Utah survives Stanford with big second half winning 80-56 led by Delon Wright scoring 20 points and Jordan Loveridge adding 18. The No. 17 ranked Utes ran away from Stanford in the second half after trailing by five at half time 39-34 in the Pac-12 quarterfinals Thursday night.
Utah (24-7) had a few offensive problems in the first half, but found a rhythm in the second. The third-seeded Utes hit 14 of 28 shots in the second half and were 12 of 19 from 3-point range overall to earn a spot in Friday’s semifinals against second-seeded Oregon. The other matchup of Friday night will be nations 7th ranked Arizona Wildcats taking on the Bruins of UCLA.
Stanford (19-13) advanced to play the Utes Thursday by knocking off Washington in opening round with a last second 3-point shot by Senior guard Chasson Randle winning 71-69. The Cardinal was led in the matchup with the Utes by Randle who had 22 points and Stefan Nastic added 11. Stanford only scored a total of 17 second-half points.
The Utes won the lone meeting between these teams by 16 on Feb. 12 after holding Randle to 10 points.
Utah will face Oregon in the semifinals Friday night. Photos provided courtesy of Bryan Byerly. See more of his photos at http://www.bbsportspics.com
Oregon advanced to the semi-finals by knocking off Colorado 93-85. The Ducks are led by PAC-12 player of the year Elgin Cook who scored 20 on Thursday night. Other Oregon players to watch are guard Joseph Young who scored 30 against the Buffs and Dillon Brooks with 8 rebounds.