Washington fell behind 16-4 in the first five minutes of action Wednesday night in Spokane. Things got only uglier from there. Gonzaga took a 47-22 lead while the Huskies put on an uninspiring performance in the first half. The rout was on, and the Bulldogs put it on their in-state rival 98-71.

Here are three takeaways.

1. This wasn't Markelle Fultz's best game.

And he was still pretty damn good.

This was really not a close contest from the beginning, as mentioned, but Fultz made the best of it late. I thought at times late in the first half (and early in the second) he looked disinterested and lackadaisical.

That showed up in his shot selection on several occasions, which probably could have been better. Here's one example of an ill-advised shot. Even with the shot clock winding down, dribbling to the corner for a fadeaway is not a good look. This was more of a "why the heck not, we're down by 30?" type shot.

But he's an NBA talent and he proved as much. His best attributes are when he has the ball and he's attacking. He's electric with the ball in his hands. He played off the ball more than I expected early, and elected to make unselfish passes rather than looking for his shot.

It seemed like he flipped a switch down the stretch and changed his mindset. And that was when it got fun.

He got 25 points on 26 shots, just above his 22-points-per-game average. When he's attacking is when he's at his best, and plays like this is why DraftExpress.com has him projected as the No. 1 pick in 2017.

It's exciting and also sad. Which brings me to my next point ...

2. This could be the second year a No. 1 pick misses the Big Dance.

First Ben Simmons last season with LSU, now Markelle Fultz? The Washington Huskies now are 4-4, and against Gonzaga, they didn't show any reason why they could improve to a top-tier Pac-12 team. They have major issues on defense (we'll get to that shortly), and this team, quite obviously, can't keep up in a shootout.

Under Lorenzo Romar, Washington has missed five consecutive NCAA tournaments. A far cry from the 2005-2010 years where they made three Sweet Sixteen appearances.

When Fultz committed, he likely expected a different personnel situation. Both DeJounte Murray and Marquese Chriss elected to take their talents to the NBA. It's no fault of his. But it's a major reason why the Huskies, who have one of the top NBA prospects, might miss the NCAA tournament. There are winnable games on the schedule, and they'll have plenty of opportunities in conference play to bolster their resume. They missed a big opportunity against Gonzaga. They will have more. But early this season, it looks like they might be headed for a sixth consecutive year without an NCAA tournament appearance.

3. Poor defense is going to be Washington's downfall all season.

The defense was bad.

They gave up a season-high 98 points. And Gonzaga shot 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.

For as bad as the defense was, the effort was worse. Here's one example of Washington's poor discipline. The Huskies left the back door wide open, and instead of hustling to get back, they failed in an attempt to block the alley-oop, which led to an easy dunk.


The defender who was jumping to attempt the deflection wasn't even the one guarding the play. The defender failed to fight over a pick-and-roll action at the top of the key and got stranded up top. By the time he realized it was over, he was already on offense.

Fast forward to the second half, and you'll get another prime example of this. After an inbound pass on a turnover of possession, Gonzaga leaked a player down the floor and found an easy transition basket.

That happens.

But a 7-foot-1, 300-pound center shouldn't be doing that.

It might be acceptable (I guess?) if it were off a miss and he had a jump start. But this was an example of a lack of hustle and effort to get back.

Unless they can shore up some glaring issues on defense, and unless they figure out a way to do that quickly, the Huskies could be headed for the NIT again.