Washington Huskies basketball opens 2020–21 against No. 2 Baylor
Herb Nightengale
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The 2020–21 Washington Huskies basketball season begins Sunday at 3:00 pm against second-ranked Baylor in Las Vegas.
It finally looks like the Washington Huskies basketball team will start their 2020–21 season on Sunday afternoon. They couldn’t have picked a more difficult opponent to tip things off against. Not only are the Baylor Bears ranked number two in the country, but they also have an ax to grind against UW.
Last season, the Huskies opened up against Baylor in Anchorage, Alaska, and they upset the Bears 67–64. Baylor went on to have a pretty good season winning 23 straight games. They were co-favorites to win the NCAA tournament before it was canceled due to COVID-19.
Although this game takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, a neutral site, Baylor is shown as the home team for the 3:00 p.m. PST start. It will be a good challenge for this young Huskies team.
Washington was originally slated to begin the season on Wednesday with the Husky Classic. The games against Portland State, San Diego, and Cal State Fullerton were canceled due to coronavirus concerns at the latter two schools. Baylor had an opening on their schedule when Arizona State backed out for the same reason.
Busy December
Pac-12 play begins next Thursday, December 3. The Huskies head to Salt Lake City for a matchup with Utah. It’s one of six games Washington has on the slate in December. That includes three more conference games with Seattle and Montana mixed in.
Without suspended senior guard Nahziah Carter, UW may struggle to score points against Baylor. UW is led by senior big man Hameir Wright, point guard Quade Green and swingman Jamal Bey in head coach Mike Hopkins starting lineup. Expect to see lots of Nate Roberts, Marcus Tsohonis, J’Raan Brooks, and Raequan Battle.
As of Saturday night, the only television coverage of the game will be a live stream by Flohoops. Fans can hear the game on the Washington Huskies radio network.