THE PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE THREAD

Stanford rallies in overtime to beat No. 21 Utah 70-68

The Pac-12's top free-throw shooting team entering Friday missed its final seven chances from the stripe -- and No. 21 Utah lost the game because of it.

Perhaps its place in the Top 25, too.

Rosco Allen scored five of his 17 points in overtime after banking in the tying basket with 10.5 seconds left in regulation, and Stanford took advantage of all those missed free throws to beat the Utes 70-68 on Friday night in the conference opener for both schools.

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Hawkinson leads Washington State past No. 25 UCLA, 85-78

Washington State's Josh Hawkinson has turned into a double-double machine.

The junior had 20 points and 10 rebounds, his ninth consecutive double-double, and Washington State beat No. 25 UCLA 85-78 on Sunday night.

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Rabb helps California hands No. 21 Utah second straight loss

Utah's second straight loss is almost certain to knock the Utes out of the Top 25.

That's certainly not the direction coach Larry Krystkowiak expected his high-scoring team to be headed going into the weekend, not after putting up a pair of 100-point games in its final two nonconference games.

Ivan Rabb scored 11 of his season-high 19 points in the final 6:45 and Jordan Mathews made two late 3-pointers to help California beat No. 21 Utah 71-58 on Sunday night.

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No. 8 Arizona opens Pac-12 with 94-82 win over Arizona State

Arizona coach Sean Miller is not someone who likes to dwell on the past, so naturally he downplayed the significance of beating rival Arizona State after consecutive losses in Tempe.

Gabe York had a different view. The senior guard remembered how it felt losing at Wells Fargo Arena the previous two seasons and wanted nothing more than to get some payback against the Sun Devils.

York took the game into his own hands in the second half. He hit a trio of 3-pointers during a key run and made eight free throws in the final 1:18 to help No. 8 Arizona to hold off rival Arizona State 94-82 on Sunday in both teams' Pac-12 opener.

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UCLA knocks off No. 7 Arizona as Bryce Alford drains late 3-pointer

As a kid, Bryce Alford would have his mother count down from five and he'd try to make a last-second shot in the family driveway.

With much more at stake, the junior hit a winning 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left, lifting UCLA to an 87-84 victory over No. 7 Arizona on Thursday night for the Bruins' first Pac-12 win after opening conference play with consecutive road losses.

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USC edges No. 7 Arizona 103-101 in 4 OTs

In spurts, Elijah Stewart felt bone-tired. His voice was nearly gone, too. His mind wandered to last season's triple-overtime loss to Colorado, too.

In the end, Stewart shoved everything aside and hit the go-ahead free throws with 22 seconds left in the fourth overtime, helping Southern California edge No. 7 Arizona 103-101 Saturday to improve to 11-0 at home for the first time since 1973-74.

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No. 18 Arizona overpowers Washington for 99-67 win


Arizona traded baskets with Washington's athletic players in an entertaining first half.

Once the Wildcats turned up the defensive pressure in the final 20 minutes, the Huskies had no shot of keeping up.

Ryan Anderson scored 21 points, Kaleb Tarczewski had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 18 Arizona overpowered Washington for a 99-67 victory Thursday night.

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Anderson leads No. 18 Arizona past Washington State, 90-66

Ryan Anderson swatted Josh Hawkinson's layup attempt off the glass. Parker Jackson-Cartwright raced the other way and lobbed a pass toMark Tollefsen for a thunderous dunk and eventual three-point play.

The 7-second sequence late in the first half showcased No. 18 Arizona's depth and sparked the decisive run to secure the Wildcats' 49th straight home victory, 90-66 over Washington State on Saturday night.

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Cook helps Oregon upset No. 21 Southern Cal 89-81

After getting dominated on the glass in Sunday's loss at Colorado, Oregon coach Dana Altman had a pointed message for Elgin Cookand Dwayne Benjamin.

The time for leadership from the two seniors was now.

Cook responded by matching his career high with 26 points and Benjamin had his best scoring game since early December with 16 off the bench to lead Oregon to an 89-81 victory over No. 21 Southern California on Thursday night.

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Arizona uses late run, beats Stanford for 12th straight time

Arizona has played enough close games at Maples Pavilion in recent seasons to understand the importance of defense down the stretch.

