NIT Bracket 2012: Las Vegas Odds Correct to Favor Washington Huskies in Tourney

The Washington Huskies enter the NIT Tournament as the only No. 1 seed in the Final Four, and are considered to be the favorites for good reason.

After beating the University of Texas at Arlington, No. 4 Northwestern and a very close match with No. 4 and archrival University of Oregon, the Huskies have been playing hot ball since barely missing the bubble and not entering the 2012 NCAA March Madness Tournament.

The season could largely be considered a bust for Washington because they are “not in tournament” after having a much more successful season last year. Under Lorenzo Romar, the Huskies won the Pac-12 and finished with an impressive 24-11 record. They were a No. 7 seed in the tournament, and made it to the second round. They were ranked No. 23 in the nation, and were led by a young star named Isaiah Thomas Jr.

In 2009 to 2010, the Washington Huskies made it to the Sweet Sixteen and lost to No. 2 West Virginia.

Now that they’re in the NIT, however, it would be even more disappointing to lose now. While the tournament acts as a constellation prize and Washington can be considered a “basketball school” for all intents and purposes, the Huskies are undeniably the best team left in the NIT.

With Thomas now in the NBA on the Sacramento Kings, sophomore Terrence Ross and freshman Tony Wroten lead the Huskies.

With Vegas odds in their favor at plus-200, the next closest team to give Washington a run for their (and potentially your) money is Pac-12 rival, Stanford. In their previous meeting with Stanford, Washington decidedly won by a total of 76-63. In the game, Wroten dropped 21 and Ross scored 18. Wroten and Ross are each averaging 16 PPG on the season, and Abdul Gaddy led the team in assists with 5.2 apg.

On the other side of the ball, Aziz N’Diaye led Washington with 7.3 rpg. He also averaged a block per game.

Now, the Washington Huskies travel back to New York City and will play in Madison Square Garden to close out the end of this tournament. The last time that freshman Tony Wroten played at Madison Square Garden, he scored 24 points in an 86-80 loss to Duke.

In his most recent game, Wrotten scored 22 points against the Oregon Ducks and broke Isaiah Thomas’s scoring record of 541 points. Wrotten now has 551 points on the season.

On Tuesday, the Huskies will play No. 6 University of Minnesota on ESPN. As the best team in the tournament, now is not the time for them to mail in the rest of the season but rather man up and chalk this up as a moral victory and learning experience for a young and up-and-coming team.

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