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Stanford, Calif. • Josh Scott had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Xavier Johnson scored 14 points and Colorado boosted its chances of a first-round bye in next week's Pac-12 Conference tournament with a 59-56 victory over Stanford on Wednesday night.
Xavier Talton added nine points and five rebounds to help the Buffaloes (21-9, 10-7 Pac-12) break a two-game losing skid and hand the Cardinal another setback. Stanford has lost three straight for the first time all season.
Chasson Randle scored 24 points to rally the Cardinal (18-11, 9-8) from an eight-point deficit to take the lead in the final minutes. But he missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
Both teams began the day tied with California for fourth place in Pac-12 play. The top four teams earn a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament in Las Vegas.
Colorado completes its regular-season slate Saturday at Cal. Stanford hosts Utah in its finale. Josh Huestis had nine points and 13 rebounds and Dwight Powell added eight points for Stanford, which is trying to earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in six seasons under coach Johnny Dawkins. The Cardinal, who made the tournament in the 13 of 14 seasons prior, will likely need a strong run in Las Vegas next week for an at-large bid in the Big Dance now.
Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir said after last season that he expected Dawkins to take the team to the NCAA tournament. Dawkins has two more seasons remaining on his contract. Pac-12 standings
Conference All games
W L Pct. W L Pct.
Arizona 15 2 .882 28 2 .933
UCLA 11 5 .688 22 7 .759
Arizona St. 10 6 .625 21 8 .724
Colorado 10 7 .588 21 9 .700
Utah 9 8 .529 20 9 .689
California 9 8 .529 18 12 .600
Stanford 9 8 .529 18 11 .621
Oregon 8 8 .500 20 8 .714
Wash. 8 8 .500 16 13 .552
Oregon St. 7 10 .411 15 14 .517
Wash. St. 2 14 .125 9 19 .321
USC 1 15 .063 10 19 .345
Wednesday's games Colorado 59, Stanford 56
Arizona 74, Oregon State 69
Utah 63, Cal 59