Maybe all of those people packed to the rafters in Alaska Airlines Arena made them feel a little nervous or even a bit claustrophobic, especially the procession of Michigan big men that kept coming at them.
Whatever it was, the guys in the University of Washington basketball uniforms didn’t handle their newfound popularity very well, misfired on nine of their first 10 shots to open the game and went down to a 82-72 defeat to fourth-ranked Michigan in their sold-out gym.
The Huskies (10-7 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) simply couldn’t match the loud buzz cascading through their house with any sustained efficiency and were regula fodder for the Wolverines (15-1, 5-1), considered the league’s best entry if not the country’s best team.
They couldn’t stop Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3 Spaniard either. The Michigan big man led all scorers with 20 points on 10-for-11 shooting. He caught everything thrown to him and dunked multiple times…