Tonight was technically UW’s 3rd conference game in the Big Ten but you’ll be forgiven if it didn’t feel like it after playing only the traditional L.A schools in December. It was the start of a brutal stretch for the Huskies in conference play with the Dawgs taking on a Maryland team that entered 10th nationally in points for and points against per game. But the Huskies stymied Maryland’s 5-star freshman center and pulled away in the 2nd half behind Great Osobor and Zoom Diallo for a 75-69 win and their first ever in a Big Ten conference game. The victory moves the Huskies to 10-4 (1-2) on the season and drops Maryland to 11-3 (1-2).

The Huskies got on the board first as Wilhelm Breidenbach was left open at the three-point line and knocked down the shot from deep. Washington seemed hesitant to attack Maryland’s twin towers lineup inside and were generally content to shoot it from deep. Mekhi Mason missed a trio of 3’s in the first 70 seconds of the game though and Maryland went to the first media timeout up 6-5.

Both teams seemed evenly matched for much of the first half as no team led by more than 3 points until a pair of Julian Reese free throws put the Terps up 25-21 with 5:27 left until the break. The Huskies tied the game back up at 25 but Maryland went on an 8-0 run and led 33-25 with 1:51 remaining in the half.

Washington could have easily shied away at that point but finished strong. Great Osobor made a pair of baskets assisted by freshman Zoom Diallo and then Diallo was fouled with 1.8 seconds remaining and split a pair at the line to make it 33-30 at halftime.

Things got a little chippy after the break. Those Diallo free throws in the final seconds were UW’s only of the first half while Maryland was just 5/5. There were many more to come as fouls largely dictated the rest of the game.

Maryland came out strong and got off to a 41-32 lead early but Great Osobor answered with a bucket (again assisted by Diallo) to stop the run and then split a pair of free throws. DJ Davis went on a personal 5-0 run to bring the Huskies within a single point and Zoom Diallo knocked down a pair of free throws to give UW their first lead of the 2nd half at 45-44.

With Wilhelm Breidenbach in severe foul trouble, seldom-used center KC Ibekwe got into the game at center and went 2/4 at the free throw line on the same possession after UW rebounded the first miss. Ibekwe is…not known for his free throw shooting and both makes bounced off multiple surfaces before going in the hoop. Nonetheless, it gave UW a 47-46 lead.

UW continued to search for answers with both Breidenbach and Ibekwe saddled with fouls. Luis Kortright saw expanded playing time in the 2nd half and repeatedly muscled Maryland’s guards under the basket for layups. He also ended up guarding 6’10 star freshman Derek Queen for extended stretches. Being unable to push around such a smaller player seemingly bothered Queen who had his worst game in college with just 4 points and 1 rebound despite often having major size advantages. He came in averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game.

The fouls continued as Breidenbach fouled out shortly after re-entering with 4 (on a dubious call) but so too did Maryland’s starting point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie. DJ Davis made a pair at the free throw line to put the Dawgs up 59-58 and take the lead for good.

With 1:31 remaining Maryland was able to get an alley-oop slam off an inbounds pass which cut UW’s lead to just 2 points but Great Osobor answered with an and-1 layup (off an assist from, you guessed it, Zoom Diallo) to stretch it back out to 5. Maryland pressed all game and it caused some late problems as UW had to take a timeout to avoid a 5-second call and threw it away in the final 30 seconds. But the Huskies were able to get the ball to DJ Davis just enough to make the free throws to keep it from ever seriously getting in doubt in the closing seconds.

The margin of victory may not reflect it but this was clearly the best win of the season for Washington. Maryland was ranked 24th in the coaches poll and was 17th at KenPom coming into the contest. Prior to this, UW’s best win was over KenPom’s #73 ranked team in Washington State. Despite students still being on break, the crowd filtered in eventually and Hec Ed got truly loud over the final 10 minutes of game clock once it was clear that Washington had a real shot to pull off the upset.

Washington won the game despite shooting just 5/24 on three-point attempts in part because Maryland was just 2/11. The Terrapins had come into the game with 2 starting guards shooting over 42% from deep on the season.

Great Osobor struggled with turnovers (6) and had several throw aways but generally played good defense against Maryland’s two all-conference caliber centers while putting up 20 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He made a 3-point shot for the 2nd straight game and had one of his most efficient games from the field. Zoom Diallo didn’t start and had a few freshman moments but was incredible leading the show for most of the night with 18 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. DJ Davis finished with an incredible stat line of 17 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, and 0 turnovers.

The Huskies are back on the court on Sunday against a ranked Illinois team that evaporated Oregon in Eugene 109-77 (haha).