The jam-packed Alaska Airlines Arena, which was crammed to the rafters with Huskies fans Sunday night, waited all night for a reason to explode and unleash years worth of frustration.
At times it felt as if the building might erupt when No. 22 Washington came within striking distance of surging past No. 9 Gonzaga.
However, the 48th meeting of this in-state rivalry that began in 1910 ended just like the past five meetings – with a Zags win.
This time the Bulldogs held on for an 83-76 victory.
After last year’s 81-79 defeat in Spokane, the Huskies believed they had narrowed the gap with their in-state nemesis, which has won 13 of the past 14 games against UW.