Signature win at Texas was timely for Cardinal and Pac-12

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Last season’s signature win for the Stanford men before Pac-12 play started was a two-point victory at No. 10 Connecticut. This year, the Cardinal pulled off an upset of No. 9 Texas, again on the road.

Their 74-71 overtime win on Tuesday night in front of 13,661 fans at the Erwin Center in Austin was the most impressive by a Pac-12 team so far this season.

Utah’s 69-68 overtime victory over No. 8 Wichita State and No. 3 Arizona’s 66-63 OT win over No. 9 Gonzaga were nice, but they both came at home. And, of course, the Wildcats’ win was not an upset.

Until the Cardinal’s big triumph, the conference’s best win away from home was Cal’s 73-59 upset of No. 23 Syracuse in the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Bears then lost to Texas 71-55 in the tourney.

Stanford needed a special victory. It got it with 25 points from Anthony Brown, who had just six points and five turnovers three nights earlier at BYU. The Cardinal staged a late flurry in that game, only to fall 79-77.

“I wanted to be aggressive,” Brown said after hitting 4 of 4 three-point shots against Texas (10-2). “I wanted to have no regrets.”

Chasson Randle added 22 points, and freshman Reid Travis pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds.

Stanford guard Anthony Brown (21) drives around Texas forward Jordan Barnett (33) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas) Stanford guard Anthony Brown (21) drives around Texas forward Jordan Barnett (33) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas) Photo: Michael Thomas / Associated Press Photo: Michael Thomas / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Signature win at Texas was timely for Cardinal and Pac-12 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

“Our guys played with a lot of passion,” Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins said.

Stanford was narrowly outrebounded (36-32) by the Longhorns, who came in averaging 45 boards per game.

“I thought those guys were tougher — from start to finish,” Texas head coach Rick Barnes said.

Stanford faced potential difficulty when Randle picked up his second foul and left with his team trailing by six with 5:16 left in the first half. But Brown nailed three treys, and the Cardinal drew even 31-31 at halftime on a driving shot by Rosco Allen.

One of the keys for Stanford was avoiding another slow start. It had trailed by at least 10 points in the first half in its previous four games, losses to DePaul and BYU and wins over Denver and Loyola Marymount.

The Cardinal host Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-10) on Monday at 8 p.m., the final game before they open Pac-12 play.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald