Cardinal ready to take on daunting challenge of defeating Arizona

An improbable opportunity awaits Stanford Saturday at 1 p.m. at Maples Pavilion after going 6-7 in non-conference play. The Cardinal (11-8) will play No. 14 Arizona (15-4) for sole ownership of first place in the conference.

After one of the toughest non-conference schedules in recent years and a stunning loss to Cal Dec. 30, Stanford has won five straight games after defeating No. 16 Arizona State Wednesday night. Arizona offers another level of challenge with one of the most talented rosters in the country and a 15 game win streak over Stanford.

And Arizona has a national player of the year candidate, DeAndre Ayton, who is a 7-foot-1 NBA center playing one year in college. He averages a double-double (20.2 PTS and 11.3 Reb). There also is fellow human skyscraper Dusan Ristic (10.1 and 6.4) to contend with as well.

“They have 14 feet of big guys right there,” said Stanford head coach Jerod Haase. “It’s a heck of a challenge. It’s the kind of thing that I don’t know if you stop a player (Ayton) who is that big and that good and that skilled. You try to limit the effectiveness of someone who is that good by limiting touches or field goal percentage or offensive rebounds.

“I don’t know if there is another team in the country with the size … and the skill Arizona has, so I’d be lying if I said, ‘Boy, I just love the matchup.’”

One thing Stanford has on its side is the positive momentum of a young group of players beginning to understand how good they can be together. Haase was encouraged when re-watching the ASU video that the team was given a game plan and executed it for a win over a ranked team.

The Cardinal have proven themselves to be a resilient group and also a team capable of learning from mistakes. That improvement was clear with how easily the Cardinal carved through the Sun Devils’ press in the final minutes of the game. It was less than two months since Portland State’s press produced nightmarish turnovers for Stanford.

Stanford’s assist-turnover ratio against ASU was a stat that helps a coach sleep at night. The Cardinal had 21 assists to 13 turnovers. A similar performance will be needed against Arizona.

“We can’t turn over the basketball, because when that happens they’re great in transition and get threes,” Haase said. “It’s not rocket science. We have to control dribble penetration. If you control dribble penetration, you avoid help situations and kick outs for threes. Offensive rebounding is a big part of the whole thing as well so you don’t have a broken down defense.”

Haase will often lean on freshmen to play the defense needed to keep the Wildcats at bay. Freshman Oscar da Silva's versatility stands out among a group that personifies the word. Da Silva has answered the call from his coaches to guard perimeter players and his length bothers opposing threes into tough shots.

"It’s a little harder to play defense, but offensively I like playing the three," he said. "I like attacking from the perimeter and knocking down open shots from the outside. That’s what I’ve always done and I hope I can keep playing that role."

The Cardinal are finding what roles fit players best after having to mix and match due to injuries. Only seven players took the court against ASU, but Haase expects that number to regularly be eight or nine.

"It is nice to have finally this group together who we know are going to playing every night," said senior Michael Humphrey. "We’re just getting more and more comfortable. I think we can’t get complacent. That was one of the things we talked about in practice today. Continue to improve with every day of practice and games."

Reid Travis was 3-of-6 from three against Arizona State and after the game Haase told Travis not to take that many shots from the outside.

"That’s always a challenge and a balancing act," Haase said of integrating a new skill into a player's game. "I’m not saying I don’t want him shooting threes, because I do. He has worked a ton on it and I actually have a ton of confidence when he shoots the basketball right now. But we also need to understand that he’s as good as there is in college basketball around the rim and we don’t want to take that away from him and away from our team. Finding that balance I think is important and choosing not only time on the shot clock, but the time in the game … and what is best for the team."

Spontaneous celebrations in the locker room: "This thing is too challenging, too hard, too much a grind not to be able to smile and laugh sometimes," Haase said. "Just because you celebrate doesn’t mean you can’t refocus for the next game. I preach that all the time to the guys about balance in life. When it’s time to grind to get through finals, you have to really focus on that. When it’s time to focus on the scouting report, you have to do that. When it’s time to relax and goof off with your friends in the locker room, goof off with your friends in the locker room and don’t focus on the next game."

Josh Sharma needed vs. UA frontcourt: Sharma had possibly the best game of his career Wednesday with 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting. The seven footer has been a positive presence off the bench. "We have a great deal of confidence in Josh right now and he has confidence in what he’s doing. We’re going to have to be big and physical and quick, which is not always easy," Haase said.