University of Washington
Stanford
Huskies Fall To No. 1 Stanford, 94-63
January 25, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2001
By JANIE McCAULEY
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE - Stanford was waiting for Washington to react. It never happened.
It took the nation's No. 1 team less than 5 minutes to take control and run away for its 18th straight win Thursday night. The Cardinal used a barrage of 3-pointers during a 17-0 first-half run that led to a 94-63 win over the Huskies.
Michael McDonald shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half and was one of four scorers in double figures for Stanford, which matched the best start in school history. Stanford also started the 1997-98 season 18-0.
"They came out tough, but we started hitting our shots from the outside and put the game away early," said McDonald, who just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine assists.
"It seemed like everything we tried worked," said Ryan Mendez, who had two 3-pointers and 14 points. "You'd think they would pick up on some of the things we were doing, but they didn't. It was kind of sad."
The Cardinal (18-0, 6-0 Pac-10), the nation's only unbeaten team, have won seven straight against the Huskies. The win was the team's 12th of the season by more than 20 points.
Stanford coach Mike Montgomery is downplaying the perfect start and is trying to keep his team focused on the conference race.
"We've got to continue to try and win as many games as we can if we want to win the conference," Montgomery said.
Stanford still has to play Arizona at Maples Pavilion, and UCLA and USC twice.
Casey Jacobsen led Stanford with 16 points and Jarron Collins had 10. The Cardinal shot 56.9 percent, surpassing their conference-leading 50.1 average.
Washington (8-11, 2-5) made five of its first six shots, then shot 5-for-23 through the rest of the first half and faced a 53-27 halftime deficit. The Huskies struggled to find shots against Stanford's tough man defense and couldn't keep up once the Cardinal started connecting from 3-point range.
"When we were vulnerable, they pounced on us," said Washington coach Bob Bender. "That's what good teams do."
McDonald and Mendez combined to shoot 8-for-9 in the first half, including 6-for-7 from 3-point range. Stanford shot 47 percent from beyond the arc in the first half. Mendez scored seven straight for the Cardinal just before halftime.
Stanford had used all 12 of its players by halftime.
The Huskies led 12-11 on Thalo Green's jumper at 15:40, then the Cardinal scored 17 unanswered points. Twelve of those points came on 3-pointers and three on Jarron Collins' three-point play.
Washington's leading scorer, forward Will Perkins, had his conference-leading eighth double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. His previous double-double was against Arizona and 7-foot-1 Loren Woods on Jan. 13.
"Stanford will slow things down and just work you over from the inside and outside," Perkins said. "They're patient and good."
Stanford's twin brothers, Jarron and Jason Collins, combined for 17 points and six rebounds. Together they had been averaging 26 points and 15.4 rebounds.
The Cardinal, two-time defending Pac-10 champions, lead the Pac-10 in 12 categories and are shooting better from 3-point range (50.1) than the Huskies are shooting from the field (41.3).
Stanford's Tyler Besecker missed the trip because of food poisoning.
In 15 tries against No. 1-ranked teams, Washington's only win was a 69-68 victory over UCLA on Feb. 22, 1979.
