On Saturday, Stanford men’s basketball did what they were supposed to do by defeating the lousy Oregon State Beavers 76-65. Stanford freshman forward Harrison Ingram led the way for the Cardinal with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists while junior forward Spencer Jones (15 points & 8 rebounds), senior forward Jaiden Delaire (14 points), and freshman forward Maxime Raynaud (10 points) also finished in double figures. Junior guard Jarod Lucas led the way for the Beavers and all scorers with 17 points while senior forward Warith Alatishe (14 points) and junior forward Ahmad Rand (10 points & 6 rebounds) also finished in double figures. Stanford improves to 15-10 overall and 8-7 in the Pac-12 while Oregon State falls to 3-19 overall and 1-11 in the Pac-12.
“Well, the game kinda symbolizes the end of a 17-day period where we played eight games and four at home, four on the road and I was proud of the effort consistently through that stretch, but especially tonight to finish off this eight game stretch,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said after the game. “Offensively today, I thought we were pretty efficient. The turnovers are still higher than I want. We were great on the boards, especially in the second half and I think that was an important factor as our shooting percentage largely because we were getting some offensive boards.
“Defensively overall, I was probably disappointed especially at the end of the game. I think they scored on their last eight possessions, but we did have a lead. But again, I think this more of a culture game for us that we were fighting as a team, playing as a team, understanding we had to do it as a group especially with Michael out. We feel great going back home.”
With sophomore guard Michael O’Connell out for Stanford due to his ankle injury, freshman guard Isa Silva was inserted into the starting lineup along with the regular starting five of Harrison Ingram, James Keefe, Spencer Jones, and Jaiden Delaire. On the Pac-12 broadcast, they said O’Connell lobbied to play, but Haase said they were holding him out anyways. So, it does sound like he could be back next week.
Stanford led 6-4 with 14:58 to go in the first half. Delaire (4 points) and Keefe (2 points) were on the board for the Cardinal. Stanford would soon lead 14-8 with 11:58 to go in the half. Raynaud got a nice put back plus the foul but would miss the foul shot. Stanford was shooting 6-10 from the field while Oregon State was shooting 3-10.
Oregon State would fight back to lead 19-18 with 7:31 to go in the half. Lucas was up to 8 points for the Beavers on 4-6 shooting from the field while Raynaud was up to 4 points for the Cardinal. Stanford was shooting 1-6 from 3-point range. They needed to get some threes to fall.
With 3:45 to go in the half, Stanford led 30-28. Jaiden Delaire (9 points) and Brandon Angel (8 points) were leading the way for Stanford while Lucas (13 points) was leading Oregon State. Angel just got a wide open dunk going baseline. Nobody touched him. It was essentially like a layup line dunk with Oregon State players out getting a Coke and a hot dog.
With 55.5 to go in the half, the game was tied 32-32. Stanford called for time, looking to draw something up. Out of the time out, Jones nailed a 3-pointer. It was now a 35-32 lead for Stanford with 33.4 to go in the half.
Glenn Taylor Jr. would get fouled and make both foul shots for Oregon State, but Harrison Ingram would respond for Stanford with a pretty straightaway jumper to beat the buzzer. 37-34 Stanford would lead at halftime.
Stanford started the second half strong, leading 45-41 with 15:23 to go. Ingram was up to 11 points for Stanford after nailing a 3-pointer while Lucas was up to 15 points for Oregon State. Stanford was dominating the glass with a 21-13 rebounding advantage. They were really trying to pound the Beavers inside and it was slowly but surely starting to pay off.
Over the next few minutes, Stanford would gain more separation, leading 53-43 with 12:00 to go. Stanford’s depth and size up front was starting to wear the Beavers down. Delaire, Jones, Angel, and Raynaud were all knocking on the door for 10+ points. Ingram was the only Stanford player in double figures with 11 points. Stanford continued to dominate the glass 25-14.
“Pretty impressive and I think 6 rebounds as well,” Haase said of Ingram’s night. “He provided stability at the point guard spot with Mike out. Obviously Isa did a lot of nice things, Sam Beskind did a lot of nice things, but Harrison certainly provided a lot of stability.”
“One of my biggest attributes is playmaking for my teammates,” Ingram told Pac-12 Networks after the game. “I love to see my teammates shine. My favorite highlights is an assist to my teammates. Having Michael out, just me, Isa, Sam having to take over ball handling responsibilities, I just had to make assists for my teammates.”
With 10:58 to go, it was now a 55-45 game after Isa Silva made a layup to put Stanford up by 12 points before Ahmad Rand responded for Oregon State with a power dunk. Oregon State still had a chance, but they were running out of time.
Stanford would continue to stay in front up 59-47 with 7:47 to go. Delaire (12 points), Ingram (11 points), and Raynaud (10 points) were all in double figures. Stanford was shooting 9-21 from 3-point range. They were in the zone now.
Over the next couple of minutes, Stanford would close the door on the game, getting up 66-48 with 4:50 to go. Ingram was now up to 16 points as Stanford had made 6 of their last 7 field goals. This one was in the bag.
Despite the fact that they had the game in hand, Jerod Haase still coached his guys all the way until the end. With 2:37 to go, Stanford was up 70-55. During the timeout, Haase was seen giving his team a very fiery pep talk. He was trying to motivate his team to get across the finish line.
In the end, Stanford did get across that finish line to win 76-65. While it was a tad closer than I predicted (80-65), this one went as I thought it would go. Oregon State is a dreadful team and has been an absolute embarrassment this entire season. Unless Stanford came into the game playing with one hand tied behind their backs, they were going to win this game.
That’s not being overly harsh or anything. It’s just reality. Even Don MacLean was chastising Oregon State during the broadcast. After having a marvelous and magical run to the Elite Eight last season, this year’s Beavers team is playing like a team that’s trying to undo all the good that they accomplished. It’s crazy how far they’ve dropped off. They need to watch Space Jam or something to learn how to play like a team again. The Tune Squad showed more cohesiveness and they had Elmer Fudd running point.
Despite Oregon State being about as bad of a team as I’ve seen during my days covering college basketball, Stanford still should feel good about winning this game and doing so with ease. Michael O’Connell was held out due to his ankle injury, Noah Taitz was out once again due to his lower leg injury, and Isa Silva got in foul trouble early, picking up two quick fouls at the start of the game, forcing him to have to sit out the majority of the first half.
Stanford could have played down to their competition and allowed Oregon State to hang around, but instead of flirting with disaster, Stanford turned on the jets and won this game going away. And that’s not something to take for granted. Just ask Oregon. Earlier in the day, they got waxed at home by Cal, making Jordan Shepherd look like he was Derrick Rose with the way he threw it down on them. Even bad teams can pull off upsets. Especially if they fight like Cal did.
“I think that even motivates us more to take it one game at a time,” Ingram said. “Knowing we can’t drop any games. Every game counts. The magic number is about 20 wins and the next five games we have left are all tough teams. We have to take it one game at a time and win every game.”
Up next for Stanford is a home game against Utah on Thursday. That game will tip-off at 8:00 PM PT on ESPNU and Cardinal Sports Network radio.
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