On Thursday at 6:00 PM PT on ESPN2 and Cardinal Sports Network radio, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the #2 Arizona Wildcats down in Tucson. Stanford comes in at 15-13 overall and 8-10 in the Pac-12 while Arizona comes in at 26-3 overall and 16-2 in the Pac-12. Arizona won their first meeting 85-57 at Maples Pavilion earlier this year.
Last time out: On Saturday, Stanford suffered an embarrassing 53-39 loss at Bay Area rival Cal.
RECAP: Stanford MBB overwhelmed by Cal in Berkeley
Stanford MBB needs to do some soul-searching
On Arizona: Arizona continues to be the top team in the Pac-12. They’re 15-0 at home overall and are just displaying all-around greatness. First year head coach Tommy Lloyd will likely win Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors and deservedly so. Even though he is at a program with a lot of legacy and tradition, it’s still amazing what he’s been able to accomplish in his first year on the job.
Sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin continues to be the dominant player for this Wildcats team, averaging 17.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Azuolas Tubelis is also balling out, averaging 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Junior center Christian Koloko (11.7 points & 7.3 rebounds) and sophomore guard Kerr Kriisa (10.2 points) are also scoring in double figures.
As a team, Arizona is averaging 84.4 points per game on 48.9% shooting from the field, 34.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.4% shooting from the foul line. They average 42.9 rebounds, 20.2 assists, 6.5 steals, 6.0 blocks, and 13.6 turnovers per game. They also average a +8.9 rebound margin and a -0.5 turnover margin. Their opponents average 66.7 points per game on 37.8% shooting from the field, 31.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.0% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: Given how badly Stanford lost at home to Arizona, it’s easy to say Stanford needs to play a perfect game or hope that Arizona gets lost on the way to the arena and/or forgets they have a game. But with those possibilities being unlikely, here are three things Stanford is going to have to do if they want to even make this game interesting, forget about winning.
The first thing Stanford needs to do is get a productive game out of freshman Harrison Ingram. He’s their most talented player and the one guy who they have who when he’s on, they’re a different team. He can do so much from rebound, to score, to facilitate. He doesn’t even need to score a ton of points. But, if he can at least fill up the stat sheet with 12+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 3+ assists, they could make this game at least respectable.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is settle in early in the first half. Part of what made the home losses to Colorado and Utah alarming is those were games they lost despite playing well in the first half. Typically, Stanford has been a shaky first half team and a great second half team. The only way Stanford keeps this interesting at all is if they get off to a strong start, settle in early, and then hang on for dear life in the second half.
Finally, Stanford just needs to play relaxed and calm. Play with no worries or feelings of stress. Just go out there and play. If they do that, they just might make this more interesting than expected. To paraphrase the song “Movin’ Right Along” from The Muppet Movie: “Opportunity knocks. They just need to reach out and grab it. Maybe they’ll nab it.” They need to play with that same care-free attitude that Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear display as they’re signing that song. Playing uptight and stressed won’t do them any good.
Prediction: I got Arizona winning this one. That’s obvious. As for a final score, I’m going to say the game will be closer than it was at Maples Pavilion, but still a dominant win for Arizona all the same: 80-60.
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