Washington opens Pac-12 tournament with 91-68 rout over Stanford

Washington’s young players had no trouble keeping focused in their first 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 first time, they looked like they’d been here before,” Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar said.

Washington (18-13) entered the Pac-12 tournament hoping 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 first 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 flat 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 first 10 points and built a 20-3 lead.

Colorado 80, Washington State 56: George King scored 17 of his 21 points in the first 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, five rebounds and five assists.

The fifth-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 finished with 14 rebounds, though he was held to eight points on three-for-nine shooting.

The Buffaloes had a strong NCAA tournament case heading into Las Vegas, though didn’t want to have a letdown against the Cougars after blowing a 14-point second-half lead in a regular season-ending loss to Utah.

Colorado and Washington State met twice during the regular season and the Buffaloes won both: 75-70 in Pullman, Wash., and 88-81 in double overtime in Boulder, Colo.

Scott didn’t play in the second game and the Buffaloes needed a last-second three-pointer by King at the end of the first overtime to extend the game.

The Cougars clearly did not want Scott to beat them, double-teaming him on nearly every touch. The strategy worked early. Scott missed the only two shots he took and Washington State managed to keep the Buffaloes in reach.

But Colorado began to pull away late in the first half behind King.

The sophomore guard scored 11 straight points for the Buffaloes and had 17 by halftime — five fewer than Washington State.

Colorado also began to shut the Cougars down, too, holding them to seven-for-27 shooting in the first half.

Oregon State 75, Arizona State 66: The Beavers (19-11) built a 16-point lead and held off the Sun Devils (15-17). Oregon State will face third-seeded California on Thursday.