Husky Hoops Remains Home Monday Facing Mississippi Valley State

Monday, November 9

Seattle, Wash.

7:00 p.m. PT

University of Washington

Mississippi Valley State

Tickets From $15 - $95

Abdul Gaddy, Steele Venters, LeJuan Watts and Lathan Sommerville celebrate on the Washington bench

November 08, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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SEATTLE – One week after its season-opening victory over Colgate, the Washington men's basketball team remains home Monday, facing Mississippi Valley State at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT, airing on the Big Ten Network. Nick Koop and David Crisp will have the call on your radio dial on 950 KJR-AM. Full links to live coverage are available on the schedule page at GoHuskies.com.

OPENING TIPS
» Washington is in its third season in the Big Ten and third season under Danny Sprinkle
» The Huskies feature a new-look roster with six returners from the 2025-26 season and nine newcomers
» Washington opened the season with a 90-76 home win over Colgate, the fifth-straight season-opening win for the Huskies
» Nikola Dzepina scored a career-best 27 points, the most by a Husky in a season-opener since Jaylen Nowell in 2017
» Washington converted 30-of-36 free throws, the second time with 30+ made free throws since the start of 2020
» Six newcomers made their Husky debut, led by LeJuan Watts 22 points on just three made FGs
» Monday's game will be the second-ever between UW and Mississippi Valley State
» It is the third-straight season Washington has faced a SWAC opponent
» UW is 12-0 all-time against current SWAC members, 3-0 since 2024-25

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
» Mississippi Valley State is in its first season under veteran head coach Mike Davis
» Davis is in his fifth season as a head coach, most notably guiding Indiana to an NCAA runner up finish in 2002
» Davis earned three SWAC Coach of the Year honors at Texas Southern
» MVSU features a completely revamped roster with one returning players from the 2025-26 season
» Monday's game is the second of 16-straight on the road to open the season for MVSU, including all 14 non-conference games in 2026
» Just two Delta Devils own previous NCAA experience in Albany transfer Tarique Foster and Cal State Bakersfield transfer Troy James Jr.
» MVSU opened the season on Friday, falling 84-57 at Oklahoma
» The Delta Devils shot just 16.7 percent from three in the game, converting 3-of-18 attempts
» MVSU was outrebounded 42-32 by the Sooners
» Rochester Christian forward transfer Tymias Williams led the Delta Devils with 19 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks
» Williams was named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-WHAC selection in 2025-26
» South Suburban College transfer guard AJ Abrams earned NJCAA Division II All-America laurels last season, averaging 23.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.2 steals per game

SERIES HISTORY - MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
» UW and Mississippi Valley State have met once previously in 2013
» The Huskies defeated the Delta Devils 95-80 at Alaska Airlines Arena behind Andrew Andrews' and Nigel Williams-Goss' 18 points apiece
» UW is a perfect 12-0 all-time against current SWAC teams

NEW NIKO LOADING
» Washington was led to a season-opening victory over Colgate by second year forward Nikola Dzepina's career-best 27 points
» The 27 points were the most by a Husky in a season opener since Jaylen Nowell's 32 against Belmont in 2017-18
» Entering the game with 37 total points in his career, the Serbian international dropped 20 in the second half alone
» Dzepina scored 18 of Washington's first 23 points in the second half
» The forward converted 8-of-11 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws in the period
» Dzepina scored nine two-point field goals after converting just four two pointers all of last season
» Dzepina also led the Dawgs with seven rebounds and two blocks in the game

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
» A key to Washington's season-opening win over Colgate was a renewed inside presence in the second half
» Out-rebounded by eight in the first half, UW was plus-seven in the second half
» The Huskies gave up an 8-1 advantage in offensive rebounding in the first half, but turned nine offensive rebounds into seven second-chance points in the second half
» After scoring just six points in the paint in the first half, UW posted 20 paint points in the second half

FREE FOR ALL
» Washington made 30-of-36 free throws in the season-opening win over Colgate
» It was just the second time the Huskies have made 30 or more free throws in a game since the start of 2020
» LeJuan Watts finished 14-of-16 fro the charity stripe, the most free throws in a single game by a Husky since Andrew Andrews' 14 in the 2015-16 NIT First Round against Long Beach State

