LAS VEGAS — Isaac Jones scored 16 points and No. 22 Washington State beat Stanford 79-62 in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Stanford finished the season with a 14-18 record. The school announced after the game that it had fired coach Jerod Haase.
The Cougars had six players score in double figures and shot 50.8% (31 for 61) from the field. Myles Rice and Jaylen Wells each scored 14, and Andrej Jakimovski had 13.
Head coach Jerod Haase of the Stanford Cardinal looks on in the second half of a quarterfinal game against the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars defeated the Cardinal 79-62. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Next up for the second-seeded Cougars (24-8) is Colorado or Utah in Friday’s semifinals. This is just their fourth trip to the semis and first since 2008.
Washington State has never played in the Pac-12 championship, so school history could be made with the tournament going away after this season.
Spencer Jones led the Cardinal with 22 points, and Brandon Angel had 15.
Washington State used a 13-3 run late in the first half to go ahead 37-22, and it was never seriously challenged after that. The Cardinal — who rallied from 18 points behind to beat Cal on Wednesday — closed to 60-46 with a 12-2 second-half spurt.
But then Cougars coach Kyle Smith called timeout, and Rice responded with a steal and flying dunk to put the momentum back in Washington State’s favor.
Washington State and Oregon State will continue to play as Pac-12 teams next season with the other 10 members heading to different leagues. Both schools, however, also will be aligned with the West Coast Conference, which will bring both back to Las Vegas for that league’s tournament.