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 It has not happened. No. 12 Arizona is now 3-0 without Trier after
rolling to a 71-57 victory over Stanford on Thursday night at Maples
Pavilion.
Trier was averaging 14.8 points overall and 19.3 points in
conference games. However, in the three games without him, the
Wildcats (16-3, 4-2 Pac-12) have won by an average margin of 23.7
points.
"No, not really," said Arizona guard Gabe York, when asked whether
he was surprised with the team's success without Trier. "He's a
great player, but we have a great team. Kaleb (Tarczewski) was out
for a while (eight games) and we only lost one game."
Beating Stanford was nothing new for the Wildcats, who defeated the
Cardinal for the 12th time in a row.
York led the Wildcats with a game-high 19 points, hitting four of
nine 3-point attempts. He had five points during a 12-0 Arizona run
that turned a 40-39 Stanford lead into a 51-40 Arizona advantage
with 8:28 remaining.
York was more than willing to give credit to teammate Ryan Anderson,
who was effective at both ends of the court. Not only did the
forward score 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting to go along with eight
rebounds, but he also was the main defender on forward Rosco Allen,
Stanford's leading scorer at 14.6 points per game.
Allen was limited to three points.
"I'm going to hype up Ryan because he had Rosco Allen," York said.
"Allen is their motor, and Ryan held him to 1-for-12 (shooting)."
Allen is averaging 17.6 points in Stanford wins and 8.6 when the
team loses.
"(Stopping Allen) was a big point of emphasis this week," Anderson
said. "Coach said he's had his way with everyone in the league. He
challenged me early in the week."
Offense was a struggle for Stanford (10-7, 3-3). The Cardinal shot
just 30.6 percent from the field, and they were doomed by going
scoreless for more than six minutes immediately after taking the
lead.
"You can't have a sustained period like that against a team like
Arizona with their offensive firepower," Stanford coach Johnny
Dawkins said. "I thought we had some good looks, but we had a night
when it just didn't fall. You have to have other ways to win."
Stanford took its first lead of the game at the 14:19 mark of the
second half when forward Grant Verhoeven converted a three-point
play to complete a seven-point run that put the Cardinal ahead
40-39.
Arizona then took control, scoring the next 12 points.
After taking the lead, Stanford did not convert another field goal
until 5:47 remained in the game.
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"It may have been our best overall defensive performance of the
year," said Arizona coach Sean Miller, who is 11-0 against Stanford.
Stanford got a boost off the bench from freshman guard Marcus
Sheffield, who matched his season high with 17 points.
"I played really good," Sheffield said. "It would have been better
if we won."
However, his scoring was not nearly enough for Stanford, which was
outscored 32-17 after the Cardinal took the lead.
"We had some lapses defensively," said Stanford guard Dorian
Pickens, who finished with 11 points. "They got their rhythm and
they felt comfortable."
Arizona led for nearly all of the first half and took a 31-30 lead
into intermission.
York scored 10 first-half points for Arizona, which took an early
15-6 lead but hurt itself with nine turnovers in the first 20
minutes.
Sheffield had 10 points in the first half. He made three of his four
first-half shots, but the rest of the Cardinal made just eight of 28
field-goal attempts before halftime.
Nonetheless, Stanford tied the score 29-29 on Pickens' 3-pointer
with 33 seconds left in the half. A layup by guard Kadeem Allen put
the Wildcats back ahead by two points, and Stanford guard Marcus
Allen hit one of two free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining to set
the halftime score.
Stanford stayed close until Arizona went on its 12-point run early
in the second half.
NOTES: Arizona played its third consecutive game without freshman G
Allonzo Trier, who sustained a broken hand on Jan. 9 and will be
sidelined for another three to five weeks. ... Stanford played its
ninth straight game without F Reid Travis, who is out with a leg
stress reaction. He may return soon. ... Stanford's last win against
Arizona series came in 2009. ... Sean Miller needs to beat
California on Saturday to reach 300 career coaching wins. ... Four
of the top five Arizona scorers are shooting better than 50 percent
from the floor. ... Stanford hosts Arizona State on Saturday.
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