January 30, 2013; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Josh Huestis (24) celebrates with fans after the game against the Oregon Ducks at Maples Pavilion.  The Cardinal defeated the Ducks 76-52.  Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Stanford Cardinal defeated the #10 Oregon Ducks, and last undefeated team in the Pac-12, by the score of 76-52.  It was a strong defensive performance all night for the Cardinal who controlled the game from start to finish. 

The Oregon offense was very stagnant this evening with the absence of freshman starting point guard Dominic Artis.  They often settled for deep two pointers or forced three pointers.  It’s clear the Ducks are NOT the same team without him, and it’s not even close. 

For Stanford they put together possibly their best game of the season holding the Ducks to just 34.6% shooting while hitting 51.9% of their shots.  They also forced 20 turnovers and added 5 blocks. 

The Cardinal ended with 4 guys in double-digits and were led by Chasson Randle who had 17 points.  Him and Aaron Bright (who finished with 12 points) each went 3-3 from behind the arc.  Dwight Powell tied a career-high with 13 rebounds and added 12 points.  Josh Huestis also had 14 points and 13 boards as well as a couple beautiful put-back dunks. 

The Ducks, who have 5 guys average double-digits, were held to just one person with more than 10 points for the game.  That was forward Carlos Emory who actually came off the bench and finished with 12 points. 

The Cardinal looked strong throughout the first half hitting 48% of their shots in the first half while holding the Ducks to just 36%, including 0-6 from 3-point land.  Chasson Randle lead Stanford with 10 points meanwhile Dwight Powell racked up 10 rebounds which was just one rebound less than the entire Ducks team. 

Junior Andy Brown also had a great half doing it all over the floor from shooting to making hustle plays by diving to the floor for loose balls.  The biggest difference by far was Stanford’s great defensive effort and which allowed them to take the 35-22 lead into the locker room. 

The second half was more of the same for the Cardinal who went on a 12-0 run early in the half.  The defense once again held tough and kept Oregon to 30 total points including 10 more turnovers in the half.  Aaron Bright and Josh Huestis led the Stanford attack in the second half with 9 points each, while freshman guard Willie Moore led Oregon with 7 points in the half.  Carlos Emory was second with 6 points. 

While Stanford was actually considered the favorite to with the game because Oregon was missing their point-guard and the Cardinal were playing at home, it was still a well-played victory against a great team.  If they can continue to play the way they’ve been playing these last couple of games then they will find themselves where they want to be, in the thick of the NCAA tournament.