On Thursday at 8:00 PM PT on ESPNU and Cardinal Sports Network radio, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the Utah Runnin’ Utes at Maples Pavilion. Stanford comes in at 15-10 overall and 8-7 in the Pac-12 while Utah comes in at 9-16 overall and 2-13 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: On Saturday, Stanford defeated Oregon State 76-65 behind 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists from Harrison Ingram.
RECAP: Stanford MBB dams Beavers in Corvallis
On Utah: The Runnin’ Utes are in year one of the Craig Smith era, who did a great job at Utah State. It’s been a rough year for them, but that is to be expected in the first year of a rebuild. They have a couple of league wins over Cal and Oregon State, both at home and they’ve had a couple of close losses as well. Most recently losing 77-73 in double overtime at Washington, 80-77 at home against Oregon, and 81-76 at Colorado. So, they’ve been knocking on the door.
Their top player is junior center Branden Carlson, who is averaging 13.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. Carlson is one of the top big men in the Pac-12 at 7’0”, 216 pounds, having himself a very nice season. Carson is the only Utah player scoring in double figures on average, but three players are averaging at least 9 points per game: Senior guard Both Gach (9.3 points), senior guard David Jenkins, Jr. (9.0 points), and senior guard Marco Anthony (9.0 points).
As a team, the Runnin’ Utes are averaging 70.5 points per game on 41.6% shooting from the field, 33.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 78.5% shooting from the foul line. They average 37.2 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 4.4 steals, 3.0 blocks, and 12.5 turnovers per game. They also average a +1.4 rebound margin and a -2.4 turnover margin. Their opponents are averaging 70.3 points on 43.0% shooting from the field, 31.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.3% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: The first thing Stanford has to do is win the battle inside. Both in terms of rebounding and points in the paint. Carlson is Utah’s best player and they heavily rely on his inside presence to win games. Stanford in contrast has more of a committee approach to their dominance inside with guys like James Keefe, Lukas Kisunas, and Harrison Ingram crashing the boards. If Stanford’s committee approach pays off, they should be fine.
Secondly, Stanford needs to take advantage of Utah’s poor turnover margin. Stanford has been taking better care of the ball as of late and they need to keep that up. If sophomore guard Michael O’Connell (ankle) is back, that’ll help. If not, then it’ll be on freshmen Isa Silva and Harrison Ingram to man the point guard duties. Regardless of who is running the offense tonight, if they’re taking good care of the ball, Stanford should win this game.
Lastly, Stanford needs to make their threes. If Stanford is stretching the floor and knocking down shots from the perimeter, that’ll be added dimension that should serve them well. Spencer Jones and Brandon Angel are two guys who should look to have a good night in that department.
Prediction: Stanford is at home and Utah is one of the worst teams in the Pac-12. One thing that actually helps Utah a bit is Stanford hasn’t seen them all year, so they do have the element of surprise on their side. That said, Stanford has more weapons, depth, and is the better team. Plus, Stanford absolutely needs to win this game to keep their NCAA tournament chances alive. I got Stanford winning this game 72-64.
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker, click here.
