Stanford no match for Texas, 82-62, in regional semifinal
HOUSTON (AP) — Stanford’s big guys were no match for the small, medium and jumbo sizes of the Texas Longhorns.
Little D.J. Augustin set the tempo, 299-pound Dexter Pittman pounded and pestered Brook Lopez and the rest of the Longhorns chipped in as Texas defeated Stanford 82-62 Friday night in an NCAA South Regional semifinal.
The victory sends the onghorns into Sunday’s regional final against the winner of the Michigan State-Memphis game.
Whoever Texas next faces can expect as much burnt orange — if not more — in the stands when the Longhorns get a chance to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Mixing their inside and outside games, the Longhorns (31-6) took control early. Still, they were up only 52-51 after Lopez did everything but dribble the ball up the court to rally the Cardinal (28-8).
Texas answered with a 20-3 run, punctuated by several plays that sent the heavily pro-Longhorns fans to their feet. Most were by Augustin, but Pittman also contributed by using his girth to throw Lopez off stride.
Lopez was so frustrated that on one play he was trying to signal officials to call three seconds on the humongous guy while also trying to play defense.
Lopez had 24 of Stanford’s first 48 points, but finished with 26 and 10 rebounds.
As the final seconds ticked off, he pounded a fist on the floor and untucked his shirt, scowling as he walked to midcourt for the postgame handshake.
The Cardinal already were on their deepest run since 2001. Whether they can get back next year might depend on whether Lopez and his 7-foot twin brother, Robin, stick around for their junior years.
They’ll need more scorers, too, as reserve Landry Fields had the second-most points with 11. No one else had more than six.
Augustin, playing before lots of family in his adopted hometown, had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds. He scored eight points during the game-breaking run and everyone knew this one was over when he fed Damion James for a dunk so electrifying that he began celebrating on his way down.