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A bit of discussion on Washington from the Purdue thread, so I'll borrow some of that and add some more.

Washington is currently 60 in the Net. They are 1-6 in Q1 matchups, but other than a 17 point loss at home to MSU, they've stayed within 10 points on all their Q1 losses (including @Purdue and @Nebraska). Translation? Wouldn't be out of the norm to expect a closely contested game tomorrow night.

They are without their key guy Desmond Claude, and that's a big reason they've struggled. They are led in points and rebounds by their freshman forward from Germany, Hans Steinbach (averaging 17.5 points and 11 rebounds). He has won BTT freshman of the week twice (for comparison, Wagler has won it 4 times and Mirk 2 times). They also have a pretty good guard in Zoom Diallo...he is a three point threat somewhat, as is Yates (another guard).

For those of you under a rock, Illinois is the toast of the town right now (although Purdue's loss at IU last night might take the shine off a tiny bit). We are currently 6th in the NET, and poised for a huge revenge matchup against Nebraska in Lincoln on Sunday. However, as noted, with Washington's ability to hang around against good teams, a loss in focus could make Thursday scary.

Play tough out of the gate. Lock down Steinbach. Get a big lead. Play the bench and rest our guys that will only have a two day turnaround to play Nebraska.