Stanford (6-6, 1-1) used a program record 16 three point field goals to lead wire-to-wire and run away from the #4 Arizona Wildcats (10-3, 1-1) on New Year's Eve, 100-82.
The Cardinal opened the game on a 7-0 run, but things really kicked into high gear when they brought in the freshman duo of Andrej Stojakovic and Kanaan Carlyle. Almost immediately, Kanaan hit a three point field goal, and he would continue to do that the rest of the day. After Arizona made it 22-21 at the 7 minute mark, Kanaan hit another three, followed by a four-point play to start an 11-0 Stanford run.
"I've been telling Kanaan, as the young guys we've gotta step up," Andrej said. "He just showed college basketball what he can do."
Stanford took a 44-35 lead into the locker room. For all of the attention their hot shooting offense was getting, their defensive game plan was executed soundly. They were able to slow the interior attack of the Wildcats without having to hard double in the post. They also held them without a single fast break point in the first period, a stunning statistic for one of the nation's fastest teams.
Arizona's offense started executing better out of the break, but Stanford had a response to everything. Within the first three and a half minutes of the period, Spencer Jones scored 11 points, including 3-3 on three point field goals. The largest run Arizona was able to mount all night was 7-0, but that came after the Cardinal had already built a 20 point advantage and was quickly nipped when Spencer Jones hit yet another three. Jerod Haase made it a point of emphasis to try to limit Arizona runs, something they excel at, and a big part of that was keeping them out of transition.
As the final seconds slipped away, Kanaan Carlyle hit one last three from the logo to give Stanford an even 100 and their 16th three in 25 attempts. It was that kind of day.
This was the most points Arizona had allowed in regulation since 2009, and the most they had surrendered in regulation to a conference opponent since 2001. They entered the day as the 2nd best defensive team according to Kenpom, but Stanford scored 1.35 points per possession. The shooting was unbelievably good, but they were generating high quality looks on nearly every possession. They tallied 25 assists as a team.
Kanaan Carlyle led all scorers with 28 points, shooting 6-8 from three and 8-8 at the line. He also grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. It was just his fourth game of the season, and he provided an instant spark and earned extended run.
"It was just my time," Kanaan said. "My team has been supporting me the whole time I was out. They had confidence in me."
Spencer Jones scored 21 points on 8-9 from the field, including 5 made threes. He also blocked 2 shots. Andrej Stojakovic added 16 points on 10 shots, Maxime Raynaud chipped in 12, and Jared Bynum had a career-high 11 assists. They finished with shooting splits of 58/64/86, and got 49 points from their bench.
"As a team, we knew we were able to accomplish a win like this," Andrej said. "This was finally the game to show that we can make a lot of noise in the Pac-12."
Normally, Jerod Haase gives his team until midnight to celebrate a win. This time, he told them they could celebrate "for the rest of the year."