UCLA beats Arizona State, 80-75; advance to semifinal against Arizona
It looked like the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament would lose its first game for the second year in row, as UCLA trailed Arizona State by 15 points in the second half.
Freshman phenom Jahii Carson was outdueling UCLA’s star frosh Shabazz Muhammad, and the Sun Devils led 53-38 with under 17 minutes remaining. But the Bruins got back into the game when Muhammad got hot, scoring 10 points during an ASU 17-4 run. When Muhammad made a jumper with 4:23 to go, his team had taken the lead, 69-68.
UCLA would sacrifice the lead, but a pair of Travis Wear free throws with just over a minute left tied it at 74. The Sun Devils would make one more free throw, but Travis and David Wear combined for six more points to edge-out the feisty Devils by five. Larry Drew II led UCLA with 20 while Muhammad scored 16. Jordan Bachynski bucketed 22 for ASU and Carson chipped in 21.
Arizona beats Colorado, 79-69; advance to semifinal against UCLA
Every time Colorado looked to be putting together a run to cut into Arizona’s lead, the Wildcats would sturdy up and hold the margin at double digits. But as we have seen in the five games so far in the tournament, no lead is safe, and no team is ready to head home.
In the final nine minutes, the Buffaloes got serious about making inroads into the Wildcats’ advantage and went on an 8-2 run to slice a 12-point deficit to six. Colorado kept pushing, and with one minute on the clock, the Buffs were behind by just a basket. Finally Arizona said enough was enough, and a bucket and good defense late forced Colorado into the foul game.
When the clock hit zeroes, Arizona had won by 10. Nick Johnson shot 6-for-7 and accumulated 18 points for the Wildcats. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 18 as well for Colorado.
Utah beats California, 79-69; advance to semifinal
Utah’s Jarred DuBois nailed a three with nine seconds left in regulation to tie the game. His team carried the emotion into the extra for a shocking victory over the second-seed Golden Bears of California.
Behind by three with under 30 seconds left to play, Jordan Loveridge was fouled on a three-point attempt but blew the chance to knot the game when he missed the third free throw attempt. Utah fouled quick and Cal’s Allen Crabbe drilled two foul shots. DuBois’ clutch three did the trick though.
The Utes went on a 10-4 run to open overtime and held on for the upset. DuBois and Loveridge led the way with 21 and 20 points for Utah. Justin Cobbs led Cal with 26. Utah is the lowest-ranked team left in the field.