Lauren Kirschman

The News Tribune

Washington remained undefeated in Pac-12 play and earned its second road sweep of the season with victories at Oregon and Oregon State.

While Huskies are enjoying their success, they aren’t interested in soaking it all in.

After UW beat Utah and Colorado earlier in January, point guard David Crisp said getting the program’s first road sweep in six years was a goal from the beginning of the season. After the second one, Crisp said he wasn’t satisfied just yet.

“I want more,” he said. “I want more. Like I said, I’m going to take it one practice at a time, one game at a time. And that’s the key to success, really. Every moment is huge, you know?”

As the Huskies prepare to return home to Alaska Airlines Arena this week, here’s three things we learned from the most recent road trip.

1. UW looks like the team to beat in the Pac-12

The Huskies are 7-0 in conference play, their best start since the 1952-53 season. Every other team has at least two losses. UW is also on a nine-game winning streak, a run that’s been highlighted by impressive defensive outings during the conference season.

The Huskies are first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, allowing 61.6 points per game. They are allowing conference opponents to shoot 41.4 percent from the field, which is second to Arizona State (41.3). At No. 38, UW is still the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the NET Rankings. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament field as a No. 9 seed.

By earning victories at Oregon and Oregon State, the Huskies passed the first part of their conference schedule’s most challenging stretch. They’ll now face USC (11-8, 4-2 Pac-12) and UCLA (10-9, 3-3) at home before traveling to Arizona (14-6, 4-2) and Arizona State (14-5, 5-2).

2. Contributions are coming from everywhere.

Early in the season, the Huskies weren’t getting consistent scoring from players other than Jaylen Nowell and Noah Dickerson. But that issue seems to be a thing of the past. That was particularly evident during Saturday’s victory over Oregon State when the Huskies had four players — Nowell, Crisp, Nahziah Carter and Matisse Thybulle — reach double figures.

Pac-12 teams have focused their defensive efforts on stopping Dickerson, which has opened things up for UW on the perimeter. The Huskies have taken advantage, and Dickerson has found other ways to contribute. He’s drew 13 fouls in the Huskies’ victory over Cal on Jan. 19 and drew seven against the Beavers.

Meanwhile, Crisp is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s reached double figures in every Pac-12 game, scoring 18 against Oregon and 14 against Oregon State.

One of the biggest keys to UW’s recent success has been improved 3-point shooting. Led by Nowell and Crisp, the Huskies are 42.3 percent beyond the arc in conference play. After UW struggled from the 3-point line earlier it the season, the Huskies coaching staff set out to fix the problem.

“We had 40-minute shooting groups,” said head coach Mike Hopkins. “We got 300-400 shots everyday, everybody, and then we had practice. … Those guys put the work in. They bought into it. They’ve been shooting with a lot of confidence through their hand work.”

3. Carter is an X-factor.

Carter’s four thunderous dunks against Oregon State did more than just energize the Huskies, they added another dimension to the offense. It’s hard to stop Carter when he puts his mind to attacking the basket, and he seems to know it.

“I don’t think nobody can block my dunks,” Carter said after the win over the Beavers.

Hopkins said he likes seeing that kind of aggressive play from Carter, even if it occasionally leads to mistakes.

“I want confident Naz,” Hopkins said. “If you’re going to go and jump and do a 360 in the air and shoot it, do what you do. Meaning, I don’t want to be in his head and take away his aggressiveness.”

Carter’s 18-point performance came after he scored just four and three points, respectively, in wins over Cal and Oregon. He averaged 13.3 points over the first three games of the conference schedule.