On Tuesday at 6:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome #17 San Diego State to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 1-1 overall while San Diego State comes in at 2-0.
Last time out: On Friday, Stanford lost to Wisconsin by a final score of 60-50. Brandon Angel led Stanford with 14 points and 3 rebounds.
RECAP: Stanford MBB falls to Wisconsin in Brew City Battle
On San Diego State: Senior guard Darrion Trammell (19.5 points), senior forward Jaedon LeDee (17.0 points & 5.0 rebounds), and senior forward Nathan Mensah (12.0 points & 8.0 rebounds) are the three Aztecs scoring in double figures. Senior guard Matt Bradley, who averaged 16.9 points per game last season is averaging just 7.0 points per game this season, so he is yet to get going. He certainly will not stay at that average for long.
Through two games against Cal State Fullerton and BYU, San Diego State is averaging 81.0 points per game on 46.2% shooting from the field, 37.5% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.0% shooting from the foul line. They average a +0.5 rebound differential, 16.5 assists, 14.0 steals, 2.5 blocks, 11.0 turnovers, and a +1.5 assist to turnover ratio. Their opponents are averaging 66.0 points per game on 42.9% shooting from the field, 27.1% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.7% from the foul line.
This Aztecs team is really good. They have a lot of talent and what’s a bit scary is Matt Bradley, their best player, is yet to get going. It’ll be interesting to see if he finally wakes up tonight after a quiet first two games.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is take care of the ball. Isa Silva and Michael O’Connell have to make sure they are not turning the ball over and not succumbing to the ball pressure that the Aztecs will put on them. If they play a clean game, I like Stanford’s chances to win. If San Diego State is close to their 14 steals per game average, it’s going to be a tough night for the Cardinal.
The second thing that Stanford needs to do is crash the glass. Stanford averages a +5.5 rebound advantage per game and that needs to continue tonight against the Aztecs. It’s not just Stanford’s big guys like James Keefe and Maxime Raynaud that rebound well. Harrison Ingram is a fantastic rebounder as well. If Stanford control the glass, they’ll definitely give themselves a chance to win.
Finally, Stanford needs to make their threes. Stanford is shooting just 23.7% from deep this year. Part of that has to do with the Brew City Battle being played in a non-shooting environment given that it was played on a baseball diamond. So, the poor shooting in that game wasn’t a surprise. That said, we saw that when Stanford is not making threes, it can be tough sledding for them. In this game, Stanford will need to bounce back and make their threes. Hopefully for the Cardinal, a more rested, healthier Spencer Jones will heat up from deep.
Prediction: This is a tough one. San Diego State is ranked, but Stanford is a team eying a tournament run and they are always tough at home. I’m going to pick the Cardinal to win this game, but of the slimmest of margins. Stanford 70 San Diego State 69 is how I see this one shaking out.
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