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Associated PressNick Robinson, starting because of injuries to two teammates, sinks a 3 at the buzzer and No. 2 Stanford remains undefeated with a 80-77 win vs. No. 12 Arizona.
STANFORD, Calif. - Nick Robinson scooped up the ball, glanced at the clock, took a couple of dribbles and let it fly. A roar followed, then he was engulfed by a delirious crowd that included Stanford alum Tiger Woods.
Third-stringer Robinson hit a running 3-pointer from about 35 feet at the buzzer, and No. 2 Stanford survived a late scare to defeat No. 12 Arizona 80-77 Saturday and remain one of the nation's two undefeated Division I teams.
The Cardinal, which tied a school record with its 20th straight victory, came from four down in the final minute after Arizona went on a 19-6 run to take the lead.
The winning shot was set up when Robinson and Matt Lottich trapped Arizona's Salim Stoudamire, knocking the ball loose.
"The ball was suddenly in front of me. I looked at the clock and there was two seconds left. I went right for the basket. I knew I had to get a shot off," said Robinson, who started at forward only because of leg injuries to Justin Davis and Matt Haryasz.
The crowd stormed the court to surround the Cardinal. Woods came onto the court to celebrate for a few seconds, then was escorted away from the mayhem by a friend.
"I was flat on my back, Lottich was on top of me," said Robinson, who had only five points before his winning shot. "And a couple of other people were on top of me in places that were rather uncomfortable."
The loss ended a streak of four straight wins for Arizona at Stanford's Maples Pavilion, where hundreds of students camped outside starting Tuesday.
"We didn't take care of ourselves in the last minute," said Arizona's Channing Frye, who had a 3-pointer and dunk to cap a 14-0 run that gave the Wildcats a 72-67 lead with less than four minutes remaining. "We should have beat them and could have beat them in this game, we've done it before."
With Stanford trailing 77-73, Josh Childress made 1 of 2 free throws with 43 seconds left. A steal by Lottich then led to Childress' 3-pointer from the corner to tie it with 24 seconds to go.
"When you leave it to the last possession, it's always a coin flip. They made the plays that they needed, especially those two key steals at the end," said Arizona's Lute Olson, who was coaching his 950th game. "We just really messed it up."
Stanford and No. 3 Saint Joseph's, which moved to 20-0 with an 89-63 win over La Salle, are the only undefeated teams left in Division I.
Stanford also began the 2000-01 season with 20 straight wins. The Cardinal went 31-3 that season, losing to Maryland in the round of eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Stanford coach Mike Montgomery was relieved his team appeared to be heading to overtime.
"It was an unbelievable game. This is just another step in what's turning out to be a doggone good season."