SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men's basketball team had a disappointing, 80-63 loss against the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans on Jan. 17 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

The loss was the Huskies' worst in Big Ten play this season. Before the defeat at the hands of the Spartans, UW hadn't lost by more than 10 points against a conference opponent this year.

Beyond the loss, Washington also took a big loss on the roster.

Senior guard Desmond Claude announced the day before the team's game against Michigan State that he was stepping away from on-court activities from on-court activities due to lingering issues with an ankle injury he suffered before the season began.

"Obviously everyone saw his post (Jan. 16) where he says he's injured," Huskies head coach Danny Sprinkle said after the loss against Michigan State. "University of Washington, we have elite student healthcare. It's one of the tops in the entire world. It's centered around every student athlete being taken care of and not just every student athlete, every student on campus, and we're here for them. That's pretty much all I can say right now."

Sprinkle didn't elaborate further whether Claude could potentially return this season or whether he will be around the team while he's recovering.

Claude missed the first four games of the season with the aforementioned ankle injury. He missed Washington's game against Ohio State on Jan. 11 due to a team decision after he was away from the team briefly due to what was described by Sprinkle as "personal reasons."

Claude averaged 13.3 points per game in 12 contests this season on 42.6% shooting from the floor. He also pulled in 2.4 rebounds and dished 1.9 assists per game.

Claude transferred to the Huskies this previous offseason after spending a season with the Southern California (USC) Trojans.

The senior's departure from the team, temporary or otherwise, is the latest setback in what has been a season full of them for Washington.

In addition to Claude, forwards Jacob Ognacevic, Mady Traore, Bryson Tucker and Hannes Steinbach, guard Wesley Yates III and center Lathan Sommerville have all missed multiple games this year with respective injuries. Traore will be out the entire year with a foot ailment. Sommerville has been out since a game against Seattle University on Dec. 19 due to a knee injury he suffered in practice.

The Huskies' next game will be on the road against the No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers at 6 p.m. PT on Jan. 17 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.

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