STANFORD, Calif. – So much for that undefeated Pac-12 Conference record.
Carlos Emory scored 12 points and Arsalan Kazemi had six points and nine rebounds in No. 10 Oregon's first league loss this season, a 76-52 rout at new nemesis Stanford on Wednesday night.
"That's the first time we've fell flat on our face this year," Ducks coach Dana Altman said. "I'm really disappointed, I'm not going to lie. I'm very disappointed. But a lot of it has to do with Stanford. They just kicked us."
Not the first time that's happened to an Oregon team lately, either.
More than two months after the Stanford football squad handed Oregon its only loss of the season, the Cardinal (13-8, 4-4) dominated the Ducks (18-3, 7-1) from the start for the basketball program's first victory over a top 10 team in almost five years.
Chasson Randle scored 17 points, and Josh Huestis had 14 points and 13 rebounds as Stanford stunned Oregon on a big stage again. The Cardinal snapped Oregon's nine-game winning streak.
"I hope they think we're a tough bunch," Randle said.
Dwight Powell added 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Aaron Bright finished with 12 points as Stanford built a 25-point lead early in the second half and coasted to the buzzer. Stanford outshot Oregon 52 to 35 percent from the floor. The Cardinal also went 8 of 14 from 3-point range, while the Ducks converted only 4 of 16 from beyond the arc.
Stanford hadn't beaten a ranked opponent since Jan. 13, 2011, when it topped No. 17 Washington 58-56 at home. The last top 10 team Stanford had defeated came when the Cardinal won at No. 9 Washington State 67-65 in overtime on Feb. 2, 2008 — the season before coach Johnny Dawkins took over.
"It's definitely one of the best games I think our guys have played, being the fact that they're such a highly ranked team," Dawkins said. "I think our kids had some other good moments as well, but this definitely ranks up there as one of the better moments for our program."
Oregon matched its highest ranking since March 2007 this week but will surely take a tumble in the AP poll now. Oregon's best start in conference play since finishing 10-0 in the 1925-26 season also is over.
"We just got it handed to us," Altman said
Once again, the Ducks can thank Stanford for spoiling all the fun.
The Cardinal football team outlasted Oregon in November on the way to a Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl victory. Coincidentally, Jordan Williamson, who kicked the winning 37-yard field goal in overtime at top-ranked Oregon, stood in the first row of the Stanford student section along with a few teammates.
The hardwood rematch was never quite so close.
Despite Oregon's strong start, the Ducks entered the game as 2½-point underdogs. That might have been in part because the Ducks played without starting point guard Dominic Artis for the second straight game. Artis is out indefinitely with a left foot injury.
In the end, the only surprise was that Las Vegas bookmakers didn't make the line even higher. Stanford followed up its 87-56 win at Utah on Sunday — its most lopsided league victory in nine years — with another runaway performance.
The one celebration Oregon enjoyed came after Kazemi's two-handed slam in the opening moments. That faded fast when the Oregon forward fell hard going for a rebound on the next defensive possession.
Kazemi, who had a concussion in a win against Nevada on Dec. 31, lay on the court holding his head for more than a minute before being helped up by a team trainer. He later returned and showed no effects from the injury.
With Kazemi recovering on the bench, Stanford started its never-ending surge.
Randle, Powell, Bright and John Gage each hit a 3-pointer during an 18-2 run that brought the sparse crowd roaring to its feet. The Cardinal clamped down on defense, too, pushing the pace for quick scores to go ahead 20-8 in the first 8 minutes.
Oregon missed its first six shots from beyond the arc and committed 20 turnovers, including three egregious errors just before the break. Stanford scored after each one, part of a quick 6-0 burst capped by Anthony Brown's bank hook that helped the Cardinal carry a 35-22 lead into the locker room.
"It's good to see the ball go in the basket," Dawkins said, chuckling. "It makes everything a little easier."
Stanford started even faster in the second half.
After E.J. Singler's 3-pointer cut the Cardinal's lead to 10, the Ducks never got closer. Powell started a three-point play with a layup over Singler, then made a runner and another from beyond the arc as the Cardinal gained control for good.
Huestis cleaned up a miss with a putback dunk, and Bright made a jumper and a 3-pointer to put the Cardinal ahead 54-29 with 12:08 remaining. Singler finished with six points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.
Stanford students taunted Oregon in the final minutes with chants of "overrated."
"We haven't reached our goals yet, but this is a great win against a great team," Powell said. "They've proven themselves. And we're still in the process of proving ourselves."
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