The Washington Huskies men's basketball team are coming off their most impressive win of the season.

The Huskies came back from 18 points down at halftime to beat the then-No. 24 USC Trojans 84-76 on Dec. 6.

The victory improved Washington's record to 6-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten.

Throughout the Huskies' first nine games this season, they've been unable to play at full strength. Senior guard Desmond Claude, freshman forward Hannes Steinbach and sophomore forward Bryson Tucker have all missed time with respective ankle sprains.

A lot of the absence of bodies for Washington has been in the frontcourt. On top of Steinbach and Tucker's injuries (the latter of the two is still out), 6-foot-11 junior guard Mady Traore is out for the season with a foot injury. Senior forward Jacob Ognacevic is out until January with his own ailment.

Luckily for the Huskies, their frontcourt will get a big boost this week with the arrival of 6-foot-10 big man Nikola Dzepina.

The Serbian forward arrived in Seattle this week and will begin practicing with the team this week, according to a report from Sports Illustrated's Dan Raley.

Dzepina is enrolled at Washington in the winter quarter. He'll be eligible to participate in team activities on Dec. 13, when the quarter officially starts.

Dzepina will be the third freshman on the team this season who competed for their respective countries in the 2025 U19 FIBA World Cup.

Guard JJ Mandaquit played for the gold-medal winning Team USA in the World Cup. He's averaging 5.9 points, four assists and 2.9 rebounds on 40.9% shooting.

Steinbach, who helped lead Germany to a silver medal and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, is averaging 18.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. He's shooting 66.7% from the floor and 63.1% from beyond the arc. His points, rebounds and field goal percentage all lead the team.

Dzepina averaged 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for Serbia in the World Cup. He shot 52% from the floor and 35% from 3-point range.

The date Dzepina will be able to officially participate in team activities coincides with the Huskies' next game.

Washington will next be in action against Southern Utah at 3 p.m. PT on Dec. 13 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. The Dawgs' next Big Ten game will be against Indiana at 5 p.m. PT on Jan. 4 at Bloomington Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

More Huskies stories

Washington Forward Hannes Steinbach Named Big Ten Freshman of The Week

No. 21 Washington Falls 59-50 in Big Ten Opener Against No. 16 USC

Washington Hands No. 24 USC First Loss of 2025 in 84-76, Comeback Victory

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Remember to join our HUSKIES on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Washington fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!