Basketball preview: Oskaloosa vs Washington

Who: Oskaloosa (2-18) vs Washington (14-6)


What: Class 3A - Substate 6 - Quarterfinal


Where: Washington


When: Monday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.


Matchup history

Oskaloosa owns an 8-1 advantage in the series since 2014 but Washington won the most recent meeting back in December, 50-30. The Indians had 27 turnovers in that game and shot just 27% from the field. Carson Genskow had eight points to lead Osky while Lance Sobaski led Washington with 13 points.

By the numbers

Oskaloosa is 1-9 in their last 10 games while Washington is 7-3. Washington’s Ethan Patterson leads Class 3A in free throw percentage at 91.5%. Oskaloosa is 0-5 in games decided by single digits while Washington is 5-4 in those games.

One key player for Oskaloosa

Oskaloosa was missing a big piece of their team in the first meeting. Keaton Flaherty, who leads the Indians averaging 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals, did not play in that game and figures to be a key cog in the rematch. Flaherty will provide Oskaloosa with some length defensively and on the boards at 6-foot-4, but he also gives the Indians some much-needed scoring punch as a shooter, driver or creator for others.

Keys for Oskaloosa

Value each possession. Oskaloosa had 27 turnovers in the first meeting and they average 19.3 turnovers a game this season. The Indians need to take care of the ball find ways to score consistently. A big Washington run can put Oskaloosa behind the eight ball so they will need a good start and to continue to roll from there. All the pressure will be on Washington in this game, for a young team like Oskaloosa, who only plays two seniors that both come off the bench, this will be a good opportunity to gain some more experience and see if they can come up with some postseason magic.