Jan. 31, 2013
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STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Stanford is making a habit of ruining Oregon's undefeated runs.
Chasson Randle scored 17 points, Josh Huestis had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and the Cardinal stunned Oregon on a big stage again by routing the 10th-ranked Ducks 76-52 Wednesday night.
More than two months after the Stanford football team handed Oregon its only loss of the season, the Cardinal (13-8, 4-4 Pac-12) dominated the Ducks from the start for the basketball program's first victory over a top 10 team in almost five years. Stanford snapped a nine-game winning streak for Oregon (18-3, 7-1), which dropped its first conference game this season.
"I hope they think we're a tough bunch," Randle said.
Dwight Powell added 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Aaron Bright finished with 12 points as Stanford built a 25-point lead early in the second half and coasted to the buzzer. Stanford outshot Oregon 52 to 35 percent from the floor. The Cardinal also went 8 of 14 from 3-point range, while the Ducks converted only 4 of 16 from beyond the arc.
Stanford hadn't beaten a ranked opponent since Jan. 13, 2011, when it topped No. 17 Washington 58-56 at home. The last top 10 team Stanford had defeated came when the Cardinal won at No. 9/9 Washington State 67-65 in overtime on Feb. 2, 2008 -- the season before coach Johnny Dawkins took over.
"It's definitely one of the best games I think our guys have played, being the fact that they're such a highly ranked team," Dawkins said. "I think our kids had some other good moments as well, but this definitely ranks up there as one of the better moments for our program."
Carlos Emory scored 12 points and Arsalan Kazemi had six points and nine rebounds on a forgettable night for Oregon, which matched its highest ranking since March 2007 this week but will surely take a tumble in the AP poll now. Oregon's best start in conference play since finishing 10-0 in the 1925-26 season also is over.
"We just got it handed to us," coach Dana Altman said.
Once again, the Ducks can thank Stanford for spoiling all the fun.
The Cardinal football team outlasted Oregon in November on the way to a Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl victory. Coincidentally, Jordan Williamson, who kicked the winning 37-yard field goal in overtime at top-ranked Oregon, stood in the first row of the Stanford student section along with a few teammates.
The hardwood rematch was never quite so close.
Despite Oregon's strong start, the Ducks entered the game as 2 1/2-point underdogs. That might have been in part because the Ducks played without starting point guard Dominic Artis for the second straight game. Artis is out indefinitely with a left foot injury.
In the end, the only surprise was that Las Vegas bookmakers didn't make the line even higher. Stanford followed up its 87-56 win at Utah on Sunday -- its most lopsided league victory in nine years -- with another runaway performance.
The one celebration Oregon enjoyed came after Kazemi's two-handed slam in the opening moments. That faded fast when the Oregon forward fell hard going for a rebound on the next defensive possession.
Kazemi, who had a concussion in a win against Nevada on Dec. 31, lay on the court holding his head for more than a minute before being helped up by a team trainer. He later returned and showed no effects from the injury.
With Kazemi recovering on the bench, Stanford started its never-ending surge.
Randle, Powell, Bright and John Gage each hit a 3-pointer during an 18-2 run that brought the sparse crowd roaring to its feet. The Cardinal clamped down on defense, too, pushing the pace for quick scores to go ahead 20-8 in the first 8 minutes.
Oregon missed its first six shots from beyond the arc and committed 20 turnovers, including three egregious errors just before the break. Stanford scored after each one, part of a quick 6-0 burst capped by Anthony Brown's bank hook that helped the Cardinal carry a 35-22 lead into the locker room.
"It's good to see the ball go in the basket," Dawkins said, chuckling. "It makes everything a little easier." Stanford started even faster in the second half.
After E.J. Singler's 3-pointer cut the Cardinal's lead to 10, the Ducks never got closer. Powell started a three-point play with a layup over Singler, then made a runner and another from beyond the arc as the Cardinal gained control for good.
Huestis cleaned up a miss with a putback dunk, and Bright made a jumper and a 3-pointer to put the Cardinal ahead 54-29 with 12:08 remaining. Singler finished with six points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.
Stanford students taunted Oregon in the final minutes with chants of "overrated."
"We haven't reached our goals yet, but this is a great win against a great team," Powell said. "They've proven themselves. And we're still in the process of proving ourselves."
- by Antonio Gonzalez, Associated Press
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NOTES: Stanford picked up its fourth win over a top-25 program under head coach Johnny Dawkins ... Perhaps the night's only blemish: Aaron Bright misfired on his second of two free throw attempts, snapping a streak of 29 consecutive makes from the charity stripe. However, Bright made up for it with 12 points and four assists ... The last time Stanford won back-to-back conference games by 20+ points came back in the 2004 campaign. The Cardinal defeated Oregon State 73-47 on Feb. 26 and followed up with a 76-55 rout of Oregon on Feb. 28 in a homestand at Maples Pavilion ... Dwight Powell (12 pts., 13 reb.) notched his fifth double-double of the year while Josh Huestis (14 pts., 13 reb.) posted his third ... The last time two Stanford players recorded a double-double in the same game was Jan. 7, 2012, when Josh Owens (16 pts., 11 reb.) and Dwight Powell (10 pts., 11 reb.) accomplished the feat ... Stanford's defense was smothering all night, limiting Oregon to 34.6 percent shooting while forcing 20 turnovers. The Ducks dished out just four assists ... Chasson Randle finished with 17 points, reaching double figures for the seventh straight game and leading the Cardinal in scoring for the seventh time ... All five Stanford starters played at least 28 minutes.
