Pac-10 Finals Recap

(1) Stanford 77, (2) Washington 66
The Cardinal avenged its only loss of the season to capture its first Pac-10 tournament title, likely assuring itself of being the No. 1 seed in the West region when the bracket is revealed later today. Matt Lottich scored a game-high 20 points and the Stanford defense held the Huskies to 38.5 percent shooting in a physical showdown between the Pac-10’s top two teams. Nate Robinson had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in defeat. The Cardinal trailed by as many as five in the first half but used a 20-8 run over the final seven minutes of the half to take a six-point lead into the break. Senior center Justin Davis had six points as part of that Cardinal run and finished the night with 13 points and seven rebounds in his most effective game since returning from a knee injury at the start of the tournament.

Stanford dominated the glass, 40-25, and played strong perimeter defense, limiting the Huskies to just a 3-for-17 clip from long range. The Cardinal did not fare much better from outside (5-for-18), but Lottich, who accounted for all but one of Stanford’s three-pointers, drilled one with 5:12 remaining to put the Cardinal back up by eight. The Huskies would not seriously threaten again. Mike Jensen and Bobby Jones tallied 11 points apiece for Washington. Pac-10 Player of the Year Josh Childress scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists and was named the tournament MVP. Despite the loss, the Huskies figure to be among the tournament field as an at-large bid after winning 14 of their last 17 games, including the upset of Stanford one week ago and a third straight victory over Arizona on Saturday.