COACH: Lorenzo Romar, nine years at Washington, six years in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Pac-10 tournament champion).
GO-TO GUYS: Junior PG Isaiah Thomas is one of the nation's most exciting players. He began the season at SG but moved fulltime to the point when sophomore Abdul Gaddy suffered a season-ending knee injury in January. Almost immediately, he showed off his range of skills, putting together back-to-back games of 27 points and 13 assists in a win at Cal, then 22 points and 10 assists in a home rout of eventual Pac-10 champion Arizona. He had his third 20-and-10 game of the season in the Pac-10 tournament win over Washington State, totaling 21 and 11. Senior F Matthew Bryan-Amaning, voted the Pac-10's Most Improved Player, joined Thomas on the 10-man all-conference team. He's a long-armed, active frontcourt player who outworks or out-runs many opposing big men and thrives in UW's up-tempo style.
X FACTOR: The Huskies showed on the opening weekend of the Pac-10 schedule their ability to play at a high level away from home. They got what seemed a huge jump on the pack by sweeping a road trip in Los Angeles, beating USC 76-73 in overtime, then toppling UCLA 74-63. They also demolished Cal 92-71 in Berkeley. Otherwise, UW hasn't been terrific outside Seattle. They scored 100 points or more six times in Alaska Airlines Arena, but were just 5-6 in true road games and 1-2 in neutral-court settings before the Pac-10 tournament. They lost at Stanford and were swept in Oregon -- three road defeats to second-division conference foes. Can they do better in the NCAAs? They'll need to because the committee doesn't figure to assignment any games in Seattle.
STRENGTHS: The Huskies are very much a momentum team. When they get rolling, they are very tough. They love up-tempo ball, shoot the 3-pointer off transition and thrive when allowed to play physical bump-and-run defense. They have an assortment of quick, athletic wing players -- including senior Justin Holiday, junior Scott Suggs, redshirt freshman C.J. Wilcox and freshman Terrence Ross. If one of them is cold, coach Lorenzo Romar can merely call on another. UW is a strong offensive rebounding team and has the depth to make a tournament run.
WEAKNESSES: The Huskies will struggle against a team able to control tempo. UW did not win a game all season scoring fewer than 70 points and prevailed only four times when limited to fewer than 80. A physical opponent able to keep Washington out of its transition game could pose a serious threat. Junior Isaiah Thomas has been good at PG, but occasionally can get out of control and he doesn't have great backup help. Without injured sophomore Abdul Gaddy, the No. 2 PG is senior Venoy Overton, who suffered through an erratic season, possibly burdened by legal problems. He was suspended for the Pac-10 tournament after being charged with providing alcohol to a minor in a case where more serious charges were considered but not filed.
