On Friday at 8:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Bay Area, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome Cal Poly to Maples Pavilion. Stanford comes in at 1-2 overall while Cal Poly comes in at 1-1.
Last time out: On Tuesday, Stanford fell to #17 San Diego State at home by a final score of 74-62. Jaedon LeDee led the way for San Diego State with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Spencer Jones was the top performer for Stanford with 15 points and 6 rebounds.
RECAP: Stanford MBB falls to #17 San Diego State
On Cal Poly: The Mustangs compete in the Big West and are coached by John Smith, who is in his fourth season. They come into the season picked 9th in the Big West preseason poll, hoping to outperform expectations.
The top player on this Mustangs team is senior forward/center Alimamy Koroma, who is averaging 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 75.0% (12-16) shooting from the field. The other player scoring in double figures is junior guard Brantly Stevenson (10.5) while graduate student small forward Chance Hunter (9.5 points) is knocking on the door.
As a team, the Mustangs average 71.0 points per game on 45.7% shooting from the field, 31.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 57.8% shooting from the foul line. They also average 48.5 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 9.0 steals, 3.0 blocks, 22.5 turnovers, a +12.5 rebound margin, and a -3.5 turnover margin per game.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is win the battle on the glass. The Mustangs are used to outrebounding their opponents and will look to at least stay even on the glass. If Stanford wins the rebounding battle, they’ll be taking away a major strength that Cal Poly has.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is take care of the ball. Turnovers have been an issue for Stanford, but they’ve also been an issue for Cal Poly. If Stanford does a better job taking care of the ball, it’s going to be tough for Cal Poly to pick up a road win.
Finally, Stanford needs to get threes to fall. Not so much to win this game, but just in general, they need to start knocking them down. This would be a great game for Stanford to get into a nice 3-point shooting rhythm. If Spencer Jones, Brandon Angel, and others find their groove from beyond the arc, it’ll be a good night for the Cardinal.
Prediction: Stanford is at home and will be motivated to get back in the win column after losing a hard fought battle to San Diego State. I got Stanford winning and doing so with relative comfort. Stanford 72 Cal Poly 57 is how I see this one playing out.
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