Washington storms into Pullman to upset No. 18 Cougars

The Washington Huskies finished off the regular season with an upset victory over the Washington State Cougars.

Washington State drew their biggest crowd of the season on Thursday night, apparently in hopes of storming the court upon a victory for the No. 18 Cougars, but coach Mike Hopkins and the Washington Huskies had other plans. After the Cougars took a 30-20 lead with 2:15 remaining in the first half, the Huskies went on a 12-0 run to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room.

In his first start since December 17, sophomore guard Koren Johnson led the team with 23 points, combining with senior Keion Brooks Jr. to score Washington’s final 12 points to seal a 74-68 victory for the Huskies. Brooks, the Pac-12’s leading scorer this season also had a big night, finishing just shy of a double-double with 22 points and 9 rebounds.

Thursday’s Apple Cup matchup inside Beasley Coliseum was probably Hopkins’ final regular season contest as Washington’s head coach, but he could have an opportunity to save his job if his team can put together a strong run in Las Vegas during the Pac-12 Tournament and win it, which would secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

It appears that is the only avenue remaining for Hopkins to keep his job and even that might not be enough.

The victory moves the Huskies to 17-14 overall and 9-11 in Pac-12 play, which currently has them as the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament. The loss knocks coach Kyle Smith in the Cougars to 23-8 overall and 14-6 in conference play.