Pac-12 Tournament: Washington Dominates Stanford 91-68 in Opener

March 9, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington Huskies forward Marquese Chriss (0) dunks the basketball against Stanford Cardinal forward Michael Humphrey (10) during the second half of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Huskies defeated the Cardinal 91-68. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 9, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington Huskies forward Marquese Chriss (0) dunks the basketball against Stanford Cardinal forward Michael Humphrey (10) during the second half of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Huskies defeated the Cardinal 91-68. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the first game of the Pac-12 Tournament, the Huskies downed the Stanford Cardinal 91-68 in round one.

Step one, complete. The Huskies need to have an impressive showing in the Pac-12 Tournament to snag an elusive at-large bid for the National Championship Tournament beginning on March 15th. They put together a dominating win over Stanford in the first round and Oregon is next up.

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The Huskies raced out to a 17-point lead in the first six minutes of the game and shot 50 percent from the floor for the game. Andrew Andrews, Dejounte Murray, and company had no trouble scoring against the Cardinal, who went 15-15 on the year overall and entered the Pac-12 Tournament as the ninth seed.

Murray ended up with 25 points, Andrews scored 14 and chipped in nine assists and nine rebounds. Marquese Chriss added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Dawgs. The epic loss for the Cardinal likely put their coach, Johnny Dawkins, in the hot seat after a disappointing regular season. Stanford shot a miserable 3 for 21 from the three-point line and had no answers for the Huskies’ athletic lineup. The Huskies, meanwhile, were 7 of 13 from beyond the arc by halftime.

Coach Lorenzo Romar said of his team’s postseason inexperience: “Really good to see, with over half of our team in the tournament for the first time, they looked like they’d been here before.”

The Huskies will face top-seeded Oregon today at noon the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals. Former Voice of the Sonics Kevin Calabro will call the game for the Pac-12 Network. Oregon won the only meeting between the two teams two weeks ago in Eugene. The last time the Huskies played the Ducks in the Pac-12 Tournament was 2013, when Oregon beat Washington 80-77 in overtime in the quarterfinals.

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The Huskies need to at least beat Oregon this afternoon to have a chance at an at-large bid for the National Tournament.