SLIPPING AWAY — Stanford leads 56-53, 1:23.
OH NO AZIZ — With the shot clock winding down, Thomas found N’Diaye open under the rim. N’Diaye, however, threw up an awkward two-hand shot that hit the glass and didn’t hit the rim. He got the rebound, but UW lost possession on a shot clock violation. UW 53-53, 2:11.
IT’S ELECTRIC — The crowd is really into it now. Green just nailed a three-pointer over Thomas that gave Stanford a 53-51 lead. That’s a 12-0 run for the Cardinal. There’s 3:38 left. Hate to say it, but I got to slow down and write the game story.
WE GOT A GAME — Mann has a wicked cross-over. He used it again on Overton to blow by him, drive to the rim and flush a jam that got the crowd to its feet. Stanford is back in it. UW 51-48, 5:50.
CARDINAL NOT GOING AWAY — Stanford is still hanging around. Feels like if the Huskies can string together some baskets this game will be over. As I write that, Bryan-Amaning missed a point-blank layup and Wilcox drew an offensive foul on a 2-on-1 fast break. UW 51-44, 7:28.
THOMAS DETERMINED — Stanford can’t keep Thomas out of the lane and rather than pass to others, he’s creating good shots for himself. UW 49-40, 10:10.
NAILED — Thomas got nailed on a hard screen by Jack Trotter Thomas was looking back at the UW bench and moving. He didn’t see it coming and no one told him Trotter was there. Thomas ran into Trotter’s s chest and fell hard to the floor. Green got an open trey and missed. The Huskies corralled the long rebound and Thomas led a fast break. He dished to Ross, but he missed a layup in traffic. UW 46-38, 11:10.
HUSKIES STREAKING — Holiday flushed an alley-oop dunk off of a feed from Thomas that forced Stanford to call a timeout. Washington has outscored Stanford 18-9 in the second half. UW 46-38, 12:57.
HOLIDAY FINDS HIS STROKE — After missing his first five shots, Holiday has connected on the next two. He just sank a three-pointer. UW 38-36, 14:32.
THREE ON N’DIAYE — The big man has three fouls. UW 35-34, 15:09.
DON’T BLINK — This is the time of the game Oregon and Oregon State were blown away. The Huskies have the ability to make you think you’re in the game before going on a will-breaking run. UW 35-34, 15:40.
NO DISRUPTION — One of the most surprising elements of the aspects of the first half is Washington was unable to disrupt Stanford’s defense. It looks as if that’s starting to change. Stanford has just one basket in the second half. UW is starting to establish its defensive will and making it more difficult for Stanford to score. UW 35-32, 15:51.
FINALLY — Holiday began the second half with a tree-pointer. UW 31-29.
HALFTIME OBSERVATIONS — Perhaps it’s a bad omen. For the first time this season, the Huskies trail at halftime. And this isn’t a fluke. Stanford has outplayed Washington. Owens is dominating N’Diaye. He’s dunked over the 7-footer and he’s drawn him out to the perimeter where he’s knocked down a long jumper. He’s a difficult cover, which is why the Huskies went to the 2-3 zone. It’s been partly effective.
Still it’s not Stanford’s offense that’s beating Washington, it’s the Cardinal defense. Washington can’t figure it out. It’s not as if Stanford is doing anything gimicky. It’s a base defense. Stanford is just staying close to Thomas and not letting him create for others. At times the Cardinal double team Bryan-Amaning, but he’s had several good looks. He’s 3 for 4 for eight points. But he also has three turnovers. Thomas has 9 points on 3-for-7 shooting.
The Huskies are waiting for somebody else to get into the game offensively. Holiday is 0 for 5 and he looks frustrated. After a missed trey, he slapped his hands in disgust. Ross is 1 for 4. Suggs is 1 for 3 and Overton 0 for 2. Stanford is getting back defensively and it has not allowed a fast break point.
This is going to be a tough grind it out affair.
HALFTIME STATS – Click here.
ROSS CLEARS OUT — Ross slapped his hands and asked for the ball on the wing. He got it. Everyone else moved away. He dribbled between his legs and sank a long three-pointer. Stan 29-26, 0:48.
THE REASON FOR THE ZONE? — Owens is killing the Huskies. He’s 5 for 5 for 10 points.
GOING ZONE — Washington switched to a zone. It didn’t work as Gant fouled Owens. Or maybe it did work because Owens missed both shots. Stan 27-22, 2:28.
BEAUTIFUL MOVE — Mann caught Wilcox napping and blew by the UW guard with a very nice right-to-left crossover dribble before lofting a high-acring layup over N’Diaye. The Huskies are a bit baffled on both ends of the court. Stan 27-22, 3:13.
LOOKING TENTATIVE — The Huskies appear tentative offensively. Holiday won’t take any more outside shots. Thomas is bottled up. And Bryan-Amaning is attracting double teams. There’s not many options at the moment. Stan 25-22, 4:06.
BACK AND FORTH — Stanford trailed 15-10 before going on a 9-4 run and taking its first lead when freshman Anthony Brown sank a long jumper. The spurt also included Owens flushing over N’Diaye. Holiday missed another trey and Wilcox misfired on a three-pointer. He sank a mid-range jumper to tie the score. UW 21-21, 6:40.
HERE COMES WILCOX — The redshirt sharpshooter is in. UW 17-15.
WAITING ON WILCOX — C.J. Wilcox is the only player in the rotation who has not played yet.
PICKING UP — After a slow start, both teams are finding their offensive legs. Still at this rate, the winner will barely crack 65 points. UW 15-12, 11:25.
NICE MOVES — Thomas and Green traded treys. Thomas scored on a cross-over, step-back shot, while Green sank an off-balance shot despite being undercut by Thomas. UW 15-10, 12:16.
MORE SUBS — Terrence Ross is in for Holiday and Darnell Gant replaced N’Diaye. UW 7-4, 14:54.
SLUGFEST — UW didn’t score on its first six possessions before N’Diaye forced in a putback. Bryan-Amaning has the other basket, a layup off of a nice pass from Thomas. This game looks like the last one between these teams in the Pac-10 semis.
HOLIDAY STILL COLD — Holiday has missed his first three shots, including a pair of open treys. UW 4-4, 15:25.