On Thursday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX, Stanford women’s basketball will welcome Pittsburgh to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 10-9 overall and 2-6 in the ACC while Pittsburgh comes in at 9-12 overall and 1-7 in the ACC.

Last time out: Last Thursday, Stanford fell to No. 22 Cal at home by a final score of 75-72. Stanford made a strong comeback effort but fell short.

RECAP: Stanford WBB unable to complete comeback against No. 22 Cal

On Pittsburgh: The Panthers are having a rough season. Their record says it all. Their lone win of league play is against SMU at home earlier this month, which they won by a final score of 72-59. They are currently on a three-game losing streak with losses to No. 21 NC State, No. 14 North Carolina, and Virginia Tech.

The Panthers are led by graduate student center Khadija Faye, who is averaging 17.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. There is quite a scoring drop off to the number two scorer, redshirt guard Mikayla Johnson, who is averaging 10.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Panthers are averaging 62.8 points per game on 38.7% shooting from the field, 33.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.1% shooting from the foul line. As a team, the Panthers average 37.1 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 8.1 steals, 4.0 blocks, and 17.3 turnovers per game. They also average a +0.4 rebound margin and a -0.8 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 65.4 points per game on 39.9% shooting from the field, 34.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 71.8% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is get Nunu Agara going. The sophomore forward is the top player for the Cardinal, averaging 17.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. If she has a big night and she’s able to out-perform Khadija Faye, Stanford should be in a good spot to win this game. That matchup is going to be key.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is get to the foul line. That was something that kept them in the game against Cal last week. If Stanford is attacking the rim and getting to the foul line, provided they make their foul shots, they should be in a good spot.

Finally, Stanford needs to apply good ball pressure on Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh on average loses the turnover battle and Stanford last week did a good job of speeding Cal up and forcing turnovers, in large part due to freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye’s defense. If Stanford can apply good pressure on Pittsburgh and force some turnovers, I like their odds of winning this game.

Prediction: I got Stanford winning by a final score of 76-66. I think they’ll win rather comfortably. Especially with this game being at home.

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