By Jeremy Harness

 

The Stanford basketball team was in the same position a couple of nights before, so based on the prior result, the Cardinal certainly had reason to believe.

 

Coming off a signature victory on the road against No. 10 Connecticut, during which they found themselves down by eight early in the second half, Stanford was again behind against Michigan Saturday night and rallied yet again.

 

This time, however, the Cardinal could not close the deal, cutting Michigan’s lead to one point against the runner-up in last season’s NCAA Tournament but could not push through in a 68-65 loss at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

 

Stanford did not shoot particularly well but still hung around against a more athletic Wolverines team, which didn’t have a great shooting night, either. Michigan, which thrives on shooting the 3-pointer, was 8-for-27 from behind the arc Saturday night.

 

Chasson Randle, who made several key shots down the stretch in the second half but had his final-seconds 3-pointer to tie the game fall short, scored 18 points to lead the Cardinal while Stefan Nastic, who had somewhat of a breakout game, had 14 to equal his season high.

 

The Cardinal will now enjoy the upcoming Christmas break and will not play again until Dec. 29 against Cal Poly at home before beginning the Pac-12 season against Cal the following Thursday, Jan. 2 at Maples Pavilion.