The Washington Huskies men's basketball team saw the court for the first time in the 2026-27 season in an exhibition game against the Boise State Broncos on Saturday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.

It was a disappointing open disaply for the Huskies, who fell 109-91 to the Broncos.

Saturday marked the first display for several newcomers to the roster, which saw nine new additions and six returners.

Here's three takeaways from Washington's exhibition loss against Boise State:

First starting five revealed

The biggest question for the Huskies going into their exhibition opener was what the starting five would look like.

Washington went with fifth-year point guard Tayshawn Comer, eighth-year wing Steele Venters, fifth-year wing LeJuan Watts, third-year power forward Lathan Sommerville and second-year center Nikola Dzepina.

Interestingly, fourth-year shooting guard Wesley Yates III, the only returning starter from last year's team, was used in a sixth-man capacity.

All five of the Huskies' starters ended up fouling out of the game. The biggest scoring output from the starters came from Watts and Comer, respectively.

Watts, who transferred this offseason from the Texas Tech Red Raiders, scored 16 points on a 5-for-11 mark from the floor (6-for-7 from the free throw line. He added nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.

LeJuan Watts gets up and throws it down! Erikstrup with the set up as the Cougs push the tempo and extend their lead. Four players in double figures for the eighth time this year.#GoCougs | 📺ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/nNlO1ukvmA

— Washington State Men's Basketball (@WSUCougarsMBB) December 14, 2024

Comer, who transferred to UW from the Nevada Wolfpack, put up his 16 points on a 2-for-6 mark from the floor (2-for-2 from 3-point range; 10-for-12 from the charity stripe) in addition to three assists and one rebound.

One of the team's top additions via the portal and the assumptive point guard entering this season, fourth-year San Francisco transfer Ryan Beasley, didn't record any playing time Saturday.

Offense shines, defense falters

Last season, offense was hard to come by for the Huskies aside from forward Hannes Steinbach and guard Zoom Diallo, particularly in 3-point shooting, which ranked near the bottom of the conference.

Washington shot 51% from the floor (26-for-51) and 40.7% from 3-point range (11-for-27). The team was unable to replicate the same success at the free-throw line and shot 60.9% (28-for-46).

The defense wasn't able to stop Boise State's attack and committed 36 total personal fouls, which resulted in 53 shots at the charity stripe. The Broncos shot 32-for-60 (53.3%) from the floor, including a 15-for-33 mark from 3-point range.

First-years barely on the court

The Huskies barely utilized their first-year players in the exhibition loss, including their two international signings.

Class of 2026 commitment, three-star small forward Lattimore Ford, played one minute but didn't record a statistic. Australian guard Tristan Devers didn't play at all.

Brazilian forward Wini Braga, who was the latest player to join the team after reported issues with his enrollment, played 13 minutes and recorded three points on one shot, which was a 3-pointer. He was 0-for-2 from the free-throw line, brought in three rebounds and had an assist and a steal.

Overview

Exhibition games and nonconference games are normally the time to rotate most of the bench through to find the best combination that works for the team. The minutes split and starting five against the Broncos doesn't guarantee that'll be the way it is when Big Ten play begins.

With nine newcomers, the lack of chemistry was noticeable, and that will be something the team needs to sort through. However, the one encouraging sign was the efficiency on offense, which was the biggest weakness of the team at the end of last season.