Mike Hopkins evaluates Washington's defeat against Utah

Washington has endured a frustrating stretch since the turn of the calendar. Over the last nine games, they’ve gone 3-6 with all but one of those coming against Pac-12 competition. Now, after the Husky’s latest 86-61 loss in Salt Lake City against Utah, Mike Hopkins called it like it was.

During media postgame, Hopkins said his team didn’t bring enough energy or toughness to the matchup with the Utes. However, he also said Utah did enough to stall any momentum had earned with any runs they made.

“(We) didn’t have the energy. We got out-toughed. They just were physical, they had 17 points on second-chance points,” said Hopkins. “Then we got down, we fought, we cut it to eight in the first half and then we just kind of had a turnover, (gave) up a layup…It happened every time we felt like we were getting some momentum.”

Washington got down as much as 19 points in the first half. They cut it to the 10-point ballpark several times but, every time, the Utes pushed it back up to around 20 each time. In the end, Utah outshot Washington from the field and from three as well as outrebounded them by 18.

Now, as Hopkin’s team pushed forward, he wants them to wipe this one from their memory. Thinking back on what’s tied for their worst loss of the season won’t do the Huskies any good over their final 10 games.

“It’s like I told the guys. Sometimes it happens,” Hopkins said. “You’ve just got to have an Etch-A-Sketch, learn from this, and get ready for next week.”

Hopkins credits Langston Wilson for giving Washington a chance vs. Utah

The Washington Huskies struggled during its 86-61 loss to the Utah Utes. After the game, head coach Mike Hopkins credited forward Langston Wilson for even giving the Huskies a chance against Utah.

As Hopkins explained, Wilson was able to give Washington a boost, despite only playing nine minutes during the game.

“Unbelievable,” said Hopkins. “We were looking at, I don’t know, we were looking for energy. We just didn’t have the energy and he came in and changed the game, got the offensive dunk, he got a couple blocks.”

Wilson had three rebounds and two points. More important than any statistics, though, were the energy and defensive intensity that he brought to the game.

“That’s what we were missing. We were missing that pop and that spark and he gave it to us–gave us a chance.”

Mike Hopkins explained that once you’re losing, you need to find a way to win. That’s where the press defense comes into play. It can either force turnovers and lead to a comeback, or if the team handles the press like Utah did, it can create a blowout.

“You know, just trying to get a chance and at the end, the only way, it’s like one of those things when it’s like 12 or 14. If you’re going to win, you’ve got to press, get a chance to lose by this or a chance to come back and win like we did last year, and they did a really good job handling our pressure and scoring off of it.”

With the loss, Washington fell to 12-9 on the season. The Huskies will look to bounce back against Arizona State on Thursday.