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Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
"I thought our atmosphere was terrific. Our student body and our band. I just really thought it was a great atmosphere for our guys to play in, and I thought our guys really responded. So, I think that combination of having great support, along with the way our guys played, inspired us this evening and made for a fun game. Of course, you need that against a terrific basketball team like Oregon, who has shown it throughout the season. This is something we can try to build on."
"They have a lot of talent on that team and I thought our kids just really rose to the occasion. I thought we had a lot of guys step up. Two of our guys in particular, were Dwight Powell and Josh Huestis. Not only did they score, but their board play, shot-blocking and activity in the paint really was a difference-maker for us tonight."
"It's good to see the ball go into the basket. That's something that's been good for our team. You look at our percentages the last few games, our guys have seen it go in. We know we have good players and good shooters, so I'm just happy to have them see the ball go in because that helps them out. When you defend, I think it gives you a little more life. I think you cut a little harder, you're seeing it go in and that confidence just kind of goes through the team. I think that's what you've seen the last couple games from us."
"We thought this was the type of team we thought we would have at the start of the season, and we're developing. We're still in the process of becoming who we're going to become. The season is still long, we still have a lot of games to play, and as I mentioned to you earlier this week, it's about getting better. Continually working hard in every practice, trying to improve and then going out there on the floor and executing. I think we've been able to do that the last couple of games."
" E.J. (Singler) is a terrific player and a catalyst for their team. I thought all night long we did a very good job of identifying where he was and staying with him. I thought Andy Brown did a terrific job concentrating and really focusing on that assignment."
Junior Forward Dwight Powell
"I think we prepared well. Oregon is a good team, so we didn't underestimate them at all and we came out as tough as we could and tried to rebound the basketball, played tough defense and just follow the gameplan. That's what we did, and we executed on offense."
"It's always a process. We're still in the process of becoming and trying to get better every day, so we haven't reached our goals yet, but this is a great win against a great team. They've proven themselves and we're still in the process of trying to prove ourselves, so it's a great win for us."
"With the style of team we have, the guys contribute, all five starters, and guys off the bench who are weapons come in ready to shoot their bullets and they definitely did that tonight. Offensively and defensively guys came in ready, guys came in focused and we tried to keep our intensity as high as possible through any substitutions. They definitely brought that, and they even gave us a boost at times, so it was very important to them to come in how they did."
"We were just trying to be as intense and aggressive as possible, helping each other out. We spent a lot of time watching film on them and watching their offensive schemes, so just trying to be prepared for the types of screens they set. Singler is always a threat, so we were keying on him and trying to make sure he didn't get off, because he's a playmaker and a scorer for them. We always had an eye on him and Andy did a great job sticking with him. But I think it just came down to having that intensity and that mindset that we were going to dig in tonight and do whatever it takes."
Sophomore Guard Chasson Randle
"Once again, I think it was the way we started the game, coming out aggressive and we wanted to throw the first punch. And we just kept throwing them, and really just tried to impose our will this game."
"We know Oregon is a great team, and they weren't going to stop fighting all night long. They've proven that they can come back in games like that. What we wanted to do was not let up and stay focused out there, and for the most part guys did a great job doing that."
"Anytime you get wins like that it's a great feeling and it's something that we hoped for earlier in the season. We just want to stay focused. That was the main thing: stay focused, stay hungry."
"I hope we can look at this game as a stepping stone, just keep going up and keep being better every single day. Take a look at the things we did well, and even things that we can improve on. This was a great team that we faced tonight, and we beat them on our home floor."
Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman
"Turnovers were really a problem tonight. We gave up some easy baskets and Stanford played with tremendous confidence after that. We just got it handed to us, there's no other way to put it."
"Part of it was that we gave them some easy looks early that got them going. We gave Randle an easy one on an out-of-bounds play where we didn't step up on a pick. Bright also hit an easy one. We gave up some easy ones early and it cost us."
"Down 13 at half, I still thought we were all right. We've made up those deficits before. When we came out for the second half, E.J. (Singler) hit a three, and I thought OK, we got a spark here. But we never could get anything going. We didn't hit a three in the first half, and then we hit a couple in the second half. We didn't execute our offense very well. We had a lot of bad shots, and a lot of shots where the ball movement was just really bad. Stanford just played harder than we did and beat us."
"I thought we'd be ready to go. I thought we'd play harder, but that's the first time we fell flat on our face this year. I'm really disappointed; I'm not going to lie. A lot of it has to do with Stanford, they just kicked us."