The No. 10 Arizona Wildcats (16-2, 4-1) beat the No. 8 Utah Utes (14-3, 4-1) in a battle of the two top 10 teams in the Pac-12. Utah struggled to hit its shots, while Arizona hit its shots from the field — UA hit 26 of its 53 shots from the field (49.1%). This was also a big win for Arizona, as it gave them a resume builder after a tough road loss to Oregon State.

Arizona was unstoppable from the field on Saturday. (Courtesy of Arizona Desert Swarm)

Utah opened up the game on a 12-4 run that forced the Wildcats to take a timeout and try to figure out how to shut down the surprising Utes offensive attack. TJ McDonnell hit a jumper to put an end to that run, and got the Wildcats’ offense back on track. Arizona outscored Utah 27-14 throughout the remainder of the first half. As the Wildcats took a 31-26 into a the halftime locker room.

After the Wildcats took the lead late in the first half, they never gave it up. Arizona kept adding onto its lead, as the Wildcats scored 38 points in the second half and it helped pushed them to a 69-51 win.

The Wildcats pulverized Utah in the paint — Arizona scored 34 points in the paint, Utah scored 14 points — and it was a major difference maker throughout the game. Utah was unable to handle the Wildcats athletic bigs down in the paint, and the Wildcats made them pay.

Stanford notches a big win over Connecticut

The Stanford Cardinal (13-4, 4-1) scored a huge win for the conference when they beat the Connecticut Huskies 72-59 in Palo Alto, Calif. Stanford used its three point shooting to build up, and maintain, a sizable lead over the Huskies.

Stanfords’ route of Connecticut 10-4 run with 13:53 left in the first half to take the lead for good. The run started when Stefan Nastic hit an easy lay-up to give the Cardinal a 10-8 lead, and the lead grew from there. And the lead only got bigger as Stanford was unable to miss shots during the run. This run was carried forward by the team’s three-point shooting.

The Cardinal hit 10 of its 22 three point attempts (45.5%) as the team had a hot hand on Saturday. If it wasn’t for the Cardinal’s three point shooting, it’s unlikely that Stanford would have won this game. As the Cardinal hit 40.7% of their shots from the field.

Washington sweeps the Oregon schools 

The Washington Huskies (13-4, 2-3) swept the Oregon schools and put an end to their four game losing streak (that included two conference games). Washington shut down its opponents with an impressive defensive performance that helped the Huskies earn two conference victories.

Mike Anderson hit a lay-up that gave the Huskies a 81-74 with a lead with 35 seconds left in the game against Oregon, to give Washington control of the game. Oregon’s (12-6, 2-3) Joseph Young hit a three point shot to bring the game within four points, but UW was able to successful in bound the ball and thus forcing the Ducks to foul. The Huskies closed out the game by hitting their free throws, and securing an 85-77 victory over Oregon.

Washington beat the Beavers on Thursday to put an end to its four game losing streak, 56-43, at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Wash. Oregon State controlled the pace of play throughout the game, and it threw Washington’s offense out of whack; as the Huskies only scored 19 points in the first half. The Beavers came out of the halftime locker room and took a brief 27-26 lead by the under 16 media timeout. Eventually the Huskies figured out their offensive issues and pulled away from OSU.

It’s important to know that Gary Peyton II (OSU) and Shawn Kemp Jr. (UW) played against each other in Alaska Airlines Arena on Thursday.

Washington State earned a split against the Oregon schools

Washington State (9-8, 3-2) earned a split against the Oregon schools over the past weekend, including an exciting 108-99 victory over the Oregon Ducks. The Cougs followed up their exciting win on Thursday, by going ice cold against the Beavers on Sunday in a 62-47 loss.

The Cougars went absolutely ice cold from the field as they struggled to hit their shots — WSU hit 29.7% of its shots on Saturday. Washington State came out of the second half by driving into the lane to draw into the foul and get to the free throw line. And Devonte Lacy was extremely successful in doing that as he got to the free throw line eight times in the game. Unfortunately for the Cougars, it wasn’t enough for them to overcome OSU’s (12-5, 3-2) big lead.

California couldn’t keep up with Stanford in rivalry game

California (11-7, 1-4) couldn’t hold onto the lead that it built in the first half, as the Stanford Cardinal out shot the Golden Bears in the second half. Stanford pulled away after the under 16 media timeout with a 12-2 run that put the game out of reach for California.

The Golden Bears struggled with their offensive efficiency throughout the second half, especially as the pressure mounted during Stanford’s run. Stanford shot 48.1% from the field during the game, meanwhile California hit 35.5% from the field. It made it tough for Cal to mount a comeback in the second half of the game, and it cost the Golden Bears the ball game.

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