On Tuesday at 6:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Bay Area, Stanford men’s basketball will have a home game against Santa Clara. Both teams come in at 2-0 overall.
Last time out: Stanford defeated Sacramento State on Friday by a final score of 91-73. Stanford set a program record for best assist-to-turnover ratio in a game with 22 assists and four turnovers.
RECAP: Stanford MBB breezes past Sac State
On Santa Clara: The Broncos have become a solid program under the guidance of head coach Herb Sendek. They are coming off a season in which they went 23-10 overall and 11-5 in the WCC, losing in the first round of the NIT to Sam Houston. They’re a solid program that you have to take seriously. They’ve also had some success against Pac-12 teams. They defeated Stanford at their place 88-72 in their most recent meeting, which was two years ago. They also defeated Cal twice during the Mark Fox era once at home and once away.
The Broncos are led by graduate student guard Carlos Marshall, Jr. who is averaging 23.5 points per game on 79.2% shooting from the field, 66.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 33.3% shooting from the foul line. Those field goal and 3-point numbers will drop as the season goes on, but still. He’s off to a hot start. Graduate student center Francisco Caffaro (11.5 points & 6.5 rebounds) and junior guard Adama-Alpha Bal (10.0 points & 5.0 rebounds) are also scoring in double figures on average.
Through two games, the Broncos average 79.5 points per game on 50.4% shooting from the field, 30.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 56.1% shooting from the foul line. They also average 46.0 rebounds, 18.0 assists, 6.0 steals, 5.0 blocks, and 16.5 turnovers per game with a +17.0 rebound margin and -2.5 turnover margin per game. Their opponents are averaging 64.0 points per game on 38.3% shooting from the field, 26.1% shooting from 3-point range, and 60.0% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Marshall. That guy is playing out of his head right now. Stanford cannot allow him to have a big night against them. If he does, they could be in serious trouble.
Secondly, Stanford needs to match Santa Clara’s energy on the glass. The Broncos are used to dominating the glass and Stanford needs to change that tonight. If Stanford is able to keep it close on the glass or win that battle, I think they’ll find a way to win this game.
Finally, Stanford needs to keep moving the ball well. They had a 5.5/1 assist-to-turnover ratio against Sac State, which set a new program record. If Stanford can keep that level of play up at point guard and move the ball well, their offense alone could make the difference.
Prediction: I got Stanford winning this one by a final score of 84-72. I think Santa Clara will play tough, but in the end, I gotta roll with the Cardinal to come out with the win. Especially since the game is on The Farm.
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