On Saturday at 5:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the Washington State Cougars on the road in Pullman. Stanford comes in at 5-11 overall and 0-6 in the Pac-12 while Washington State comes in at 8-10 overall and 3-4 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: On Thursday, Stanford got crushed at Washington by a final score of 86-69. Stanford jumped out to a 7-0 lead but from there it was one-way traffic for the Huskies.
RECAP: Stanford MBB goes sleepless in Seattle
On Washington State: The Cougars aren’t off to a great start, but they’re off to a better start than Stanford, notching league wins over USC, then-No.5 Arizona, and Cal. The Arizona win was on the road, so that was a big time win for them. They lost to Stanford at home last season, so they’ll be eager to protect their house.
The Cougars have four players scoring in double figures in junior guard T.J. Bamba (15.1 points & 4.1 rebounds), sophomore forward Mouhamed Gueye (14.0 points & 8.4 rebounds), junior guard Jabe Mullins (11.9 points & 2.6 rebounds), and junior guard Justin Powell (10.6 points & 3.7 rebounds). The four of them provide a really nice scoring balance with Bamba and Gueye leading the pack.
As a team, the Cougars average 69.5 points per game on 43.7% shooting from the field, 37.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 71.6% shooting from the foul line. They average 35.4 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 4.8 steals, 2.8 blocks, and 13.2 turnovers per game. They also average a +4.2 rebound margin and a -2.5 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 65.2 points per game on 44.3% shooting from the field, 29.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.8% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is dictate the pace of the game. They got blown out in Seattle in no small part because Washington started to push the ball in transition and play the kind of tempo they wanted. Stanford then started taking rushed shots, which further fed into the kind of pace Washington wanted to play. If Stanford can play at a slower, more methodical pace and not get sped up, they’ll have a much better chance of winning this game.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is not give up anything easy on defense. If Washington State makes tough threes or makes baskets that are contested, Stanford can live with that. What Stanford cannot live with is allowing their opponents to get easy buckets via alley-oops, transition, and open threes. Stanford needs to play grittier on defense so as to make things harder on their opponents.
Finally, Stanford needs to take good shots. When they take good shots, their offense is fine. Harrison Ingram getting in the paint is always good, Ryan Agarwal and Spencer Jones taking clean threes yields good results, etc. Where Stanford gets into trouble is rushed threes, shots early in the shot clock, and just not taking the right shots. If Stanford has better shot selection and lets the game come to them, they’ll have a much better chance of winning this game.
Prediction: Stanford’s time will come. They’re not going to remain winless in the Pac-12 forever and I also think there is a chance they get on a bit of a roll once they win their first league game. However, I don’t see today being the day they win their first league game. Washington State is tough at home and has been playing better as of late. Washington State 70 Stanford 64 is how I see this one going.
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