Washington-Santa Clara preview | The News Tribune

VANCOUVER CLASSIC: WASHINGTON (2-1) VS. SANTA CLARA (0-2)

5 p.m., Vancouver Convention Center

TV: ESPN3

Radio: KVI 571 AM/FM 97.7

PROJECTED STARTERS

Statistics from 2018-19:

SANTA CLARA

13 Josip Vrankic, F (6-8, so.): 3.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg

22 Josh Martin, F (6-7, sr.): 7.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg

25 Fallou Ndoye, C (6-11, sr): 1.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg

02 Tahj Eaddy, G (6-1, so.): 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg

10 KJ Feagin, G (6-1, sr.): 5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg,

WASHINGTON

1 David Crisp, G (6-0, sr.): 11.5 ppg, 2.7 apg

5 Jaylen Nowell, G (6-4, so.): 16.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg

4 Matisse Thybulle, G (6-5, sr.): 8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg

33 Sam Timmins, F (6-11, jr.): 2.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg

15 Noah Dickerson, F (6-8, sr.): 15.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg

Scouting report: Washington will open the Vancouver Showcase against Santa Clara. The Huskies will then play Texas A&M on Tuesday before facing Minnesota on Wednesday.

Playing three games in such a short period is good preparation for the NCAA Tournament UW hopes to make, said head coach Mike Hopkins.

Santa Clara is still searching for its first win of the season. The Broncos fell to Prairie View 81-64 to open the year before falling to UC Irvine 61-49. They are one of three teams on UW’s non-conference schedule that finished below .500 last season. The other two are Minnesota and Sacramento State.

The Huskies have had a tough opening slate, starting the the season against Conference USA favorite Western Kentucky, traveling to No. 11 Auburn and then returning home against San Diego. It’s encouraging, Hopkins said, that the Huskies finished that stretch 2-1.

For the Huskies, one of the keys during the showcase will be the continued improvement of Noah Dickerson. Dickerson had an injury before UW’s first exhibition game and is still working himself back into shape, Hopkins said.

When he’s at his best, Dickerson is one of the best players in the country, Hopkins said. He’s seen the improvement in his second-leading scorer over the first three games. Dickerson shown flashes of the player he was last year, like the second half against Western Kentucky. Hopkins expects to see that more often as he works himself back into top shape.