Washington Huskies guard Quimari Peterson gets his fingers on a shot by USC Trojans guard Alijah Arenas during the second half Wednesday, March 4, 2026 in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
1 of 12 | Washington Huskies guard Quimari Peterson gets his fingers on a shot by USC Trojans guard Alijah Arenas during the second half Wednesday, March 4, 2026 in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
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Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter
Hannes Steinbach smiled, clapped his hands and occasionally posed for team photos when the Huskies honored their departing players.
Unlike most everything involving the Washington men’s basketball team, the pregame Senior Night ceremonies didn’t include the fabulous freshman forward and paid tribute to Quimari Peterson, Jacob Ognacevic and Frank Kegnang.
However, UW’s 91-72 victory against USC was likely the last game at Alaska Airlines Arena for Steinbach who is projected to be a first-round pick in this summer’s NBA draft.
A handful of mock drafts slot him between 15-19 and if the forecasts are accurate, then he’ll join an exclusive fraternity of UW one-and-done freshman standouts including Tony Wroten Jr., Dejounte Murray, Marquese Chriss, Markelle Fultz, Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels.
Of course, there’s the chance Steinbach returns to college either at Washington or somewhere else, which isn’t out of the realm of possibilities in the age of NIL and million-dollar contracts.
“That would probably be a question for him and his family,” coach Danny Sprinkle said when asked if he thinks Steinbach will play at UW next season. “I imagine it’ll come down to like most kids. They’ll go through the process and see he’s going to get drafted and then make a decision from there.”
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If Wednesday night was his last on Montlake, then the crowd of 8,121was treated to another superlative performance from Steinbach who scored 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting and collected a career-high 24 rebounds for his 19th double double, which set a new Big Ten freshman record.
It was the fourth most rebounds in Husky history, the most since Steve Hawes had 28 in 1972 and six shy of the record set by Ed Correll in 1962.
It was also the second time a UW player tallied 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game after Noah Dickerson who did it in 2017.
“Hannes was just a monster for 40 minutes,” Sprinkle said. “We challenged him. He wasn’t very good in the first half, but the second half he was unbelievable. And I told him, we need the Hannes of the second half for 40 minutes. And he did that. He was absolutely tremendous. He dominated the glass, dominated the paint, and opened up everything.”
Steinbach is averaging 18.2 point and 11.1 rebounds and is on pace to become the first freshman and 19th player in Husky history to average a double double.
Similar to Washington’s previous one-and-done freshmen phenoms, Steinbach’s brilliance hasn’t equated to sustained success for the Huskies (15-15, 7-12) who finish the regular season on Saturday at Oregon
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Washington’s home finale was a microcosm of the season.
Steinbach was spectacular in the first half while tallying 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 13 rebounds, but the Huskies trailed 43-40 at halftime.
“We just recognized that we can play way better than we did in the first half,” Steinbach said. “We had eight or nine turnovers in the first half, and we were only down (three) so we knew that we can play way better if we just took care of the ball. … Everybody contributed and we got stops and rebounds and then got in transition.”
Playing its second straight game with seven players out and seven healthy scholarship players available, Washington needed someone to help Steinbach carry the offense.
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Sophomore guard Zoom Diallo was equally sensational while scoring 26 points and collecting nine rebounds — both career highs — before leaving late in the game due to cramps.
“If he is 1-on-1 and drives to the basket, he will score,” Steinbach said. “So a team has to have a big come up if he’s getting into the paint and (opens) a dump off for me. It’s the easiest two points that I got.”
The Huskies received timely baskets from Peterson (13 points) and sophomore guard Wesley Yates III, who struggled offensively once again and had 11 points while converting five of 18 shots.
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Washington led 72-65 with five minutes left when freshman guard Courtland Muldrew spearheaded a 13-0 run that put the Huskies up 85-65 and turned the close game into a rout.
Without leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara, who was dismissed from the team on Sunday, USC ran out of gas in the second half and was outscored 51-29.
Alijah Arenas scored a team-high 19 points, Ezra Ausar had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and former Eastside Catholic High standout Jacob Cofie and Jordan Marsh each had 14 points for Trojans (18-12, 7-12).
This game had a little bit of everything for Washington, which had more rebounds (46 to 37), assists (14 to six), points in the paint (54 to 32), points off turnovers (18 to eight) and fewer turnovers (11 to 12).
The only thing missing was a “one more year” chant from the fans to Steinbach, who walked off the court for possibly the last time.
The 19-year-old Steinbach wants to focus on Saturday’s regular-season finale at Oregon and next week’s Big Ten tournament, but he know he has a big decision to make in terms of his future.
“I just try to focus on doing the best at whatever I do,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what decision I make, but just I’m going to a make decision when I’m fully confident, so it doesn’t matter what it is.”
When asked if there’s a chance he returns to Washington, Steinbach smiled sheepishly and said: “Yeah, maybe.”
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Percy Allen: pallen@seattletimes.com. Percy Allen is a sports reporter for The Seattle Times, where he writes about the University of Washington Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams and the Seattle Storm.
