This post will update throughout the day, as we provide you quarterfinal action of the Pac-12 tournament from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Game 8: No. 3 Oregon 80, No. 6 Washington 77
Another game, another overtime. Behind a balanced attack, the Ducks outlasted the Huskies to advance to the semifinals. Four Oregon players scored in double figures, led by Tony Woods’ 19 points. The Ducks’ advantage at the free throw line gave them the edge. Scott Suggs and C.J. Wilcox poured in three treys a piece for Washington, a likely NIT team.
Game 7: No. 10 Utah 79, No. 2 California 69
Game 6: No. 4 Arizona 79, No. 5 Colorado 69
Arizona prevailed in an intense and physical contest. The Wildcats hounded Colorado defensively — an indication of the Buffaloes lack of offensive rhythm is the fact that they nearly had more made free throws than field goals. Colorado made a double-digit game close, as Spencer Dinwiddie (18 points) rallied his team to narrow the deficit to two with a minute remaining. But Nick Johnson, who led the ‘Cats with 18 points, hit a jumper, and Arizona made enough free throws to hang on. Neither Mark Lyons nor Solomon Hill was sharp offensively, but they both reached double digits. The Wildcats will face UCLA on Friday at noon for a spot in Saturday night’s finale. The Buffs will await their seed in the NCAA tournament.
Game 5: No. 1 UCLA 80, No. 9 Arizona State 75
UCLA struggled against Arizona State’s point guard-center combination of Jahii Carson and Jordan Bachynski all afternoon, as the Sun Devils led by as many as 15 in Thursday’s quarterfinal opener. The Bruins chipped away, as Shabazz Muhammad shook off a weak first half to spark UCLA’s comeback. With five minutes to go, it was a one-possession game, and the squads exchanged baskets right up until the very end. After Travis Wear hit two jumpers to put the Bruins up three with 12 seconds left, ASU’s Jonathan Gilling missed a three, sending the Devils off to ponder their place in the postseason picture. Larry Drew II had 20 points, while Muhammad chipped in 16 points and nine boards. Carson filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Bachynski led all scorers with 22.
Jonathan Kuperberg covers men’s basketball. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanKupe.