Pac-12 basketball quarterfinals: Oregon, Arizona win big; Cal edges Utah

Oregon had a hard time stopping Torian Graham in the first half, allowing Arizona State to keep it close. The Ducks still didn’t have an answer for Graham in the second, but they shut down everyone else to earn a spot in the Pac-12 Conference tournament semifinals.

Dillon Brooks scored 22 points, Tyler Dorsey added 21 and No. 5 Oregon pulled away in the second half to beat Arizona State, 80-57, on Thursday in the quarterfinals in Las Vegas.

“They’re an elite team and have the type of defense that’s going to keep them in games as they play championship-level basketball,” Arizona State Coach Bobby Hurley said.

Oregon (28-4) tightened up defensively after a close first half, holding Arizona State to eight-of-33 shooting in the second half. That set up transition baskets and allowed the Ducks to pull away from the eighth-seeded Sun Devils.

Dylan Ennis had a career-high 12 rebounds and five assists for the top-seeded Ducks, who move on to face California in the semifinals Friday night.

“I thought our defensive energy was pretty good,” Oregon Coach Dana Altman said. “They did get a couple good looks, but mostly those were pretty contested shots.”

Arizona State (15-18) matched Oregon almost shot for shot in the first half before succumbing to the Ducks’ length and pressure in the second. Graham, a senior, had 32 points and made seven 3-pointers, but the rest of the Sun Devils’ starters were a combined 5 for 30 from the floor.

No. 7 Arizona 92, Colorado 78: Lauri Markkanen scored 20 points, Allonzo Trier added 19 and the Wildcats pulled away in the second half.

Arizona (28-4) had a hard time shaking the Buffaloes (19-14) in the first half before stretching the lead to 17 in the second. The co-Pac-12 champions shot 56%, made 10 three-pointers and held nearly everyone except Derrick White, who finished with 31 points, in check on defense.

California 78, Utah 75: Jabari Bird had 26 points and scored on a key three-point play with 14 seconds left, helping the Golden Bears advance to the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals.

Cal (21-11) led by 11 with 2:17 left, but Utah (20-11) charged back, pulling to 73-72 with 29 seconds left. Bird followed with a hard drive and was fouled, but Kyle Kuzma hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game again.

Bird hit two free throws and Utah’s Sedrick Barefield missed a wild three-pointer at the buzzer, sending the Bears charging from their bench. Charlie Moore added 21 points for fifth-seeded Cal. Kuzma had 23 points to lead the fourth-seeded Utes.