Roundup: Stanford advances, Washington falls in NIT

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3536","attributes":{}}]]The Pac-12 shot 50 percent from the NIT floor Tuesday night. Bringing happy thoughts to Pac-12 fans across the nation was Stanford basketball, which edged Stephen F. Austin 58-57 in opening-round action. In other Stanford news, check out this cool story from the Stanford Daily on Condoleezza Rice assisting with Stanford football recruiting efforts.   [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3533","attributes":{}}]]The Stanford triumph came after Washington was sent packing with a 90-79 loss at BYU. Remember that story from yesterday about C.J. Wilcox facing Tyler Haws, his high school rival? Well, Haws went for 37 points to spearhead the Cougar effort. Wilcox wasn't too shabby himself, dropping in 20.   [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3538","attributes":{}}]]The NCAA tournament is officially under way with a couple First Four games taking place last night, and the Paction gets going in earnest tomorrow with three teams lacing 'em up. One of those teams is Oregon, a squad that many feel has been under-seeded. However, the Register-Guard says that in some ways, Oregon is a lucky No. 12 in its NCAA tournament seeding; there is a long history of 12-seeds doing serious work - remember when Arizona got to the Sweet 16 as a 12-seed in 2009? [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3540","attributes":{}}]]Cal also enters the Big Dance as a 12-seed, but let's take you back to 1993, because Monte Poole of the San Jose Mercury News remembers when Jason Kidd brought the madness to March, leading Cal to an upset of defending champion Duke. And how about this from the women's basketball tournament? President Obama has picked Cal to beat Stanford to advance to the Final Four in his Baracketology. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3535","attributes":{}}]]Let's get back to this trip down memory lane and fast forward a couple of years to 1995 so we can relive Tyus Edney's miracle dash that launched UCLA towards a March Madness title. Nice video feature here from Yahoo! Sports.     [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3542","attributes":{}}]]Arizona joins UCLA on the 6-line, but a lot of people are choosing the Belmont Bruins as a trendy upset pick to take down Sean Miller's club. That doesn't bother Solomon Hill and Friends, though, because the 'Cats are trying to ignore the bracket upset talk.   [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3539","attributes":{}}]]Colorado improved its seed by one from last year, as the 10th-seeded Buffaloes get ready for Illinois.  It's going to be another tough assignment for Spencer Dinwiddie, who will have to guard Brandon Paul.     [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3756","attributes":{}}]]Let's talk a little WNIT now, because Utah women's basketball is headed to Long Beach State for an 8 p.m. tip tonight. And, not to hijack a Ute segment, but Washington is also in the WNIT, and the Huskies will host Eastern Washington Friday night.   [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3541","attributes":{}}]]Over at Arizona State, the new Sparky design has been scrapped and now fans will get to vote on what the new mascot looks like.     [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3534","attributes":{}}]]We've linked to a few stories regarding USC spring football, and the Trojans are still seeking a favorite at quarterback.     [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3532","attributes":{}}]]Spring practice starts tomorrow for Washington State, so here's a position-by-position breakdown of the Cougar offense for spring practice courtesy of Christian Caple.     [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3949","attributes":{}}]]Oregon State baseball is on quite the run to start the season, so it should come as no surprise that Matt Boyd and Michael Conforto swept the weekly Pac-12 honors for pitcher and player of the week. Boyd gave up just two hits in seven innings pitched in his start against Arizona, while Conforto hit .421 for the week with a couple of round-trippers.