VET SCHOOL
» Washington rebuilt its roster during the offseason with several veteran additions
» The Huskies' six college transfers brought 22 seasons of combined experience with 571 career games and 362 career starts
» Washington added three 1,000 point career scorers in Tayshawn Comer, LeJuan Watts and Steele Venters
» Ryan Beasley is just 73 points from reaching 1,000 career points
» Washington also added two players with three seasons of professional experience overseas apiece in Wini Braga and Tristan Devers
» UW's 15 players have an average age of 21.1 years

NEW LOOK DAWGS
» Washington returns six of 16 players from its 2025-26 roster
» Of those six players, only two appeared in 15 or more games in Wesley Yates III and Lathan Sommerville

WASHINGTON RETURNING PRODUCTION
Category	Total	Returning	Lost
Points	2,545	505 (19.8%)	2,040 (80.2%)
Field Goals	929	106 (11.4%)	823 (88.6%)
3-Point FG	221	65 (29.4%)	156 (70.6%)
Free Throws	466	104 (22.3%)	362 (77.7%)
Rebounds	1,229	154 (12.6%)	1,075 (87.4%)
Assists	459	51 (11.1%)	408 (88.9%)
Steals	189	43 (22.8%)	146 (77.2%)
Blocks	137	29 (21.2%)	108 (78.8%)

EURO STEP
» Second year forward Nikola Dzepina spent the bulk of the summer player for his home nation of Serbia at the 2026 FIBA U20 Eurobasket
» Dzepina guided Serbia to the Silver Medal, leading the team in scoring (13.9 PPG) and rebounding (6.6 RPG), while also dishing out 2.3 assist per game
» Dzepina ranked 10th in the tournament in rebounding and 14th in scoring
» The Belgrade native opened the tournament with a double double versus Poland, dropping 21 points and 13 boards in addition to three assists and three blocks
» Dzepina followed with 20 points versus Latvia in the group stage, knocking down 6-of-8 shots including 2-of-3 from behind the arc, also grabbing eight rebounds
» In the Gold Medal game, Dzepina scored came just shy of his second double double of the tournament with 10 points and nine boards
» Following the tournament, Dzepina was also called into Serbia's Senior National Team for training camp, playing alongside NBA MVP Nikola Jokic

HERE TO ASSIST
» Washington enters 2025-26 with a new-look assistant coaching staff with the addition of three assistant coaches who total 65 years of experience
» The trio have combined for 12 conference championships, 14 NCAA Tournament bids, five Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, two Final Fours, two NBA conference championships and one NBA Championship
» Washington is DeAndre Haynes' third stop in the Big Ten, having won league championships at both Maryland and Michigan
» Haynes helped the Wolverines to the Final Four and an NCAA runner up finish during the 2017-18 season
» Having spent the last 12 seasons at Oregon, Mike Mennenga's time in Eugene saw the Ducks achieve unprecedented success with seven conference championships, seven NCAA Tournament berths, four Sweet 16s, two Elite Eights and the 2017 Final Four
» An NBA veteran with 25 seasons in the Association, Charles Klask has worked under some of the most respected coaches in the league, including Rick Carlisle, Doc Rivers, Jason Kidd, Stan Van Gundy and Mike Malone
» Klask sat on the bench for seven seasons with the Denver Nuggets, helping the organization capture its first-ever NBA Championship in 2023 and serving as Denver's Summer League head coach in 2021

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
» Washington is one of 19 teams in the nation with five or more nations other than the United States represented on its roster
» The Huskies' roster spans the globe, from Australia to Bosnia and Herzegovina to Brazil to France to Serbia
» There are just six teams that have more countries represented than Washington, with Utah being the only team at the Power Five level
» UT Martin leads the nation with 10 different international countries represented on its roster

MONTLAKE MAGIC
» Over the last 21-plus seasons, Washington is 251-101 (.713) at Alaska Airlines Arena
» UW posted a 10-6 record at home in 2025-26, including a perfect 6-0 during non-conference play
» The Huskies have posted a winning record at home in 18 of those 21 seasons, registering double-digit home wins 17 times
» UW has posted at least a .600 home record in 14 of the past 21 seasons
» Washington has won at least 80% of its home games eight times over the last 20 seasons, including 90% or more three times

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