The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
40°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Arizona too good, too tall for Stanford in Pac-12 matchup

Stanford’s Marcus Allen, right, recovers the ball next to Arizona’s Rawle Alkins, center, and Kadeem Allen during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Stanford, Calif. (George Nikitin / Associated Press)
Associated Press

Arizona coach Sean Miller delivered an obvious reminder to his team before its game Sunday against Stanford.

“Coach told us ahead of time don’t forget we have the size advantage,” said 6-foot-11 sophomore backup Chance Comanche. “It started to wear and tear on them and eventually it overpowered them.”

The No. 18 Wildcats (13-2, 2-0 Pac-12) were simply too big for the Cardinal, winning 91-52 in Stanford, California, to complete a weekend road sweep to open Pac-12 Conference play.

The Wildcats’ three big men made 15 of their first 17 shots and combined to score 44 points as Arizona beat the Cardinal for the 14th straight time.

“The game plan was feed the bigs. They shot 80 percent from the field, so that was amazing,” said freshman guard Rawle Alkins, who scored 19 points.

Junior center Dusan Ristic of Serbia scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and fellow 7-footer Lauri Markannen, a freshman from Finland, scored 15 points, including 3-for-3 from the 3-point arc.

Comanche made his first five attempts and wound up with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Arizona three big men shot 16 for 20 from the field.

“The production we’re getting from that group on offense, defense and rebounding gives us a lot of firepower,” Miller said of his big men. “I think we can play a lot of different styles.”

Arizona shot 62.5 percent for the game, which left Stanford coach Jarod Haase frustrated. The Cardinal (8-6, 0-2) gave up 189 points in two games to open the conference schedule.

Utah 76, Colorado 60: Lorenzo Bonam scored 15 points while David Collette and Kyle Kuzma added 14 points apiece to help the Utes open Pac-12 play with a win over the Buffaloes in Salt Lake City.

The Utes beat their league rival for the sixth straight time behind strong defensive play and hot shooting in the second half. Utah (10-3) shot 18 of 31 (58.1 percent) from the field after halftime.

Derrick White scored 15 points and George King added 11 to lead Colorado, which could not overcome 15 turnovers. Utah scored 20 points off those turnovers.

California 81, Arizona State 65: Grant Mullins scored a career-high 20 points to lead four players in double figures and the Golden Bears pulled away late in the second half to beat the Sun Devils in Berkeley, California.

Ivan Rabb had 20 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for his sixth double-double of the season despite being in foul trouble. Jabari Bird added 16 points and Sam Singer scored 10 to help the Golden Bears (10-4, 1-1 Pac-12) snap a two-game losing streak.

Obinna Oleka had 18 points and five rebounds while Tra Holder scored 14 points for the Sun Devils (8-7, 1-1).