On Monday at 8:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Bay Area, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome Cal State Northridge to The Farm to open up the regular season. The Cardinal did not play an exhibition game, so this will be the first time fans will see this year’s team go up against a different squad in person.
On CSUN: The Matadors are coming off a season in which they went 7-25 overall and 4-16 in the Big West. They have a new head coach in Andy Newman and so they are hoping that will provide them with a bit of a spark after a tough season.
The top returning player for the Matadors is junior guard Dionte Bostick, who averaged 12.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season on 38.0% shooting from the field, 29.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.0% shooting from the foul line. Their top overall player from last season Atin Wright transferred to Drake after averaging 16.7 points per game on 39.4% shooting from the field, 32.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 86.3% from the foul line. Losing Wright is a major blow to the Matadors’ backcourt.
The only other returning player who scored in double figures on average last season is graduate student forward De’Sean Allen-Eikens, who averaged 11.1 points & 5.0 rebounds per game. So, their bench is extremely thin. They’re going to have to rely heavily on Bostick and Allen-Eikens all season.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is lock in defensively on Bostick and Allen-Eikens. The way these low end mid-major teams usually hang around is by having someone go off. Stanford has to defend their top two players well and then also just make sure they aren’t giving up open looks. Otherwise, somebody could get going and create a scenario where things are a lot close than expected.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is dominate the glass. With guys like James Keefe, Maxime Raynaud, and Spencer Jones inside, they should have no trouble winning the rebound battle. If Stanford controls the paint, they should be fine.
Finally, Stanford just needs to have good possessions. Taking care of the ball is always important and against teams that you are much better than on paper, sloppiness is one thing that can always do you in. If Stanford takes care of the ball, they should be fine.
Prediction: I got Stanford winning 80-58. If Northridge still had Wright, I would expect this game to be a bit closer, but Stanford has too many weapons. Just gotta play smart and they’ll come out on top.
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