Stanford, Calif. – Jacob Burtschi scored 12 of his 24 points in the opening eight minutes and also grabbed 12 rebounds for his third career double-double, leading Air Force to a 79-45 rout of Stanford on Wednesday night in the second round of the CBE Classic.
Matt McCraw added 11 points and five assists for the Falcons, who advance to play No. 11 Duke in the tournament semifinals Monday night in Kansas City, Mo. But first the Falcons must return home and travel to Boulder on Saturday to face the Buffaloes, starting a whirlwind stretch that will end with a home game next Wednesday night.
Air Force (3-0), which survived a sloppy performance in its opening-round 69-68 win over Long Beach State on Tuesday, pushed the pace, zipped the ball around the perimeter to produce open looks and went hard to the glass to limit Stanford’s second chances.
McCraw and Burtschi combined to score the first 11 points for the Falcons, whose first three field goals were 3-pointers as they quickly built a big lead.
Stanford freshman 7-footer Robin Lopez, whose twin brother Brook is sidelined recovering from September back surgery, had several putback chances in the first half he couldn’t convert for cold- shooting Stanford. He finished with 10 points – Stanford’s lone player to score in double figures – and eight rebounds before fouling out with more than six minutes left.
Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik called for his team to “keep it simple” on offense – a strategy that worked well. And the Falcons flustered Stanford (2-1) on the other end with their effective matchup zone, holding the Cardinal to 30 percent from the floor.
Burtschi shot 9-for-10 in the first half and the Falcons went 70.8 percent from the field on the way to a 45-21 halftime lead.
It was the first meeting between the schools since Stanford’s 58-52 home win Nov. 29, 1980.
AIR FORCE (3-0)
Burtschi 10-15 0-4 24, Nwaelele 3-6 0-0 7, Welch 3-10 6-6 13, McCraw 4-6 0-0 11, Anderson 2-3 2-2 7, Henke 2-4 3-3 7, Ad. Hood 0-1 0-0 0, Merriex 2-2 0-0 4, Teets 0-0 0-0 0, Holland 0-0 0-0 0, Kenzik 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Maren 1-2 0-0 2, Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Frye 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 28-51 13-17 79.
STANFORD (2-1)
Hill 4-8 0-0 9, Washington 1-1 2-2 4, R. Lopez 4-11 2-2 10, Johnson 2-6 2-2 6, Goods 3-14 0-0 7, Fields 1-7 0-0 2, Weatherby 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Finger 1-2 0-2 2, Dildy 0-0 0-0 0, Paul 0-2 5-6 5. Totals 16-53 11-14 45.
Halftime – Air Force 45-21. 3-point goals – Air Force 10-24 (Burtschi 4-7, McCraw 3-5, Anderson 1-1, Nwaelele 1-4, Welch 1-5, Maren 0-1, Henke 0-1), Stanford 2-17 (Hill 1-2, Goods 1-5, Weatherby 0-1, Brown 0-1, Paul 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Fields 0-5). Fouled out – R. Lopez. Rebounds – Air Force 31 (Burtschi 12), Stanford 32 (R. Lopez 8). Assists – Air Force 19 (McCraw, Welch 5), Stanford 9 (Johnson 5). Total fouls – Air Force 14, Stanford 16. A – 3,106.
