Friday, March 13, 2015

Pac-12 Tournament: It's Cats vs. Ducks For The Marbles (Both Teams Likely In NCAA Tourney)

Both games in the semifinal round of the Pacific-12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament were contested at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada, near Las Vegas, on Friday.

In the opener, Brandon Ashley scored a career-high 24 points as the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats (#5 in the Associated Press poll, #6 in the USA Today/Coaches rankings; 30-3) held off the fourth-seeded UCLA Bruins (20-13) 70-64.  Norman Powell scored 21 points to lead the Bruins, who will have to wait till Sunday to learn if they would make the NCAA Tourney, something that the Wildcats are likely to qualify for.

In the nightcap, the second-seeded Oregon Ducks (25-8), thanks to Joseph Young's game-winning three-point basket with 1.1 seconds remaining (he scored 25 points), defeated the third-seeded Utah Runnin' Utes (#17 in both the AP and Coaches' polls; 24-8) 67-64.  Brandon Taylor paced the Utes with 24 points.

The Ducks and Wildcats will play for the Pac-12 Tourney title on Saturday night at suburban Las Vegas at 8:00 PM Pacific Time (ESPN).

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