1 of 12 | Washington Huskies guard Quimari Peterson gets his fingers on a shot by USC Trojans guard Alijah Arenas during the second half Wednesday, March 4, 2026 in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
Skip Ad
By
Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter
Hannes Steinbach smiled, clapped his hands and occasionally posed for team photos when the Huskies honored their departing players.
Unlike most everything involving the Washington men’s basketball team, the pregame Senior Night ceremonies didn’t include the fabulous freshman forward and paid tribute to Quimari Peterson, Jacob Ognacevic and Frank Kegnang.
However, UW’s 91-72 victory against USC was likely the last game at Alaska Airlines Arena for Steinbach who is projected to be a first-round pick in this summer’s NBA draft.
A handful of mock drafts slot him between 15-19 and if the forecasts are accurate, then he’ll join an exclusive fraternity of UW one-and-done freshman standouts including Tony Wroten Jr., Dejounte Murray, Marquese Chriss, Markelle Fultz, Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels.
Of course, there’s the chance Steinbach returns to college either at Washington or somewhere else, which isn’t out of the realm of possibilities in the age of NIL and million-dollar contracts.
“That would probably be a question for him and his family,” coach Danny Sprinkle said when asked if he thinks Steinbach will play at UW next season. “I imagine it’ll come down to like most kids. They’ll go through the process and see he’s going to get drafted and then make a decision from there.”
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Skip Ad
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If Wednesday night was his last on Montlake, then the crowd of 8,121was treated to another superlative performance from Steinbach who scored 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting and collected a career-high 24 rebounds for his 19th double double, which set a new Big Ten freshman record.
It was the fourth most rebounds in Husky history, the most since Steve Hawes had 28 in 1972 and six shy of the record set by Ed Correll in 1962.
It was also the second time a UW player tallied 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game after Noah Dickerson who did it in 2017.
“Hannes was just a monster for 40 minutes,” Sprinkle said. “We challenged him. He wasn’t very good in the first half, but the second half he was unbelievable. And I told him, we need the Hannes of the second half for 40 minutes. And he did that. He was absolutely tremendous. He dominated the glass, dominated the paint, and opened up everything.”
Steinbach is averaging 18.2 point and 11.1 rebounds and is on pace to become the first freshman and 19th player in Husky history to average a double double.
Similar to Washington’s previous one-and-done freshmen phenoms, Steinbach’s brilliance hasn’t equated to sustained success for the Huskies (15-15, 7-12) who finish the regular season on Saturday at Oregon
Advertising
Skip Ad
Washington’s home finale was a microcosm of the season.
Steinbach was spectacular in the first half while tallying 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 13 rebounds, but the Huskies trailed 43-40 at halftime.
“We just recognized that we can play way better than we did in the first half,” Steinbach said. “We had eight or nine turnovers in the first half, and we were only down (three) so we knew that we can play way better if we just took care of the ball. … Everybody contributed and we got stops and rebounds and then got in transition.”
Playing its second straight game with seven players out and seven healthy scholarship players available, Washington needed someone to help Steinbach carry the offense.
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Sophomore guard Zoom Diallo was equally sensational while scoring 26 points and collecting nine rebounds — both career highs — before leaving late in the game due to cramps.
“If he is 1-on-1 and drives to the basket, he will score,” Steinbach said. “So a team has to have a big come up if he’s getting into the paint and (opens) a dump off for me. It’s the easiest two points that I got.”
The Huskies received timely baskets from Peterson (13 points) and sophomore guard Wesley Yates III, who struggled offensively once again and had 11 points while converting five of 18 shots.
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Washington led 72-65 with five minutes left when freshman guard Courtland Muldrew spearheaded a 13-0 run that put the Huskies up 85-65 and turned the close game into a rout.
Without leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara, who was dismissed from the team on Sunday, USC ran out of gas in the second half and was outscored 51-29.
Alijah Arenas scored a team-high 19 points, Ezra Ausar had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and former Eastside Catholic High standout Jacob Cofie and Jordan Marsh each had 14 points for Trojans (18-12, 7-12).
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This game had a little bit of everything for Washington, which had more rebounds (46 to 37), assists (14 to six), points in the paint (54 to 32), points off turnovers (18 to eight) and fewer turnovers (11 to 12).
The only thing missing was a “one more year” chant from the fans to Steinbach, who walked off the court for possibly the last time.
“I’m trying to be positive,” Sprinkle said.
The 19-year-old Steinbach wants to focus on Saturday’s regular-season finale at Oregon and next week’s Big Ten tournament, but he know he has a big decision to make in terms of his future.
“I just try to focus on doing the best at whatever I do,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what decision I make, but just I’m going to a make decision when I’m fully confident, so it doesn’t matter what it is.”
When asked if there’s a chance he returns to Washington, Steinbach smiled sheepishly and said: “Yeah, maybe.”
BOX SCORE
Top
Percy Allen: pallen@seattletimes.com. Percy Allen is a sports reporter for The Seattle Times, where he writes about the University of Washington Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams and the Seattle Storm.