Led by ninth-year head coach Bob Bender, the Huskies were members of the Pacific-10 Conference and played their home games on campus at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.

[3] Last played in 1990, the conference tournament resumed this season, with eight teams qualifying.

Washington drew top seed Oregon in the opening quarterfinal;[4] the teams had split the season series with home wins.

[7][8] Twelve days later, Bender was relieved of his duties by athletic director Barbara Hedges.

[9][10][11] He was succeeded in early April by alumnus Lorenzo Romar,[12][13] the head coach at Saint Louis, who led the Husky program for fifteen seasons.