This weekend didn’t decide much in the way of the Pac-12 men’s basketball race, but the Ducks do have first place all to themselves with five games remaining after pulling out another overtime win at Washington State. The fans in Eugene obviously like what they are seeing from Dana Altman’s boys, commenting to The Oregonian that the Ducks are overachieving this year.
Did you see the way Washington State lost the Oregon game? It was another tough one to swallow for the Cougars, who have been in just about every game this year but find themselves in last place with a 2-11 record. On the bright side of things, Royce Woolridge scored 36 for Ken Bone and Friends. It also didn’t help Cougar fans that the Oregon women’s basketball team swept Wazzu on the season after beating the Cougs in Eugene yesterday.
Thanks to Oregon, Cal couldn’t move any closer to first place, but the Golden Bears did stage a furious rally to beat USC, 76-68. At one point in the second half, Cal was down by 15 points before Allen Crabbe went off on the Conquering Cantus. Of course, Crabbe’s brilliant second half performance came after that little tap Montgomery gave to his star player, which has been deemed a shove. At least nobody has called it “Shovegate” yet from what I’ve seen.
Speaking of comebacks, the Utes rallied but came up short against Arizona, falling to the No. 9 team in the country by a score of 68-64. Utah might be 3-10 in conference, but the squad will give you a tough 40 minutes. Gotta love what Larry Krystkowiak is doing in Salt Lake City. In gymnastics news, Utah ended up tying with Washington this weekend, the team’s first tie since 2001 when the Red Rocks squared off against… Washington. At least Tory Wilson extended her winning streak on the vault, though.
After the tight victory at Utah, Sean Miller said Kevin Parrom could remain in the starting lineup, which would make Brandon Ashley come off the bench.
The dramatics weren’t just saved for Sunday, as Arizona State held off Colorado with a buzzer-beating layup in overtime. After losing to Utah Wednesday night and giving up a bucket on the preceding possession to Colorado to fall behind by one in overtime, this Sun Devil triumph qualifies as Gut-Check Victory of the Year for me. Evan Gordon FTW.
It’s certainly the type of defeat that could make you lose some sleep, but Tad Boyle says the Buffs won’t dwell after the tough loss to Arizona State. On the women’s hardwood, Colorado got by Arizona State on the road thanks to a career-high 22 points from Jen Reese. Linda Lappe’s team has now won five straight to get to 9-5 in Pac-12 play, and the Buffs are now probably a win or two away from locking up an at-large bid.
After losing handily at Cal, UCLA was feeling a sense of urgency with the season winding down. That translated into the Bruins taking a fresh approach to beat Stanford, 88-80. Freshmen (hence “fresh” approach) Shabazz Muhammad, Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson combined for 63 points in the win that kept UCLA within a game of first place.
It hasn’t been a pleasant last four weeks for the Huskies, but C.J. Wilcox and Washington broke the slump by beating Oregon State, 72-62. Wilcox scored 24 points to lead the way, as the Huskies had lost seven of eight entering Saturday night’s contest.
In Sunday’s premier women’s basketball contest, Chiney Ogwumike led the charge in Stanford’s 68-57 victory over UCLA. The junior scored 26 points, grabbed seven boards and blocked four shots, and is averaging 21.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in games against ranked teams this year. Pretty solid numbers, huh?
Monday is usually a tough day for Pac-12 basketball fans, but guess what? Oregon State is hosting Washington tonight at 6:00 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Networks! Hooray for holiday weekends! Oregon State baseball is off to a good start after beating UC Riverside 14-3 on Sunday. The win made the Beavs a perfect 3-0 on the weekend and the season. The last time Oregon State started 3-0? 2007, when its season ended a little something like this.
Also, let’s give a pat on the back to Dan Hubbs for picking up his first victory as USC head baseball coach. It came in dramatic fashion yesterday when the Trojans left visiting Nebraska on the field with a 4-3 victory in the home opener. Adam Landecker singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to deliver the walk-off victory.