Utah guard Sedrick Barefield (2) lays the ball up as Stanford center Josh Sharma (20) defends during the second half in an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Salt Lake City. Utah won 67-59. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 4, 2017

Stanford learned late Saturday night that it would face Arizona State in the opening round of the 2017 Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament.

The No. 9-seed Cardinal meets the No. 8 Sun Devils at noon Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nev., a suburb of Las Vegas. If Stanford wins, it would advance to the second round Thursday against No. 1-seed Oregon, a game also scheduled for noon.

Stanford (14-16 overall, 6-12 Pac-12) concluded its regular season slate in Salt Lake City Saturday, dropping a 67-59 decision to Utah at Huntsman Center.

The Utes (20-10 overall, 11-7 Pac-12) drew a first-round bye and will face either No. 5-seed California or No. 12-seed Oregon State in the quarterfinals. No. 2-seed Arizona and No. 3-seed UCLA drew the other first-round byes.

The first two rounds and the first semifinal will be televised by the Pac-12 Network, while ESPN will carry the second semifinal and the tournament championship.

In the loss to Utah, Dorian Pickens led the Cardinal with 20 points, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and three steals. Marcus Allen added 11 points and five assists.

Stanford took a 19-10 lead midway through the first half, fueled by a 10-3 run. The Cardinal led by as many as 11 (23-12) on two Allen free throws at 7:00 of the first half, and took a 28-26 lead into the halftime break.

After Utah tied the game early in the second half, Pickens nailed a 3-pointer to put the Cardinal back in front. Stanford led 52-48 at 5:40 on a pair of Allen free throws, but the Utes responded with an 8-0 run, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers by Lroenzo Bonam – who led all scorers with 26 points – and Kyle Kuzma. That allowed Utah to take a two-point lead. With 4:19 to play.

Stanford pulled to within 63-59 with 1:48 left on a Pickens 3-pointer and a layup by Allen, but when the Cardinal regained possession, Pickens committed an offensive foul with 1:18 remaining.

The Utes proceeded to score the final four points of the game.