On Monday, Stanford men’s and women’s basketball will tip off their regular season at home. Up first will be men’s basketball against Pacific at 11:00 AM PT on Pac-12 Networks. Women’s basketball will take the court at 7:00 PM PT against San Diego State on Stanford Live Stream.
Last time out: Stanford men’s basketball did not have an exhibition game but Stanford women’s basketball faced Vanguard last week, defeating the Lions 102-25.
RECAP: #2 Stanford WBB vanquishes Vanguard in exhibition
On Pacific: The Tigers are coming off a season in which they went 8-22 overall and 3-11 in the WCC. So they were pretty terrible last season. As a result, they were picked dead last in the 2022-23 WCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll.
Their top returning scorers are redshirt senior guard Luke Avdalovic (10.0 points) and junior guard Nick Blake (8.8 points). The two of them will hope to give the Tigers more life while also getting help from Georgetown transfer guard Tyler Beard and Oklahoma State junior guard Donovan Williams.
The reality of the situation is this Tigers team is pretty terrible, but they do have some new faces that at least make them different from last season. So in that sense, they pose a bit of challenge just because there isn’t any film on their current squad.
On San Diego State: The Aztecs are coming off a season in which they went 15-16 overall and 8-10 in the Mountain West. They were picked 5th in the 2022-23 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll, so they’re a better team than Pacific.
Unlike Pacific, San Diego State returns their top two scorers from last season in senior guard Sophia Ramos (14.9 points) and sophomore guard Asia Avinger (12.0 points). The two of them form a really good one-two punch that is difficult to contain.
Probably the biggest weakness of this San Diego State team is size. Their tallest player is 6’2” and everyone else is 6’0” or shorter. It’s tough for them to hang with teams that have multiple players who are at 6’2” or taller.
Keys to the games: For men’s basketball, the first thing they need to do is take care of the ball. When you play against teams with less talent than you, the last thing you want to do is get sloppy and not have clean possessions. If Stanford has quality possessions and takes care of the ball, they should win with little trouble.
The second thing they need to do is contain Avdalovic and Blake. If those guys don’t get rolling, it’s hard to see where any sustainable offense comes from for Pacific. Stanford has to make sure those two guys don’t heat up. If they can keep the clamps on them, this should be an easy victory.
Finally, Stanford needs to play with a lot of energy and focus from the opening tip. It’ll be in the morning, first game of the year, and thus easy for Stanford on those grounds to get off to a slow start and allow Pacific to hang around. If Stanford comes out strong in the opening half, they should cruise to victory.
Switching gears to women’s basketball, it starts with really asserting their will inside and taking advantage of their size. San Diego State has nobody who can match up well with the likes of Cameron Brink and Lauren Betts inside. If Stanford has their way inside, they should get the victory with ease.
The second thing the women’s team needs to do is contain Ramos and Avinger. Same drill as the men. The difference being that Ramos and Avinger are the top two Aztec players from last year, so they’re even better. So long as Ramos and Avinger are held to their scoring averages or below, it’s going to be tough for them to hang with such a potent and talented Stanford team.
Finally, Stanford needs to stay out of foul trouble. The only way San Diego State can make this game interesting is if key Stanford players foul out or get in serious foul trouble. Tara VanDerveer has been emphasizing foul trouble with Brink. It’ll be interesting to see if Brink will be able to heed her council in the first game of the season.
Predictions: I got Stanford winning both games. Pacific is just terrible and then while San Diego State is ok, they’re just ok. Stanford women’s basketball is the number two team in the nation. They’re a national championship contender. In the first game, I got Stanford defeating Pacific 77-60. I think Spencer Jones and Michael Jones heat up while Harrison Ingram has a strong outing as well.
In the second game, I got Stanford defeating San Diego State 88-60. The first quarter will be a bit tight but from then on, it’ll be all-Cardinal.
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