Tonight at 8:00 PM PT on CBS Sports Network and Cardinal Sports Radio Network, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the Santa Clara Broncos of the WCC in an early road test. Both teams come in at 1-0 on the season, having won their season openers.
Last time out: In their season opener, Stanford defeated Tarleton State 62-50 at Maples Pavilion. Freshman small forward Harrison Ingram led the way with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Stanford trailed by two points at halftime and outscored Tarleton State 38-24 in the second half.
RECAP: Second half surge powers Stanford MBB past Tarleton State
On Santa Clara: The Broncos are a very dangerous team, led by senior forward Josip Vrankic, who averaged 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season. Junior guard Jalen Williams (11.5 points & 4.1 rebounds) and senior forward Keshawn Justice (10.9 points & 5.1 rebounds) were the other two Broncos who scored in double figures on average last season.
As a team, the Broncos averaged 69.7 points per game on 43.4% shooting from the field, 30.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 68.4% shooting from the foul line last season. They also averaged 12.0 assists per game, 4.4 steals per game, 3.9 blocks per game, 13.0 turnovers per game, and a +0.4 rebound margin.
The Broncos are one of the better teams in the WCC and are never easy to beat when they are at home. In the six home games they played in last year, they won four of them and they aren’t afraid of having bigger name schools coming into their gym. They have a nice blend of scoring inside and out and overall play pretty disciplined. Their head coach Herb Sendek always gets his teams ready to play.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they’re going to have to do is take care of the ball. What got them in trouble in the first half against Tarleton State was sloppy ball movement, some bad turnovers, and then just an idleness on offense. Stanford has to make the most of every possession and not get into an offensive funk like they did against Tarleton State. If they are down again at halftime, it’s going to be a lot tougher to win with this being a road game against a much better opponent. Stanford needs to make sure they’re moving the ball early, finding open looks, and then knocking them down.
Secondly, Stanford needs to contain Vrankic inside. He’s one of the better big men they’re going to face this year and he’ll look to get going early and often. This is a game where senior big man Lukas Kisunas is going to have to step up inside. Freshman 7-footer Maxime Raynaud has already shown he’s capable of getting after it inside, so he too will need to have a big night on the boards.
Lastly, Stanford needs to find Harrison Ingram in crunch time. He’s going to be the best player on the floor in this game and if the game gets tight, they’re going to have to find ways to make sure he’s getting the ball and getting the touches he needs to get going. They didn’t give him the ball as much as they should have earlier in the last game, but once they got him going, things started to open up. It’s not just his ability to score when he needs to, but he also does a nice job of finding open teammates and elevating the game of those around him. Getting Ingram the ball, especially in crunch time is going to be crucial.
Prediction: Santa Clara could easily beat Stanford and if Stanford gets off to a slow start, it could actually be a game where the Broncos win rather handily. That said, I think this is a game where Stanford’s talent is going to find a way to pull ahead late, winning 72-69.
“I think it could do a lot just kinda testing us to see how we do on the road. Like we had fans here, we’re comfortable in Maples, we practice here every day. Kinda see how we do in a hostile atmosphere. Everyone’s not rooting for us.” -Harrison Ingram on tonight’s game
