Mike Hopkins details what Arizona State win does for Washington moving forward

Washington avoided a complete collapse in Tempe on Thursday to win by two in overtime. Ahead of a matchup with a top-five team that’s two hours southeast from where they were last night, Mike Hopkins knows it was an important one to secure.

Hopkins spoke about the win with the media following the 84-82 outcome for the Huskies over Arizona State. He said a victory is a victory but that it was a bit better just because they had to overcome a near disaster of a second half to earn it.

“I think it’s just a win,” said Hopkins. “I think, you know, anytime you can find a way to win through adversity or what not, it’s always a bonus.”

Washington did essentially everything right in the first half versus the Sun Devils. They took a 21-point lead into the break after the home team shot just 28.6% from the field,

However, after opening it up to their largest lead of 25 to start the second half, everything essentially went wrong over the next 18 minutes. Arizona State stormed back by almost doubling them with a 51-26 run. That turned a 49-24 deficit for them into a 75-75 tie to send it to overtime.

Still, in the extra period, Washington managed to pull away in the final seconds. A pair of free throws from Braxton Meah are what gave them their final margin. The Sun Devils missed a inbounded tip-in with 2.4 left and, with that, the Huskies escaped a near catastrophe.

Meah put up a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds in his second great outing against this opponent. Keion Brooks led the way with 21 points and eight rebounds while Koren Johnson chipped in 17 off of the bench

Now, in a tight, less than 48-hour window, Washington will take the floor again in Tucson against No. 4 Arizona. It’s the kind of game that you live for in the sport at this time of year, though, which is why Hopkins fully expects his team to be up for it when they take the floor against the Wildcats tomorrow.

“Listen, if you’re not ready to play against Arizona on national television? I don’t care if you have one hour of sleep and a one-hour turnaround. You’re ready to go out there and play,” said Hopkins.

“These ones are the fun ones. These are the ones that, during this time of the year, are so much fun,” said Hopkins. “They’re a tough team. They can pose so many challenges. They’ll have a quick turnaround too. If we have that energy, we should put ourselves in position to be there.”