The Huskies will be without sophomore guard Wesley Yates III and sophomore center Lathan Sommerville for an undisclosed time.
SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies wrapped up their nonconference schedule with a 74-65 win over the Utah Utes on Dec. 29 at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Washington improved to 9-4 on the season with the win and earned much-needed momentum going into the Big Ten gauntlet.
The Huskies have two games down in Big Ten play already and are 1-1 through the conference.
Four of Washington's first six games in the Big Ten in January are against teams ranked 13th or better in the Associated Press Top 25.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, they'll likely be without two key players.
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The game against Utah was Washington's second contest in a row without sophomore guard Wesley Yates III and sophomore center Lathan Sommerville.
Yates has been out since suffering a wrist injury and exiting early against Seattle University on Dec. 19. He underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his wrist.
After the win against the Utes on Dec. 29, Sprinkle provided an update on the timeline for Yates.
"(Yates) had surgery last Tuesday on his wrist," Sprinkle said. "He broke a bone in his wrist and that's another one that's kind of a — it could be six months, it could be three weeks. We don't know. ... It's a very rare bone that he broke. I wish I had an answer but those are the answers I've been given, too."
Yates is averaging 14.9 points per game this season in 11 contests on 39.5% shooting from the field. He's also averaged 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
Sommerville suffered a knee injury during practice in the days following the loss against Seattle U. There was initial concern that the injury was season-ending but imaging came back clean. However, there's still a lack of a clear timeline.
"I'm very happy for (Sommerville) and thankful it wasn't something more serious," Sprinkle said. "Because when we watched it, it didn't look good. We all thought he tore something. When he got the MRI and the x-ray, there was nothing structurally, which is great. ... It's just a matter of time. ... But I imagine it will be a couple weeks."
Sommerville, who's been the backup to starter Franck Kepnang the entire season, is averaging 4.5 points per game on 40% shooting from the field has pulled in 3.5 rebounds per game.
The Huskies have dealt with injuries the entire season to notable players such as Yates, Sommerville, Desmond Claude, Hannes Steinbach and Bryson Tucker.
The Big Ten is arguably the toughest conference in college basketball this season and Washington will have to find a way to navigate it with a short bench.
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