Pac-12 Tournament 2016: Quarterfinals Scores, Semifinals Bracket and Schedule

The quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament tipped off from Las Vegas Thursday afternoon after a first round on Wednesday saw the Nos. 5 through 9 seeds advance to the final eight. 

They faced off against the conference's top four seeds on Thursday. 

Here's a look at the day's updated results: 

Team	Result	Team
No. 8 Washington	77-83	No. 1 Oregon
No. 5 Colorado	78-82	No. 4 Arizona
No. 7 USC	72-80	No. 2 Utah
No. 6 Oregon State	68-76	No. 3 California

Here is the updated semifinal bracket after Thursday's play:

Date	Time (ET)	Team	Team
Friday, March 11	9 p.m.	Oregon	Arizona
Friday, March 11	11:30 p.m.	Utah	Oregon State

Oregon 83, Washington 77

Pac-12 No. 1 seed Oregon survived a quarterfinal scare from No. 8 Washington in an 83-77 victory Thursday.

It was hardly the kind of opening performance Oregon would have wanted in its opening game of the conference tournament after winning the Pac-12 for the first time in 14 years, but the Ducks will take on Arizona in the semifinals Friday.

With a short bench, Oregon saw four of its five starters, led by the 19 points apiece from Eldin Cook and Chris Boucher, score in double digits. However, they took a while to get going.

Oregon had to contend with an almost-perfect Washington start after the Huskies opened the game 10-of-13 from the field. 

The hot start helped Washington build a 31-19 lead with six minutes and 27 seconds left to play in the first half, but once the Huskies went cold, it opened the door for Oregon. And Washington went ice-cold, as it finished the first half at 4-of-18 from the field.

Washington's struggles let the Ducks get out in transition, and they ignited for a 12-0 run in just under four minutes. Oregon managed to take a one-point lead into halftime, but the Huskies wouldn't go away quietly.

Oregon built a lead as large as 11 in the second half, but Washington's resiliency kept it in things thanks to a 14-5 run with just under five minutes to go. 

With 55 seconds left in the game and down two points, Washington had a golden opportunity to tie the game, but Marquese Chriss missed a two-handed dunk, which Oregon rebounded to ice the game. 

Chriss also scored 19 points on the night, but that missed dunk in the final minute of a conference quarterfinal game will be a haunting image to deal with during the offseason for Washington fans.

Reaction

Oregon head coach Dana Altman realized after the game that there are some kinks to be worked out on the fly, via KGW News' John Canzano:

He also shed some insight as to why Washington got off to such a fast start, via Canzano:

Now isn't the time for cracks to be showing up in the foundation, but that's what looks to be happening with Oregon, even with a semifinal game against the defending conference champions looming on Friday. 

This will be a true test for Altman and the Ducks to try to right the ship quickly, or else their postseason could be a short one.

Arizona 82, Colorado 78

Pac-12 defending champion Arizona almost saw a big first-half performance get wiped away against Colorado in an 82-78 victory on Thursday.

Arizona held a lead as large as 21 in the first half and a 17-point advantage at halftime, before Colorado mounted a last-ditch comeback. If the Buffaloes were able to put together a better first half, things could have been much different.

Arizona's defense was solid as it held Colorado to just 34.2 percent shooting from the field. In the first half alone, the Buffaloes shot 23.5 percent, while the Wildcats were close to 50.

In fact, the game's lopsided nature prompted Jon Gold of the Arizona Daily Star to tweet this:

"

Arizona is boating, flogging, ripping, creaming, smacking, walloping, wasting, and florking Colorado and only one of those words is made up.

— Jon Gold (@TheCoolSub) March 10, 2016"

Arizona started the game on a 13-2 run and held Colorado to just six points in the game's first 12 minutes.

After a short cold spell, another run of 7-2 in the first half put Arizona up by double digits, where it remained for most of the game. 

The Wildcats did leave Colorado hanging around in the second half as the Buffaloes threw everything at their opponents. A 15-point Arizona lead with 7:48 to go shrunk to eight with three-and-a-half minutes left. It shrunk to seven after a Josh Fortune three-pointer with 1:39 to go. 

