Arizona, Cal, Oregon top quarterfinals
By Seth Fast Glass
March 9, 2006 9:00 p.m.
No Hassan Adams? No problem. Fourth-seeded Arizona may have been
without its leading scorer, suspended from the Pac-10 Tournament
because of a DUI, but the team ultimately didn’t need him in
beating fifth-seeded Stanford 73-68 Thursday to reach the
tournament’s semifinal at the Staples Center. Even in
victory, however, Arizona point guard Mustafa Shakur noticed a
glaring difference without Adams on the court. “It took a lot
out of us emotionally,” said Shakur, who finished with 18
points. “We really missed him a lot.” The Wildcats will
again be without Adams when they play UCLA today, with the winner
advancing to Saturday’s Pac-10 Tournament final. On Thursday,
the Wildcats, who have all but cemented their bid to the NCAA
Tournament, smothered Stanford (15-13, 11-7 Pac-10) on defense,
forcing a season-high 23 turnovers from the Cardinal.
Stanford’s loss will bring an end to the program’s
streak of 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
“It’s really disappointing,” said Stanford senior
Matt Haryasz. “We didn’t win enough games. We just
didn’t get the job done. That’s that.”
Cal 82, USC 67 Analyzing the Golden
Bears’ 82-67 victory over USC Thursday in the quarterfinals
of the Pac-10 Tournament was relatively simple. Cal snatched 40
rebounds Thursday, with Golden Bears power forward Leon Powe
grabbing a Pac-10 Tournament-record 20 of them. USC, on the other
hand, pulled down only 15 rebounds. “Any time you’re
out-rebounded 40-15, you’re probably not going to win,”
USC coach Tim Floyd said. The Golden Bears’ victory all but
ensured that Cal (19-9, 12-6) will receive an invitation to the
NCAA Tournament. The Golden Bears will play Oregon in the
semifinals of the Pac-10 Tournament tonight. “I believe our
team has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. I’ll say
it,” Cal coach Ben Braun said. “But I don’t get a
vote.” Meanwhile, USC (17-13, 8-10) may be considered to play
in the NIT, an invitation Floyd indicated USC would accept.
Oregon 84, Washington 73 The ejection of
Oregon’s Aaron Brooks marred the seventh-seeded Ducks’
84-73 victory over No. 2-seed Washington in Pac-10 Tournament
quarterfinals Thursday. Brooks was ejected with 10 minutes
remaining in the first half after he delivered a straight forearm
to Washington guard Ryan Appleby’s face. Even without Brooks,
the Ducks erased an 11-point deficit with a 25-8 second-half run
sparked by Chamberlain Oguchi. The Oregon guard scored all of his
22 points in the second half Thursday.
