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BYU 90 Washington 79
It was a frustrating end to a frustrating season for the Huskies as they simply couldn't contain BYU's Tyler Haws, who dropped 37 on the defenseless Huskies. C.J. Wilcox led the way for the Huskies with 20 in a homecoming for the Salt Lake City area product in what may have been his last college, but came out cold in the first half and had very little help in the scoring department from his teammates.
The Huskies may not have been overly excited about playing in the tournament for the second-straight year and having to go to one of most hostile arenas out, so it's not too surprising that they ended up losing. This now sets up a very important off-season for the Huskies where they most likely need to do at least one of two things to try and remain as a team that can challenge for the Pac-12 Championship and the NCAA Tournament.
1. Convince C.J. Wilcox to come back for his senior season. Wilcox has claimed that he is 50/50 on the decision and some have projected him as a borderline late-first round draft pick.
2. Sign five-star forward Aaron Gordon away from Kentucky, Arizona and Oregon.
The Huskies can probably stay on the same level they were this year, or rise up a little bit if they can do one or the other, but could go back to being a serious player at the top of the conference if they can pull off both. However, there will be very little excitement going into next season if they fail at both.
Stanford 58 Stephen F. Austin 57
The defending NIT champions were lucky to pull off a one-point win as the Lumberjacks had a number of good looks at shots that could have won the game in the waning moments. None the less, the Cardinal advance to play Alabama in the second round in Tuscaloosa. The Cardinal were led by Dwight Powell who finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds, but didn't have a great game shooting against the smaller Stephen F. Austin front.
The Cardinal now get a chance to avenge their second round loss to Alabama in the 2004 NCAA Tournament when they were a number one seed!
Arizona State 83 Detroit 68
Jahii Carson had another epic game for the Sun Devils as he flirted with a triple-double as he put up 22 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Seriously... 10 rebounds for a guy who is 5'10? The Sun Devils led by as much as 25 in the first half, but let the Titans get within striking distance in the second half.
Unfortunately, the Sun Devils' next game is on Friday night against Baylor when pretty much every basketball fan should be watching the NCAA Tournament, but hopefully they can advance so Pac-12 fans can keep watching more great performances by Carson while they still can. You have to wonder if he might consider jumping to the NBA sooner than initially thought with the way he has played as the season has progressed.