Stanford's dream of an NCAA tournament bid can still become a reality after the Cardinal blew out the Arizona State Sun Devils 85-65 in Wednesday's first round of the Pac-12 tournament. Chasson Randle scored a career-high of 30 points for the Cardinal, with 27 of those points coming in the first half — a Pac-12 tournament record.
The Cardinal will meet California in a quarterfinal game on Thursday at 6 p.m.. These two teams last met on Sunday with Stanford pulling off a 75-70 victory over the Golden Bears. The two teams split the regular season series 1-1.
In other first round action, Oregon State advanced to the quarterfinals after a 69-64 victory over the Washington State Cougars. Oregon State's 24-8 first half run combined with solid free-throw shooting down the stretch helped the Beavers come out on top. The No. 1 seeded Washington Huskies are the Beavers' next opponent; their game will tip-off at 12 p.m.
The hometown UCLA Bruins beat arch-rivals USC 55-40 despite forward Josh Smith sitting out the entire first half. In the final first round game, the Colorado Buffaloes took care of the Utah Utes 53-41. The Buffaloes were led by Andre Robinson who tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds.
See an up-to-date Pac-12 tournament bracket here.
To discuss the Pac-12 Tournament in general, head to Pacific Takes. To talk about Stanford basketball, check out Rule of Tree. For discussion on California Bears basketball, head on over to California Golden Blogs.