Pac-12 Recap: UCLA stuns Oregon with comeback victory

The Bay Area Travels to the Desert (Arizona 2-0, California 1-1, Arizona State 1-1, Stanford 0-2)

The Arizona Wildcats survived a surprisingly spunky Stanford Cardinal squad to grab a 74-67 win. Reid Travis dominated by scoring 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Allonzo Trier’s 22 points on just 8 shots. Arizona’s superior depth proved to the be the difference, as just enough players chipped in with a handful of points to take down Stanford’s trio of Travis, Dorian Pickens, and Marcus Allen’s combined total of 53 out of Stanford’s 57 points.

The California Golden Bears picked up a comfortable 68-43 win against the Arizona State Sun Devils behind a suffocating defensive effort. The Sun Devils made just 15 out of 59 field goal attempts for a paltry 25.4 percent, while connecting on 3 of 25 three-point shots. Ivan Rabb notched 14 points and 11 rebounds for yet another double-double, while Grant Mullins knocked down 6 of 9 shots from downtown for 18 points.

While Trier and Rabb were crucial in picking up victories earlier in the week, they were missing in action during a meeting between the Wildcats and Bears that ended in a 62-57 Wildcats win. Jabari Bird tried his best to keep the Bears in the game with 19 points on 6 of 12 shooting, with Mullins contributing 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Kam Rooks chipped in with 10 points in his first game in Tucson since the passing of his father, Sean Rooks. Kobi Simmons led the Wildcats with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting, while Dusan Ristic added 12 points. Trier and Lauri Markkanen combined to shoot just 1 of 10 from the field for 9 points. Rabb struggled to find space to operate as he scored 4 points and pulled down 3 rebounds. Charlie Moore played just 12 minutes before exiting with a hip injury.

What a difference a few nights can make for the Sun Devils. Torian Graham knocked down 6 of 11 three-pointers for 24 points, including a three-point shot with 21 seconds left to play which put the Sun Devils ahead for the first time since early in the second half. Arizona State ended up winning 75-69, as it was largely the same story for the Cardinal as the Arizona game. Travis and Allen were great again, and they received help from Michael Humphrey this time, but little to nothing from the rest of the squad doomed the Cardinal to yet another loss.

The Oregon Schools Take on the Los Angeles Schools (UCLA 2-0, Oregon 1-1, USC 1-1, Oregon State 0-2)

The UCLA Bruins managed to overcome a 19 point deficit to stun the Oregon Ducks and inch closer to the top of the Pac-12 standings. Oregon exploded for 48 points in the first half and started the second half red hot as well, before UCLA surprisingly turned the screws on the defensive end and locked down the explosive Ducks. UCLA shot 50 percent from the field and held Oregon to 42 percent shooting. Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey each scored 19 points on 7 of 17 shooting. Aaron Holiday and Lonzo Ball each scored 15 points, while Thomas Welsh added 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting.

The Oregon State Beavers’ nightmare season continued on that path as the USC Trojans handed them a 92-66 loss. Shaqquan Aaron led the way with 21 points from the bench on 7 of 10 shooting, including 5 of 6 from deep. Bennie Boatwright contributed 16 points largely due to 9 of 9 from the free-throw line.

Oregon rebounded from the UCLA loss by taking down USC 81-70. The Ducks limited the Trojans to 37.3 percent shooting from the field, including 22.2 percent from three-point range (6 of 27). Meanwhile, Brooks and Dorsey combined for 40 points on 14 of 27 from the field (7 of 13 from three). Boatwright was again perfect from the line, but shot just 3 of 15 from the field. Chimezie Metu, on the other hand, led the Trojans with 16 points on 6 of 8 from the field.

Ball led the Bruins to an easy 78-60 win against the Beavers. The freshman phenom scored 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting to go along with 9 assists and 6 rebounds. Leaf was the only other Bruin to score in double figures, but he narrowly missed out on a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Stephen Thompson Jr. led Oregon State with 18 points.

The Mountain Schools Host the Washington Schools

The Utah Utes halted their slide with a narrow 74-70 win over the Washington State Cougars. The Cougars’ three-point shooting (10 of 22) was almost enough to steal a win, but Utah’s advantage from the foul line and on two-point field goals proved to be the difference. Utah held a plus-16 advantage at the foul stripe and a plus-12 on two-pointers. David Collette’s efficiency led the Utes with 22 points on 7 of 9 from the field and 8 of 13 from the stripe, while Josh Hawkinson was the star performer for Washington State with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals on 7 of 11 from the field.

The Washington Huskies struggled without Markelle Fultz in an 81-66 loss to the Colorado Buffaloes. Noah Dickerson was Washington’s most efficient player with 14 points and 9 rebounds on 5 of 8 from the field, while David Crisp gobbled up shot attempts with 17 points on 7 of 17 shooting. Colorado’s starting lineup did the heavy lifting by scoring 70 of the team’s 81 points. George King was the star of the night with 21 points and 12 boards on 8 of 13 shooting.

Utah had little trouble dispatching the Huskies in an 85-61 victory where Crisp and Dickerson were once again the only Huskies to show up. Dickerson scored 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting, while Crisp poured in 31 points on 13 of 21 from the field. Meanwhile, for the Utes, Devon Daniels and Parker Van Dyke each scored 16 points to lead the team, while Kyle Kuzma notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Standings

Arizona 12-1, 23-3

Oregon 11-2, 22-4

UCLA 10-3, 23-3

California 9-4, 18-7

USC 8-5, 21-5

Utah 8-5, 17-8

Arizona State 5-8, 12-14

Colorado 5-8, 15-11

Stanford 4-9, 12-13

Washington State 4-9, 11-14

Washington 2-11, 9-16

Oregon State 0-13, 4-22

Up Next

Arizona at Washington State, Thursday at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1

Colorado at Oregon State, Thursday at 6 p.m. on Pac-12 Network

Utah at Oregon, Thursday at 6 p.m. on ESPN

Arizona State at Washington, Thursday at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports 1

California at Stanford, Friday at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports 1

Colorado at Oregon, Saturday at noon on FOX

Arizona State at Washington State, Saturday at 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Network

Arizona at Washington, Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2

USC at UCLA, Saturday at 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Network

Utah at Oregon State, Sunday at 5:30 on ESPNU