Huskies blow out Cardinal in opener
LAS VEGAS — Washington’s young players had no trouble keeping focused in their f irst Pac- 12 tournament game.
One of the nation’s youngest teams, the Huskies jumped on Stanford early and turned the conference tournament opener Wednesday into a 91- 68 rout.
Dejounte Murray scored 25 points, Marquese Chriss had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Washington controlled the Cardinal from the opening tip to earn a spot in the quarterfinals Thursday against top- seeded Oregon.
“Really good to see, with over half our team playing in the tournament for the f irst time, they looked like they’d been here before,” Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar said.
Washington ( 18- 13) entered the tournament hoping to boost its slim NCAA tournament chances. The eighth- seeded Huskies got off to a strong start against Stanford, building a 17- point lead in the game’s f irst six minutes.
Washington continued to pour it on after that opening burst, shooting 50% to close out the rout. Andrew Andrews had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Huskies.
“In terms of lately, I thought we were as dialed in and as efficient as we have been, so I thought it was a very good performance,” Romar said. “I thought today we could have beaten a lot of teams playing that way.”
Stanford ( 15- 15) stumbled through the regular season and fell f lat in its lone postseason game. Dorian Pickens had 17 points to lead the Cardinal, who made three of 21 three- point shots.
“Washington came out right from the tip ready to compete and got off to a fast start,” Stanford Coach Johnny Dawkins said. “I thought we tried to battle. I thought we tried to force some issues and that led us into a worse direction.”
The Huskies scored the game’s f irst 10 points and built a 20- 3 lead.
Colorado 80, Washington State 56: George King scored 17 of his 21 points in the f irst half, helping the Buffaloes ( 22- 10) run away from the Cougars ( 9- 22).
Colorado took advantage of Washington State’s persistent double teams on Josh Scott, working the ball around for open shots while building a 19- point halftime lead. King got many of those, making seven of 12 shots, while Scott finished with six points, f ive rebounds and five assists.
The f ifth- seeded Buffaloes play No. 4 seed Arizona on Thursday.
Washington State kept it close early, but was no match for Colorado once the Buffaloes got going. The Cougars ended the season on a 17- game losing streak.
Ike Iroegbu led the Cougars with 13 points and Josh Hawkinson f inished with 14 rebounds, though he was held to eight points.
Oregon State 75, Arizona State 66: The Beavers ( 1911) built a 16- point lead and held off the Sun Devils ( 1517). Oregon State will face third- seeded California on Thursday.