Gabe York made a long 3-pointer with 8:24 left on the way to 19 points, and No. 12 Arizona survived a Stanford rally midway through the second half for a 71-57 victory Thursday night.

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Jordan Mathews, California knock off No. 12 Arizona 74-73

Sean Miller wanted the ball in Gabe York's hands to make a hard drive to the basket with a chance at the game-winning shot or a foul.

California defended it all.

York dribbled off his foot to delay Arizona's final chance before going to the basket and missing a contested shot in the waning seconds, and Cal held on behind hot-shooting Jordan Mathews to beat No. 12 Arizona 74-73 on Saturday night.

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Oregon ends Arizona's home win streak at 49; was longest in nation

Arizona's 49-game home winning streak is history.

The Oregon Ducks became the first team to win in Tucson in three years with an 83-75 victory Thursday night, pulling away in the final 6 1/2 minutes.

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York hits 6 3s, No. 18 Arizona pulls away from Oregon State

Sean Miller's stern lesson to his players was well-learned.

Two nights after the coach publicly chastised his Arizona team following its first home loss in 50 games, the No. 18 Wildcats bounced back with an 80-63 victory over Oregon State.

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Boucher's career-high 26 lead No. 23 Oregon past Arizona St

Chris Boucher is in just his fourth year of organized basketball, and Sunday night was the best yet for Oregon's 6-foot-10 stringbean forward.

He scored a career-high 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked seven shots and the 23rd-ranked Ducks took sole possession of first place halfway through the Pac-12 season with a 91-74 victory over Arizona State.

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Anderson leads No. 23 Arizona to 79-64 win over Cougars

Ryan Anderson brought back memories of Arizona greats of the past.

"One of the best performances we've had in a long, long time," Wildcats coach Sean Miller said of Anderson, who had a career-high 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 79-64 victory over Washington State on Wednesday night.

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Cook leads No. 16 Oregon past Colorado

Oregon is off to its best start in conference play in 14 seasons, but the toughest person to sell on the No. 16 Ducks being the Pac-12's best team might be their own coach.

"If we had some better depth and we knew how to handle some possessions, I'd give them a little more credit," Oregon coach Dana Altman said, "but with the balance in our league, it's hard to get full of yourself."

The Ducks were anything but that Thursday night as Elgin Cook scored 18 points and Chris Boucher had 12 rebounds and blocked six shots to lead them to a 76-56 win over Colorado.

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Anderson leads No. 23 Arizona past Washington 77-72

Before Ryan Anderson could escape back into Arizona's locker room, Lorenzo Romar made sure to get his attention.

"That," Washington's coach said to Anderson, "was a heck of a game."

Anderson capped his impressive week with 22 points and 15 rebounds and No. 23 Arizona completed a road sweep, holding on for a 77-72 win over Washington on Saturday.

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Brooks scores 30 as No. 16 Oregon beats Utah 76-66

Any campaign for Oregon's Dillon Brooks as Pac-12 player of the year might have to start with an endorsement from a coach outside his own camp.

Utah coach Larry Kyrstkowiak saw enough Sunday to believe Brooks might have the right stuff.

"If we get a chance to play him again this year, we're going to have to get back to the drawing board and come up with a different plan as to how we're going to defend it because he's hurt us," Kyrstkowiak said. "And not just us.

"He's an all-Pac-12 player at this point and he's playing at a really high level."

Brooks had 30 points and nine assists, both career highs, to lead No. 16 Oregon to a 76-66 victory over Utah.

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Bird scores 24 points, California beats No. 11 Oregon 83-63

Dwayne Benjamin sensed early on that No. 11 Oregon was in for a long night, almost from the moment California's Jabari Bird made his first 3-pointer less than 90 seconds into the game

Ducks coach Dana Altman felt it, too, all the way through his team's worst loss of the season.

Bird scored 16 of his season-high 24 points in the first half and punctuated his big night with a reverse dunk in the final seconds, leading California to an 83-63 victory over No. 11 Oregon on Thursday night.

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Rosco Allen's 25 leads Stanford past No. 11 Oregon 76-72

Stanford's Rosco Allen put on a shooting clinic Saturday and it was bad news for No. 11 Oregon.

Allen matched his career-high with 25 points, making four of five from long range and nine of 12 overall, to lead Stanford to a 76-72 upset over the Ducks.

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