#23 Huskies get revenge over Texas Tech 108-79

By Kshell

The #23 Washington Huskies(5-2) got some sweet revenge in a blowout win over Texas Tech(5-4) 108-79. The Huskies today used their transition defense for some quick easy scores as they scored 61 points in the first half which was highlighted by Justin Holiday scoring 17 of his career high 20 points in the first half. The Huskies closed the first half out on an 8-0 run to take a 61-42 lead in the first half. The Huskies would continue to show off their depth as nine different players scored six points or more in a school record fourth game of scoring 100 points or more. The Huskies in their other win scored 98 points against Eastern Washington. When the Huskies are shooting well from beyond the arc(9-17,52.9%) they are a really tough team to beat.

The Huskies Co-Captain Justin Holiday started the game off on fire. The Huskies lead 14-8 to begin the game which saw Holiday shoot five of seven for 13 points including three for three on three point field goals. For the second straight game Lorenzo Romar decided to start Aziz N'Diaye over Matthew Bryan-Amaning. Bryan-Amaning would respond scoring 18 points on 8 for 13 shooting on the game. Isaiah Thomas would also carry the Huskies in the first half scoring 14 points as the Huskies scored an oustanding 61 points in the first half. Most college teams don't even score 61 points all game let alone one half.




The Huskies kept up the scoring in the second half outscoring Texas Tech 47-37 in the second half. The Huskies blew out Texas Tech and the game was never close in the second half with the Huskies holding a double digit lead the entire game. The Huskies even found time to get walk-on fan favorite Brandon Sherrer in the game and he scored which had the crowd going crazy. The Huskies would finish the blowout win 108-79 making that the fifth game this year they have scored over 98 points on the young season. The Huskies leading scorers would be Justin Holiday would score 20 points, Thomas would finish with 16, with Bryan-Amaning scoring 18 points off the bench, and freshman C.J. Wilcox would score 11 points hitting three three pointers. The Huskies would see 11 different guys play and score.

The Huskies prove once again they can destroy average to bad teams. The Huskies have an explosive and deep team that will run teams out of the gym all season long. The Huskies have so many weapons it is hard to defend just one and have great defenders this year. It was good to see the Huskies taking care of business with the blowout win over Texas Tech. Romar teams are always tough at home, they'll get a test next week at Texas A & M so that should be a good test.

Observations:



- Justin Holiday is the best player on the team. He scored 20 points today and carried the team early on when the team came out struggling. Holiday is also the teams best defender and added nine rebounds. Holiday is the one player since Brandon Roy that the Huskies will have a hard time to replace next year. No player in his Husky career has evolved quite like Justin Holiday who is a great shooter now.

- The Huskies didn't fall in love with the three point shot today as they attempted just 17 three pointers. The Huskies only had three guys hit three pointers in Holiday(4-7), Wilcox(3-5), and Gaddy(2-2). The Huskies have good shooters this year as eight guys in the rotation are capable of knocking down a three point shot.

- For the second straight game Matthew Bryan-Amaning came off the bench and responded by scoring 18 points. Aziz N'Diaye is still a work in progress on offense but brings a defensive stability that the Huskies were lacking. Bryan-Amaning needs to step up against a big time opponent when the opportunity comes.

At the end of the day the Huskies simply took care of business against a team they should have beat. Nobody thought the Huskies would lose this game. They will get one final test before Pac-10 play next week when they travel down to play at Texas A & M hopefully the Huskies can keep hitting their outside shots. The Huskies should be fine and it will be interesting to see if Romar keeps starting Aziz over Bryan-Amaning.