Pac-12’s top teams hope to stay in West for NCAA Tournament

A strong 3-point performance in the second half gave the Ducks the chance to win the game at the end.

In the first game of the tournament, the Stanford Cardinals and Arizona State Sun Devils needed extra time to determine the victor.

No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 OR and No. 7 Arizona each get a bye into the quarterfinals along The Strip, kicking off a stretch of three games in three days for an eventual champion that will have a strong case for the top seed in the West Regional.

Junior forward Reid Travis was the leading scorer for Stanford, taking advantage of Arizona State’s lack of size for 23 points, including four and-ones. Tra Holder had 17 points, including three dimes and two boards in defeat.

Oregon’s 16 conference victories represent the most in school history.

The Cardinal again threatened by scoring nine unanswered points, culminating on a 3-pointer by Marcus Sheffield with 5:00 left to cut the lead to 76-75. The Sun Devils took a 50-42 lead into halftime.

OR (27-4, 16-2 Pac-12) will test No. 8 Arizona State (15-17, 7-11 Pac-12) from the outset.

All five ASU starters made a three-pointer as the Sun Devils shot 55.9 percent (10-for-22) from behind the arc against the Cardinal.

The Oregon Ducks and Arizona State Sundevils tipoff Thursday at Noon on Pac-12 Network. The Ducks would only add one quality win to their profile (the title game opponent).

UCLA center Thomas Welsh, right, gestures after scoring as guard Lonzo Ball runs behind during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Washington State, Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Los Angeles. Humphrey had 18 points and 9 rebounds for the Cardinal in the loss.

The Oregon Ducks are 25-2 straight up and 17-8-1 against the spread over their last 27 games. OR is never out of a game, as was indicated in another buzzer-beating win over Cal in which the team trailed by 16 points in the second half.

OR is 5-1 at the Pac-12 Tournament in the past two years, having lost to Arizona in the 2015 final before defeating Utah for last season’s title. The other semifinal match will likely be between UCLA and Arizona, and both will be looking to prove itself as the best team in the Pac-12.

If UCLA gets to the final but loses to OR, things could get interesting. The Beavers shot 40.4 percent and 37.0 percent in two games against the Bears. They will play the victor of Colorado vs. Washington State in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday. The victor will have a resume worthy of No. 1 seed consideration. Charles Callison and Ike Iroegbu scored 16 points each, and Josh Hawkinson had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

UCLA Basketball Head Coach Steve Alford talked about the possibility of Leaf returning to the court in the Pac-12 Tournament and looks like he should ready to go. First up for the Wildcats could be a matchup between either the Colorado Buffaloes or Washington State Cougars.

“We lost to some really quality teams and each game represented different challenges”, he said.

The Zags got their mojo back in a dazzling first half against Saint Mary’s, then had to hold on after a shaky start to the second. The Cougars hit 17 of 30 shots in the half, including five of eight from 3-point range. The Beavers trailed 32-29 at the half and every time Cal tried to pull away in the second, the Beavers yo-yoed back. White had 13 points in that stretch.

After considering an early entry into the NBA, Brooks returned to OR and once again played his way into a highly debated battle for the honor with UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball.