but it’s a good story involving the city of Seattle. The University of Washington is a national story. Ultimately, we want to be in their position.”
Washington’s position has been rising rapidly. The Huskies have won three straight games, most recently a Saturday home win over Arizona that assured UW of at least a shared Pacific-10 Conference title.
On Monday, The Associated Press media poll moved the Huskies to No. 16 nationally – their highest ranking this season and ahead of Pac-10 rivals UCLA (No. 20) and Arizona State (No. 21). Meanwhile, the coachs who vote in the ESPN/USA Today poll elevated UW to No. 13, ahead of No. 17 UCLA and No. 21 ASU.
Individually, Brockman won his honor after leading a sweep of the Arizona schools by contributing a total of 40 points and 22 rebounds.
Finally, Romar was honored in a field of coaches that included Jim Calhoun of Connecticut, John Calipari of Memphis, Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh, Darrin Horn of South Carolina, Trent Johnson of Louisiana State, Bill Self of Kansas, Brad Stevens of Butler, Bruce Weber of Illinois and Roy Williams of North Carolina. Tony Bennett of Washington State was the Phelan Award winner in 2007.
With all that behind them, the Huskies also have reasons to look ahead: They end the regular season Saturday against WSU – a victory could clinch the Pac-10 title outright; the conference tournament is the following week; and Selection Sunday and the NCAA tournament are the week after that.
All of that could make it more difficult to concentrate on the unplanned task at hand: a makeup game against a school still in transition to NCAA Division I.
“You’re all geared for your conference schedule, and then when you play one outside, you’ve got to make sure that you maintain your focus,” Romar said. “And that has nothing to do with who the opponent is.”
Washington and Seattle U. originally agreed to revive their crosstown rivalry starting next season. The timetable was moved up only after a Northwest snowstorm kept Lehigh from flying in for its scheduled Dec. 23 game at UW.
When those schools couldn’t find a replacement date, Seattle U. stepped forward. It’s hardly an ideal date for the Redhawks, who will be playing their fourth game in eight days.
“You talk to the players, every one of them wants to play this game,” Callero said. “From a coach’s standpoint, it’s important because it’s going to help our budget. From an alumni and administration standpoint, it gives us a chance to preach the development of our program, and that’s what’s really critical for us now.”
Redhawks leading rebounder Michael Wright of Lakewood, who played previously at Pierce College and Steilacoom High School, backed up his coach.
“We’re excited,” Wright said. “Hopefully, we go in there and get a good win for our university. We can’t go to the (NCAA tournament until 2012-13), so if we could actually upset a team that’s actually going to go to the tournament, that’s big for our program.”
Brockman thinks the Huskies will be focused enough to prevent that.
“It’s got the potential to be a tough game where we don’t come out focused,” he said. “But we’re getting toward the end of the season; I think we’re beyond that. I think we’ll come out and just use that as another opportunity to get better and make us even more together as a group getting ready for the postseason.”
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UW men’s basketball gameday
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY (19-7 overall) AT NO. 16 WASHINGTON (22-7)
Tipoff: 8 p.m., Hec Edmundson Pavilion
TV: FSNRadio: 950-AM
Series: UW leads, 19-4, including 10-1 at home. The Huskies have won three straight in the series, including an 83-77 win in the last meeting on Jan. 29, 1980.
Statistical leaders: For SU – F Austen Powers, 13.3 ppg; F Michael Wright, 7.4 rpg; G Shaun Burl, 3.2 apg. For UW – G Isaiah Thomas, 15.8 ppg and 2.6 apg; F Jon Brockman, 11.3 rpg.
Scouting report: This is a makeup game for UW, which was unable to play Lehigh in late December because of snow. Tickets from that Lehigh game will be honored tonight. … UW is 9-3 in out-of-conference games. … Thomas, Justin Dentmon (15.6 ppg) and Brockman (15 ppg) are clustered within eight-tenths of a point for the team’s scoring lead. Dentmon (2.5 apg) also has pulled with one-tenth of an assist for the team lead in that category. … The Redhawks are in transition to NCAA Division I status. They will play a full Division I schedule next season – including another game against UW – but won’t reach full D-I status until 2012-13. … The Huskies and Redhawks have four common opponents: Both lost to Portland; both beat Eastern Washington; UW beat Portland State, while SU lost twice; and UW swept two games from Oregon State, while SU lost on the road. … The Redhawks’ 10-game win streak was snapped Friday with a 73-68 loss at North Dakota. They bounced back the next night with a win at South Dakota, 87-85. … South Sounders on the Redhawks roster are Wright of Lakewood (Steilacoom HS/Pierce College) and F Aaron Broussard and G Marques Hollins, both of Federal Way (Federal Way HS).
Next: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, vs. Washington State, Hec Edmundson Pavilion; FSN.
Don Ruiz, The News Tribune