However, the deficit created due to first-half struggles was just far too large to overcome for Colorado, as it left the tournament in the quarterfinals. 

Arizona's road to a repeat will have to go through the conference's top seed, Oregon, on Friday in the semifinals.

Reaction

While their dreams of a Cinderella finish in the Pac-12 might have been dashed, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle was proud of the way his team responded to a tough start, via Colorado Buffaloes:

Arizona head coach Sean Miller wasn't as proud of his team's second-half effort despite the win, via the Associated Press' John Marshall:

He wasn't letting it go either, via AZ Sports' Kevin Zimmerman:

As displeased as Miller was with his team's efforts in the final 20 minutes, his team is still one win away from the Pac-12 title game. However, if it cannot put together a complete 40-minute outing against top-seeded Oregon, then the Wildcats will be heading home to await Selection Sunday.

Utah 80, USC 72

To continue with the theme of the Pac-12's first two quarterfinal games, No. 2 Utah had to weather a last-gasp storm by USC, which almost erased a double-digit-point second-half lead.

USC hung tough with Utah to start, despite being the lower seed. Its defense proved difficult for the No. 2 Utes to break down, and the Trojans even held a four-point lead halfway through the first half, but Utah bore down and worked its way back.

Utah took a 34-33 lead with 2:36 to go in the first and didn't relinquish it for the rest of the night as the offense woke up with a 7-0 run to end the half.

It allowed Utah to build a double-digit-point second-half lead, but USC wouldn't allow the game to get too far out of hand. The longer Utah allowed USC to linger, the better chance the Trojans would have to come back.

They did exactly that, pulling off a 13-3 run to get to within two at 69-67 with 3:03 left. Most of their offensive success came via Julian Jacobs, who recorded 16 points and six assists on the night.

Pac-12 Networks showed one of his nicest hoops of the night:

But the two-point deficit was as close as USC would get, as Utah came up with a huge response to the run thanks to a three-pointer by Kyle Kuzma to make it a five-point game, via Pac-12 Networks:

Kuzma led the Utes with 23 points on the night.

It gave Utah enough of a cushion in the final minutes to close out the game and punch its ticket to the semifinals. The Utes will play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 California and No. 6 Oregon State.

California 76, Oregon State 68

The California Golden Bears outlasted the Oregon State Beavers Thursday in one of the most exciting conference tournament games of the day, 76-68.

The dynamic duo of Ivan Rabb and Jabari Bird led the way for the victorious Golden Bears. Rabb posted a double-double with 21 points and 15 boards, while Bird chipped in 20 points and went 5-of-7 from three-point range. 

Jordan Mathews also added 17 points off the bench, but it was Rabb who caught the eye of CBS Sports’ Sam Vecenie:

As for Oregon State, Gary Payton II may be the star, but it was Derrick Bruce who turned in a team-high 25 points. Bruce drilled four three-pointers, including this one he set up with a filthy move, via Pac-12 Networks:

Not to be outdone, Payton made his mark as well with an incredible statline of 20 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. His contributions across the board were a testament to his overall game, and he kept the Beavers in the back-and-forth contest alongside Bruce. 

Ashley Adamson of Pac-12 Networks thought Oregon State made a statement with Selection Sunday looming against a quality California opponent:

California may have won by eight points, but the final deficit doesn’t do the contest justice. The Beavers were in comeback mode for most of the second half and tied it at 49 with less than 10 minutes left when Bruce connected on one of his three-pointers, via Pac-12 Networks:

Payton II hit a three with less than seven minutes remaining to give Oregon State a 55-54 advantage, but Bird answered right back with a long-ball of his own. The sequence was indicative of the momentum swings that defined the second half.

Oregon State led 62-60 with less than five minutes left, but California closed the contest on a 16-6 run to clinch the victory. The proverbial dagger came when Mathews hit a three with just more than 30 seconds left to push the lead from 70-65 to 73-65.

Next up for the Golden Bears is a showdown with Utah.

The battle between Rabb and the California frontcourt against Utah’s Jakob Poeltl will likely decide the contest. The Utes big man posted 14 points and eight boards Wednesday against USC and will challenge that California defense for a spot in the Pac-12 tournament championship game.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.