arizona state sun devils

 Las Vegas, NV – The two top seeds, UCLA and Arizona advanced to the Pac-12 championship game with wins tonight in the semifinals. UCLA took over in the second half and ran away from Oregon 75-56 behind 28 points from Tyger Campbell. Arizona received solid contributions from all seven of their rotation players in a 78-65 win over intrastate rival Arizona State.

In the opener Oregon stayed close with UCLA throughout the first half, trailing at halftime by only 32-30.  The Ducks stayed close despite not shooting well from deep, only going 1-of-8. UCLA’s freshmen center Adem Bona neutralized Oregon’s N’Faly Dante inside. Bona held Dante scoreless from the floor on four attempts and was very quick in reacting to Dante’s post moves. The Ducks stayed close with a +9 edge in rebounding. Campbell had eight first half points for the Bruins, connecting on 2-of-3 from deep.

It looked like Oregon might have a chance when Bona went down with what looked like a dislocated shoulder early in the second half. He did not return to the game. At that point Oregon was down 44-36. They quickly got within three points, scoring five points in a row, and cut the deficit to 44-41 on a Dante dunk. Campbell then scored nine straight Bruin points to extend the lead to 11 points. Then Jaime Jaquez Jr. took over, scoring nine points in an 11-1 Bruin run that gave them a 69-52 lead. They coasted the rest of the way to the 19-point win.

Campbell was exceptional all game, playing under control and getting free for mid-range and long distance jumpers. He finished the game shooting 11-of-21 (4-of-8 from deep) and added six assists against zero turnovers.  Jaquez Jr. didn’t have his best shooting night (6-of-17) but had that run that put the game away for the Bruins. He finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Oregon’s problem all year has been inconsistent shooting, especially from deep. Tonight they shot 3-of-19 on 3’s while UCLA connected on 9-of-19 3’s, effectively generating a 18-point Bruin advantage on three-point shooting. The Ducks outrebounded the Bruins by ten, but that stat doesn’t mean much if the team can’t convert on those opportunities. Oregon’s NCAA tournament hopes are now officially over. They’ll have to decide whether to accept an NIT bid if they are invited.

In the nightcap Arizona State stayed closed much of the game but Arizona went on a seven-point run late in the second half and pulled away from there in a 78-59 win. The Wildcats dominated inside with a 40-22 edge in points in the paint as well as a 43-29 edge in rebounding. The Wildcats had four players in double-figures, led by 6-10 Azuolas Tubelis with 18 points (8-of-11 from the field) and nine rebounds.  7-0 center Oumar Ballo added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Cedric Henderson Jr. had 14 points and Pelle Larsson added 11. Arizona shot 10-of-19 from deep compared to 6-of-26 for the Sun Devils.  UCLA and Arizona will play for the Pac-12 Tournament title Saturday night at 7:30 pm local time.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.

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Las Vegas, NV – The semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament are set with UCLA, Oregon, Arizona and Arizona State getting wins in the quarterfinals on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.

UCLA broke open the game midway in the second half to get past Colorado 80-69. The Bruins missed the perimeter defense of Jaylen Clark, who was lost for the season in their last game with an Achilles injury.  The Buffaloes hit six of the first eleven three-pointers and took a one-point lead into the halftime break. Then the Bruins turned their defense up, resulting in two late turnovers that gave them a comfortable lead. Amari Bailey took up the slack offensively, scoring a season and career-high of 26 points. Bailey was active throughout the game, connecting on 8-of-12 from the field and making it to the line nine times, converting eight. Tyger Campbell added 18 points and seven assists while Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed 16 points and nine rebounds. Jaquez didn’t have his best game, but competed defensively and came up with one of the late steals in which he converted into a fastbreak three-point play. Center Adem Bona was also impressive with 11 points,10 rebounds and three blocks. Tristan da Silva led Colorado with 17 points while the Buffaloes stayed in the content by making 10-of-23 3’s.

The second game looked like an easy Oregon win as they took a 19-point first half lead over Washington State. But then the Cougars came all the way back and took a late four-point lead helped by their three-point shooting and strong second half play from 6-11 Mouhamed Gueye. Gueye scored 14 second half points after missing part of the first half due to illness. The Cougars connected from deep (11-of-23) and scored 15 more points than the Ducks on three-pointers. The Ducks came back thanks to solid play late from Keeshawn Barthelemy (17 points). Barthelemy connected on two three-pointers and a mid-range jumper to bring Oregon back.  Oregon closed the game on a seven-point run featuring a put-back from N‘Faly Dante (16 points, 11 rebounds) to give them a 72-70 lead and then Dante made an outstanding block at the rim, in which he feel to the floor and had to leave the game. Oregon held Washington State scoreless over the last three minutes for the win. Jermaine Couisnard also scored 17 points for the Ducks. TJ Bamba led the Cougars (17-16) with 19 points. Oregon and UCLA will face off in the first semifinal tomorrow night.

In the first game of the night session No. 2-seed Arizona pulled away from a game Stanford team in a 95-84 victory. Both teams shot well from deep, with the Cardinal connecting on 14-of-29 and the Wildcats 9-of-19. The difference in the game was inside where Arizona enjoyed a 54-22 edge in points in the paint. 7-foot center Oumar Ballo scored 24 points on 10-of-13 from the field and 6-10 Azuolas Tublelis added 20 points (9-of-12), eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Cedric Henderson also scored 23 points, connecting on 3-of-5 from deep. Spencer Jones impressed for Stanford, paying hard throughout the game, scoring 22 points (3-of-7 3’s) with six rebounds and three assists.

No. 6-seeded Arizona State kept its NCAA Tournament up with a 77-72 win over third-seeded USC. The Sun Devils connected on 14-of-32 from deep and were led by 27 points and seven rebounds from Desmond Cambridge. Cambridge was 10-of-21 from the field including 6-of-12 from deep. The Trojans came back from a 14-point halftime deficit with a 47-point second half to make the game close at the end but couldn’t complete the comeback.  Arizona State will face No. 2-seed Arizona for a spot in the championship game.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.

We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout apprenticeship program. For information contact us and forward your resume.