This post will update throughout the day, as we provide you first-round action of the Pac-12 tournament from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Game 4 Final: No. 6 Washington 64, No. 11 Washington State 62
The Huskies were comfortably ahead. They jumped on the Cougars early and rode Scott Suggs’ 3-point shooting (19 points, 4-of-6 threes) to a sizable cushion. In fact, Washington led 62-47 with 8:35 remaining — and then did not score again until 1:16 remained, allowing 15 unanswered points to Washington State. But the Huskies held on. Desmond Simmons’ bucket in the paint broke the 62-62 tie and proved to be the game-winner, as Brock Motum’s go-ahead 3-point attempt hit front rim. Washington advances to face third-seeded Oregon in Thursday’s night cap. As he always does, Motum led the way for Washington State, turning in 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting.
Game 3 Final: No. 10 Utah 69, No. 7 USC 66
With the game on the line, Jarred DuBois did as seniors do: He put the team on his back. USC’s 12-0 run late in the second half had pulled the Trojans to within one, so Dubois calmly drilled a jumper. Then a three. The he dished to center Jason Washburn for a dunk. In all, DuBois tallied 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with four assists, as No. 10 seed Utah held on to beat seventh-seeded USC. The Trojans actually shot the ball better than the Utes, but Utah took more than twice as many free throws and made more than twice as many 3-pointers. Seldom-used big man Omar Oraby filled in admirably for USC’s two suspended centers. He had a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Game 2 Final: No. 5 Colorado 74, No. 12 Oregon State 68
Colorado avenged last weekend’s loss to Oregon State by taking down the Beavers on Thursday afternoon. The fifth-seeded Buffaloes advance to face Arizona in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament Thursday. Despite finishing tied for last place in the conference, Oregon State gave the defending Pac-12 tournament champions a run for their money in Las Vegas. The Buffaloes, who held a six-point halftime edge, never seemed to have a comfortable enough lead. Star forward Andre Roberson had a quiet afternoon, with just 12 points and seven rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points. Roberson Nelson chipped in 20 points to lead Oregon State.
Game 1 Final: No. 9 Arizona State 89, No. 8 Stanford 88
A quarterfinal matchup with conference champion UCLA seemed all but set up for Arizona State with 1:10 left in Wednesday’s opening round of the Pac-12 tournament. The ninth-seeded Sun Devils led No. 8 Stanford by eight points, a seemingly insurmountable lead, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Yet Aaron Bright was not ready for the game to end. The Cardinal point guard drilled a pair of 3-pointers, sandwiched by a Josh Huestis trey, to send the game into overtime. In the end, though, there was just too much Jahii Carson. Arizona State’s diminutive point guard, the Co-Freshman of the Year in the conference, finished with a game-high 34 points on 14-of-22 shooting. Carrick Felix had a double double (19 and 12), while Evan Gordon was clutch at the charity stripe, sinking 9-of-11 from the line. The Sun Devils take on the Bruins at noon Thursday, while Stanford will await a likely NIT bid.
Jonathan Kuperberg covers men’s basketball. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanKupe.