(No. 9) Arizona State upsets (No. 8) Stanford, 89-88, advances to play UCLA
The MGM Grand Garden Arena churned out another entertaining show on Wednesday, a bit earlier in the day than most performances, but not any less exciting. Arizona State bested Stanford in the first game of the Pac-12 conference tournament in Las Vegas in an extremely close battle that tipped at noon.
The Sun Devils led at halftime by two, but the Cardinal mirrored that in the second half, racking up 46 to ASU’s 44. Down by four with just over forty seconds left, Stanford’s Aaron Bright evened the score in just one play, completing an improbable four-point-play on a three and the foul shot. The Sun Devil’s Jahii Carson missed his only three of the game at the buzzer, spelling overtime. In OT, Evan Gordon scored all of Arizona State’s points, netting five free throws to give his team a late four-point lead. A Josh Huestis three for the Cardinal wasn’t enough, and the Sun Devils advanced with a one-point lead. Carson led all scorers with 34 while Carrick Felix added a double-double with 19 points and 12 boards. Aaron Bright, Dwight Powell and Huestis tallied 27, 23 and 17 for Stanford.
(No. 5) Colorado beats (No. 12) Oregon State, 74-68, advances to play Arizona
Four days after surprisingly going down to the Beavers, Colorado rebounded when it counted, edging out Oregon State in the first round of the conference tournament, thus eliminating OSU from the bracket. The return of the Pac-12’s top rebounder in Andre Roberson boosted the Buffaloes as Roberson scored 12 points while Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 and Xavier Johnson added 16. The two teams shot an almost identical field goal percentage and made the same amount of threes but the difference came at the foul line. Colorado reached the stripe 32 times, connecting on 23 attempts, and while OSU shot a better percentage, they had fewer opportunities and netted only 15. Roberto Nelson continued his hot scoring as of late, putting up 20 for the Beavers.
(No. 10) Utah beats (No. 7) USC, 69-66, advances to play California
The Utes jumped out to a seven-point lead and held on despite a fervent late push from the higher-seeded Trojans to pull the upset and move on to day two. At 60-47, a 13-point advantage with just over seven minutes left in the game looked like a sure lock for Utah, but 12-0 run from the Trojans capped by a three-pointer from Eric Wise made it a one-point game with just under four to go. The Utes answered with a 7-2 streak, and time ran out on USC.
Jarred DuBois led the way for the underdog Utes with 22 while senior center Omar Oraby had 18 for USC in the loss. Utah’s win streak extends to three games, the longest of the year for the program. Unfortunately they were dismal against Cal in two face-offs this year, and they will play the Bears tomorrow.
(6) Washington beats (11) Washington State, advances to play Oregon.
Three players. Only three players scored in the first half for the Cougars and four for the entire game. Yet somehow, after trailing by 11 at the half, Washington State fought back against archrival Washington to make it a game down the stretch. A 15-0 run for the Cougars that lasted into the final two minutes made a blowout a thriller, but the higher seed prevailed.
Washington’s Desmond Simmons made a bucket for the Huskies to break a 62-62 tie, and his team protected the minimal advantage for the final 1:17. Brock Motum, D.J. Shelton and Royce Woolridge totaled 59 of the Cougars’ 62 points. Scott Suggs racked up 19 for UW, and his team advances to play Oregon.