Washington stops Sam Merrill, defeats Utah State
Washington's David Crisp and Utah State's Sam Merrill battle for the ball in the first half during a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday. Credit: AP/Paul Vernon
COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Thursday, Washington's players spent most of their time talking about how Utah State star Sam Merrill is practically unstoppable. Then they spent all night Friday proving themselves wrong.
The Pac-12's Huskies contained the guard who was the Mountain West player of the year and the most valuable player of his conference’s postseason tournament. Merrill did not score a point until nearly six minutes were gone in the second half. And the 10 points he did total were no answer for the Huskies, who won the first-round NCAA Tournament game, 78-61.
“Well, first off, Sam is a really good player. We just made sure that wherever he was, we had everyone know where he was,” said Washington guard Jaylen Nowell, who played a large part in the defense and scored 19 points of his own. “We were talking. Every time he made a backdoor cut, every time he cut behind our defense, we made sure we knew exactly where he was. That’s kind of how we were able to hold him to 10 points.”
Utah State (28-7) did make a run in the second half, with Merrill draining a three-pointer to draw his team within a point. But that surge did not last.
"We've got to give them all the credit," Merrill said. "Their zone was really good tonight. And they made it really tough on us. They did a very good job, not just taking away my looks but making it tough for us as a team."
Washington (27-8) kept pounding the ball inside to Noah Dickerson, whom coach Mike Hopkins called “one of the best big guys, if not the best back-to-the-basket big guy in the country.” No big player was better in this game than Dickerson, who scored a game-high 20 points.
“It feels really good, actually. When I was a little kid, I used to watch this tournament all the time, hoping one day I would have a chance to play in it. And now I do,” Dickerson said. “And it’s just special, a special opportunity.”
It is an opportunity to uphold the reputation of the Huskies’ conference, which was not considered strong this year. It was also a new big stage for Hopkins, the longtime assistant coach at Syracuse who is in his second year on the West Coast and has been so promising that his school this week gave him a six-year, $17.5 million contract extension.
Hopkins takes pains to divert attention to his players. But when pressed, he did acknowledge that his first March Madness win as a head coach was an occasion he always will cherish. His eyes grew a bit misty as he said, “Listen, I’ve dreamed my whole life of being in this position. When you dream it and you get an opportunity, it’s special. I can’t lie to you.
“I’ve always believed in surrounding myself with great people. My mom and dad stressed that my whole life,” he said, adding that he coaches players he loves to coach. “I’m just trying to give them everything I know and try to learn and give them more. And that’s what it’s all about. That’s what makes college basketball coaching so special. All these moments, and then dreams do come true.”
