RIVALRY WEEK: Seattle University defeated one in-state rival Monday night, and now it hosts its intracity rival Thursday, as the Washington Huskies come to KeyArena. Over the span of eight days, four of the five Division I schools in the state of Washington will play at KeyArena, with Gonzaga (Dec. 15) and Washington State (Dec. 21) playing their annual Seattle contests as well as Seattle U starting a five-game homestand. The Redhawks came close to defeating the Huskies last season, but Seattle U's first win over Washington since November 28, 1978, is still pending.
WHERE TO FIND THE GAME: 770 AM KTTH The Truth will broadcast the game live, with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. courtside starting with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. The game will be televised by ROOT SPORTS, with Tom Glasgow and Lenny Wilkens providing the play-by-play and analysis along with Jen Mueller along the sidelines. LIve stats will also be available on GoSeattleU.com.
THE EASTERN WASHINGTON GAME: In a true team effort, eight different Seattle University players earned at least six points as the Redhawks earned their first road win of the 2012-13 season with a 75-69 victory over Eastern Washington Monday night at Reese Court. Chad Rasmussen hit four three-pointers as he led the team with 16 points, while Clarence Trent finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Deshaun Sunderhaus scored all 10 of his points in the second half, and Prince Obasi contributed nine points and a team-high seven assists. D'Vonne Pickett Jr. earned eight points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Allen Tate, Luiz Bidart, and Jarell Flora finished with six points apiece off the bench. Flora also pulled down six rebounds and earned a team-high three steals in the game, and Bidart played 22 minutes for the Redhawks in a key role during the night. The Redhawks enjoyed their best shooting night of the season, hitting 50 percent (30-of-60) of their field goal attempts in the game, plus they cut down on their turnovers, committing 18 that resulted in only 12 Eagle points. Seattle U won the rebounding battle, 43-37, with each team picking up 11 offensive rebounds.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON: The Huskies enter Thursday night's game at KeyArena with a 4-4 overall record, but technically this will be Washington's first true road game of the 2012-13 season after six games at Alaska Airlines Arena and two contests at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. The Huskies are scoring 70.6 points per game and giving up 69.8 points per contest. As a team, Washington is shooting 45.8 percent from the field, including 39.8 percent from behind the three-point line, and 68.2 percent from the free throw line. The Huskies are averaging 34.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 13.0 turnovers, 3.4 steals, and 4.4 blocked shots per game. C.J. Wilcox leads the team and is 29th in Division I in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game. He is also 42nd in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.440) and 57th in Division I in three-pointers per game (2.75). Aziz N'Diaye is tops on the team and 36th in the nation in rebounding with 9.4 rebounds per game to go along with a scoring average of 11.4 points per game. Abdul Gaddy (14.3 ppg) and Scott Suggs (12.0 ppg) are also averaging in double figures for the Huskies.
NCAA STATISTICS: Seattle U is tied for ninth in Division I in steals per game (10.67). The Redhawks are also tied for 21st in the country in rebounds per game (42.2).
WAC STATISTICS: Deshaun Sunderhaus and Clarence Trent are tied for seventh in the conference in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game. Prince Obasi leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage, making six of ten attempts (.600) so far this season. Sterling Carter is tied for fifth in steals with 2.00 steals per game, while D'Vonne Pickett Jr. is eighth (1.83 spg) and Allen Tate is in a tie for ninth place with 1.67 steals per game. As a team, the Redhawks are first in the league in steals with 10.67 steals per game and second in rebounding offense with 42.2 rebounds per game.