Chasson Randle salvaged another subpar shooting tonight by hitting a game-winning three with 2.4 seconds left and Stanford beat Washington 71-69 in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinal advance and will meet Utah at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow in the quarterfinals.
Randle might have hit the game-winner, but Stanford would not have won without the efforts of Stefan Nastic, Reid Travis and Marcus Allen. That trio, along with a mostly solid game from Anthony Brown, helped the Cardinal overcome a hot shooting night by Washington - the Huskies made 13-20 three pointers and shot 52.8 percent from the field.
Nastic feasted on Washington's lack of interior defense (they've been shorthanded in the post since top shot blocker Robert Upshaw was kicked off the team), scoring 21 points on 10-16 shooting. A number of those baskets came on designed plays out of Stanford timeouts that the Cardinal took to stop UW's momentum.
Like Nastic, Travis benefited from UW's thin front line in what was probably his best game since returning from the stress fracture. He scored 14 points (5-8 shooting) in 21 minutes off the bench. He also pulled down six rebounds.
Finally, though he scored only six points (including Stanford's first four of the game), Marcus Allen played a key role in the Cardinal's victory with nine rebounds (four offensive), good defense and hustle. His final rebound of the game, which came with about six seconds left, set up Randle's game winner. Rosco Allen rimmed out an 18 or so foot jump shot, but Marcus Allen skied for the rebound and passed to Randle who hit the three.
Anthony Brown added 16 on 5-11 shooting (4-7 from three), though he missed a breakaway dunk with about four minutes left that looked like it might be devastating to the Cardinal's chances, for a while anyway. Instead of going up 66-63, Brown missed the dunk, and Washington responded with consecutive three pointers to take a five-point lead. Stanford battled, back, of course, and was able to survive the eight-point swing.
Though his end of game theatrics will be remembered, Chasson Randle's subpar shooting streak hit nine games. He was only 3-11 from the field - this was the 10th straight game in which Randle has shot sub-33 percent. There have been several reasons for Stanford's end of season slide, but I don't think any are bigger than Chasson's struggles. Perhaps the last-second three will get him going; it's really hard to envision Stanford beating Utah without major offensive contributions from Chasson. (In fairness, Randle did have six assists tonight, providing a boost to the Cardinal offense in that way.)
-No Michael Humphrey (still recovering from the sprained ankle he suffered against Arizona State) - he was in a walking boot tonight.
Randle might have hit the game-winner, but Stanford would not have won without the efforts of Stefan Nastic, Reid Travis and Marcus Allen. That trio, along with a mostly solid game from Anthony Brown, helped the Cardinal overcome a hot shooting night by Washington - the Huskies made 13-20 three pointers and shot 52.8 percent from the field.
Nastic feasted on Washington's lack of interior defense (they've been shorthanded in the post since top shot blocker Robert Upshaw was kicked off the team), scoring 21 points on 10-16 shooting. A number of those baskets came on designed plays out of Stanford timeouts that the Cardinal took to stop UW's momentum.
Like Nastic, Travis benefited from UW's thin front line in what was probably his best game since returning from the stress fracture. He scored 14 points (5-8 shooting) in 21 minutes off the bench. He also pulled down six rebounds.
Finally, though he scored only six points (including Stanford's first four of the game), Marcus Allen played a key role in the Cardinal's victory with nine rebounds (four offensive), good defense and hustle. His final rebound of the game, which came with about six seconds left, set up Randle's game winner. Rosco Allen rimmed out an 18 or so foot jump shot, but Marcus Allen skied for the rebound and passed to Randle who hit the three.
Anthony Brown added 16 on 5-11 shooting (4-7 from three), though he missed a breakaway dunk with about four minutes left that looked like it might be devastating to the Cardinal's chances, for a while anyway. Instead of going up 66-63, Brown missed the dunk, and Washington responded with consecutive three pointers to take a five-point lead. Stanford battled, back, of course, and was able to survive the eight-point swing.
Though his end of game theatrics will be remembered, Chasson Randle's subpar shooting streak hit nine games. He was only 3-11 from the field - this was the 10th straight game in which Randle has shot sub-33 percent. There have been several reasons for Stanford's end of season slide, but I don't think any are bigger than Chasson's struggles. Perhaps the last-second three will get him going; it's really hard to envision Stanford beating Utah without major offensive contributions from Chasson. (In fairness, Randle did have six assists tonight, providing a boost to the Cardinal offense in that way.)
-No Michael Humphrey (still recovering from the sprained ankle he suffered against Arizona State) - he was in a walking boot tonight.
