Washington coach Danny Sprinkle tried to take it easy on his injury-depleted roster in practice the past couple of weeks.
He admits that might not have been the best move with Big Ten play opening Wednesday when the Huskies (5-2) play host to UCLA (5-2) in Seattle.
“I have been soft on our team … I’ve been concerned with losing any more players to injury,” said Sprinkle, referencing an 81-68 loss to Colorado last Friday in the championship of the Acrisure Holiday Classic in Palm Desert, Calif.
“We have lost our edge (and) it’s my job to clean it up and make sure our guys are ready for the physicality and toughness it takes to win at this level.”
Without starting forwards Hannes Steinbach and Bryson Tucker, both out with ankle injuries, the Huskies fell behind Colorado by 17 points at the half.
They rallied to tie the score behind guard Quimari Peterson, who scored a game-high 18 points, but never took the lead as the Buffaloes pulled away again.
“It’s a good thing to see a team like that, just to show what we got to work on and expose us a little bit,” Peterson said. “I hate to lose, but I’m thankful that we’re going through this early. We’re going to figure it out and get back to it.”
Sprinkle said Steinbach, a 6-foot-11 freshman from Germany who is considered a potential NBA draft pick next summer, “has a chance” to return against UCLA.
The Bruins were knocked out of the national rankings with an 80-72 loss to California in their last game, Nov. 25 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Senior forward Tyler Bilodeau (sprained left knee), who leads UCLA with 14.8 points per game, missed his second consecutive outing and point guard Donovan Dent suffered an apparent lower leg injury in the closing minutes. Their availability for Wednesday’s game is unknown.
Trent Perry and Eric Dailey Jr. each scored 17 points for the Bruins, who shot 40.6% from the field, were 7 of 22 on 3-point attempts and just 13 of 23 at the free-throw line.
“I think our team struggles to take a punch,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “We’ve got a glass jaw, if you were to describe us as a fighter. … We’ll toughen up or it’s going to be a long year.”
