Only twice during the Pac-12 season has Washington walked off the court defeated.
The first time it happened, against Arizona State, the Huskies seemed to shrug it off. The loss brought an end to a 12-game winning streak and, as Noah Dickerson said then, it was bound to happen sometime.
But Thursday’s loss to Cal felt different.
Heading into the game, a celebration seemed inevitable: The first-place Huskies on the road against a team that had yet to win a game in conference play. All UW had to do was win, and it could enjoy clinching the Pac-12 regular season title outright.