Coach Mike Hopkins and the Washington Huskies held on for dear life on Thursday night inside Desert Financial Arena. The Huskies took a 21 point lead into halftime and were up by as many as 25, but Arizona State outscored Hopkins’ squad 51-30 in the second half to force overtime.
In the extra period, senior Paul Mulcahy converted on an impressive, high-difficulty reverse layup to knot the game at 82, before senior Braxton Meah knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Huskies ahead for good. Pac-12 scoring leader Keion Brooks Jr. led the way once again with 21 points as Washington moved to 15-12 overall and 7-9 in Pac-12 play with the win.
A loss probably would have been the final nail in the coffin for Hopkins, who is already on the hot seat following four straight seasons of subpar play. The Huskies have not made the NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season and unless they can find a way to win out and win the Pac-12 Tournament, they will probably come up short once again.
As it always does, social media had a lot to say about Washington’s nail biter and the majority of the heat was directed at Hopkins.
Just witnessed the Washington Huskies blow a 25 point lead at Arizona State.
Time to fire Mike Hopkins.
This is bad. pic.twitter.com/BMILCkgVEA
— Sports ON Tap Seattle (@SeattleONTap) February 23, 2024
Washington is so poorly coached it's amazing.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 23, 2024
Actually quite believable. Master class by Hopkins in how to blow 25 point second half lead.
— Kevin Howes (@howeskevin) February 23, 2024
exhale#TougherTogether pic.twitter.com/btr85t9VRV
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 23, 2024
I understand UW won’t fire Mike Hopkins until the end of the season for financial reasons. But maybe you can suspend him for the rest of the year or something, because blowing a 25-point lead is extreme ineptitude.
— alexSSN (@alexSSN) February 23, 2024