Much like the first round, the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament did not disappoint. While there was high drama in all four games yesterday, you couldn’t beat the overtime thriller featuring tenth-seeded Utah upsetting second-seeded Cal. The Golden Bears had the lead down the stretch in regulation, but the Runnin’ Utes were able to send it to overtime thanks to Jarred DuBois’ heroics, hitting a falling-away contested three with four ticks left in regulation. By advancing to the semifinals, Utah is auditioning for the role of Cinderella.
The Runnin’ Utes will meet the Fighting Ducks in the semis after Oregon took down Washington in overtime—just the second 45-minute game is an many contests and the third of the tournament is all. It was a fist-pumping finish for Oregon, as Arasalan Kazemi scored 11 points in the overtime period.
Oh, those darn Ducks, writes Gregg Bell. Get the Washington perspective of last night’s game with the UW Director of Writing as he goes unleashed on another press release. If that’s not enough Husky news for ya, let’s check back in with Bob Condotta as he gives us some Washington football practice notes from Thursday.
The opening game of Day 1 was pretty decent, I’d say—just an overtime game decided by one point. The opening game of Day 2 was just as intriguing, with UCLA erasing a double-digit deficit to knock off Arizona State 80-75. And, by scoring 20 points on just ten shots and making clutch passes down the stretch, Larry Drew II is continuing his redemption season.
Arizona beat Colorado 79-69 in the second game of the day, the exact same score of the Utah-Cal game that followed. By holding the Buffs to 28 first-half points and 43 percent shooting from the floor, Arizona displayed an impressive defensive effort. The win sets up a date with UCLA in the semis, and the Wildcats are eager for a shot at revenge against UCLA —the Bru Cru won both regular season meetings.
Tad Boyle’s team should be dancing next week; Linda Lappe’s team will certainly be dancing next week. It has helped that the Colorado women’s basketball team can rely on freshmen Jamee Swan and Ky Weston, both of whom had big games in the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinal win over U-U-U–U-Dub!
Continuing with the women’s basketball stories, Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike has been named to the John R. Wooden Award final ballot as one of 15 candidates. Best of luck to the Pac-12 POTY and D-POTY and Tourney MVP and any other title you wanna throw in there!
Arizona State fans suffered a tough defeat on the Vegas hardwood yesterday, but perhaps there is a little solace to be taken in Michael Benjamin’s home run that sparked ASU baseball to a victory over New Mexico on Wednesday. The Forks are unbeaten in their last nine games on the diamond.
How about some NFL news for ya? Former USC quarterback Matt Cassel signed with the Vikings hours after being released by the Chiefs, who just reeled in former Utah quarterback Alex Smith to town.
Cal had its Pro Day yesterday, but Keenan Allen’s plans were foiled by an injury and he was unable to run routes.
Let’s revisit CougCenter’s series on the Air Raid playbook, with this installment covering the names and sets of Washington State offensive formations under Mike Leach.
Good news in Corvallis for Mike Riley—defensive back Steve Christian has just been granted a sixth year of eligibility.