Stanford rolls over Cal 76-58 at Pac-12 tourney
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Reid Travis had 19 points and 13 rebounds, helping Stanford roll over rival California 76-58 in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament on Wednesday.
Stanford (18-14) shot well early to build a double-digit lead and shut the Bears down defensively to earn a spot in Thursday’s quarterfinals against fourth-seeded UCLA.
The fifth-seeded Cardinal held Cal to 28 percent shooting and had a 30-18 advantage in the paint. Travis hit 7 of 11 shots and Dorian Pickens scored 16 points.
No. 12 seed Cal (8-24) closed out a difficult first season under Wyking Jones with its seventh straight loss and 16th in 17 games.
Darius McNeill led the Bears with 19 points, making 5 of 10 from 3-point range. The rest of the Bears combined to go 2 of 15 from the arc.
Cal won the opening game between the rivals during the regular season, beating the Cardinal 77-74 at The Farm for one of their two Pac-12 victories.
Stanford won the rematch in Berkeley 77-73 behind Daejon Davis’ 22 points
Travis did most of the damage early in round three, scoring 11 points by the midpoint of the first half as Stanford built a 12-point lead.
Travis had 13 points by halftime and the Cardinal led 39-28 after hitting 16 of 29 shots.
Stanford didn’t let up in the second half, extending the lead to 63-39 behind Travis and Pickens. BIG PICTURE
Cal has nowhere to go but up after setting a school record for losses.
Stanford still likely has a ways to go to get onto the NCAA Tournament bubble, but the Cardinal at least kept the possibility alive by beating the Pac-12’s last-place team.