Author: Sports Radio Service

NCAAB podcast with Daniel Dullum: Costly losses for UCLA, ASU, Illinois, Wisconsin; Good day for Stanford, UCSB, Saint Mary’s; plus more

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bruinsnation.com photo: UCLA Bruins (7-6) head coach Steve Alford contemplates as the Bruins drop their fourth straight game to Liberty (11-4) on Saturday.

On the NCAAB podcast with Daniel:

1 Men’s Hoops: Potential costly losses by UCLA, Arizona State, Illinois and Wisconsin

2 Good day for Stanford, Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and Saint Mary’s

3 Rick Pitino picks up win in EuroLeague debut with Panathinaikos

4 Women’s Hoops: UConn still No. 1 after tough road trip

5 There’s no need to expand the D-1 Football Playoffs

Catch Daniel each week for the NCAA podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: 18-point rally not enough to catch red-hot Redhawks in Cal’s latest loss

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calbears.com photo: The Cal Bears guard Paris Austin (3) takes a drive against the Seattle Redhawks guard Terrell Brown (23) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Saturday night

On the Cal podcast with Morris and Michael:

The Bears (5-7) fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half, only to rally, but ultimately lose to Seattle, 82-73 at Haas Pavilion. The loss concluded Cal’s non-conference schedule without providing much belief that they can right the ship with Pac-12 play next up beginning Thursday at UCLA.

Coach Wyking Jones surely didn’t get any assurances from his team that they’ll be engaged come Thursday, not after they led 2-0 Saturday, only to fall behind 21-4 with 12:11 remaining before halftime. The Redhawks with the win notched their win loss record to 12-3.

Morris and Michael do the Cal Bears basketball podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford squeezes past Long Beach State 93-86

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gostanford.com photo: Stanford Cardinal Josh Sharma goes up for the throwdown against the Long Beach Matadors at Maples Pavilion on Saturday night

by Joey Friedman

PALO ALTO — Coming off a loss to an outstanding San Francisco Dons team on the road, Stanford (now 7-5 on the season) returned to Maples Pavilion for their final game of the 2018 calendar year and their final game of the non-conference schedule against Long Beach State (now 5-10 on the season). Star freshman guard Cormac Ryan remained out for the third consecutive game with an ankle injury, giving freshman Jaiden Delaire his first career start in the win. Stanford was successful in avenging last year’s road loss to the Long Beach State 49ers by the score of 93-86.

The game remained tight throughout the first half as copious turnover and fouls committed by both teams stunted any runs. The Cardinal and The Beach exchanged small advantages with Josh Sharma and KZ Okpala leading the team with 9 and 8 points in the half, respectively. Sharma also collected 10 rebounds in the first half, setting a career record. Stanford would take a 37-36 lead to halftime.

Long Beach State’s lead with the score 45-43 was their last of the night as Stanford caught fire and, on the back of a pair of Oscar da Silva 3-pointers, went on a 13-1 run, which put the score at 56-46 with less than 14 minutes left in the game.

The Beach didn’t go quietly, however. Stanford’s free throw shooting down the stretch allowed for the 49ers to crawl back to within two points with under a minute to go. Bryan Alberts, who finished with 22 points (6-13 from beyond the arc), nailed a pair of 3s while Temidayo Yussuf, who finished with 13 points (5-7 from the field), added 6 points of his own in the closing minutes to narrow the gap. Towards the end of the game, Stanford shot 5-19 from the charity stripe.

Down by 3 and with a chance to tie the game with under 10 seconds left in the game, Long Beach State head coach Don Monson tried to call a timeout to presumably set up a play for his team on offense but was unsuccessful at getting the referees’ attention. Subsequently, Long Beach State threw up a poor, air-balled shot on their final possession. Monson was understandably irate with the referees which drew a pair of technical fouls and an ejection from the court. Stanford padded their lead in the closing seconds with the fouls shots.

Josh Sharma finished the game for the Cardinal with his first career double-double. He set career-highs in both points and rebounds, blowing his previous career highs out of the water. He finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds.

Daejon Davis, who had 17 points and 5 assists for the Cardinal, left the game with an apparent ankle injury with about seven minutes left in the game. Head coach Jerod Hasse said he does not know the extent of the injury.

KZ Okpala and Jaiden Delaire each had 20 points and 10 points, respectively, in the win.

What’s next?
Stanford will open Pac-12 Conference play with the LA schools as the Card head south for games at UCLA on January 3rd and at USC on January 6th.

Long Beach State opens Big West Conference play at home against UC Davis after they face Bethesda at home on January 5th.

San Jose State gets blown out by Saint Mary’s 75-45

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball had hoped to wrap up its Bay Area road trip with a win over Saint Mary’s at McKeon Pavilion Saturday evening. A win would mean the Spartans’ two-game losing skid would come to an end. While there was a sign of hope for the Spartans in the early minutes of the game, their wish wasn’t granted Saturday.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with this starting lineup: Brae Ivey, Noah Baumann, Craig LeCesne, Michael Steadman and Oumar Barry.

After the tip, the game went underway at McKeon Pavilion. The early score wasn’t in favor of the Spartans, but they battled back from a 9-0 deficit, thanks to Ivey’s corner trey. Then, they tied the game 14-14 at the 14:51 mark of the first period.

San Jose State, however, fell behind from there. The Spartans trailed 22-17 at the second media timeout. Baumann led the Spartans with 5 points at the time. Fast forward to the final media timeout, where the Spartans trailed 38-17 with 3:25 left on the clock. SJSU didn’t score in the last 10 minutes and 46 seconds, which was sad like the sadness LeCesne had cope with this past week. LeCesne recently lost a close friend, Emil Isovic. Isovic collapsed during a game and died at a hospital Wednesday.

SJSU had no choice but to shrug off the horrific ending as Saint Mary went on a whopping 26-0 run to end the first. The Spartans trailed the Gaels 44-14 at halftime.

Saint Mary’s continued to stay hot at home. Tanner Krebs’ shooting remained on fire as he was 5-7 in 3-point field goals with 15 points. SJSU trailed 50-23 at the 15:29 mark of the second period.

The Gaels outshot the Spartans 47 percent to 37 percent with 7:47 left in the second. Krebs’ fiery shooting remained in tact as he was well on his way to a season-high 20 points. The Gaels’ defensive effort versus the Spartans was strong to say the least.

The Spartans lost to the Gaels 75-45. SJSU fell to 3-9, while Saint Mary’s improved to 9-6.

SJSU will return to the Event Center to host rival Fresno State on Wednesday, January 2 at 7 pm PST.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Oilers try to end loss streak today; Tavares gets two goals to pace Leafs; Habs get 5-3 win over Panthers; plus more

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usatoday.com photo: Toronto Maple Leafs’ Trevor Moore, left, carries the puck up ice as Columbus Blue Jackets’ Boone Jenner defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game on Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The San Jose Sharks open a three-game road trip against the Edmonton Oilers starting today. The Oilers have lost four straight and the Sharks have lost four of their last five games. Matt sets up this game for us.

#2 The Toronto Maple Leafs John Tavares helped get the Leafs a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. It was Tavares who was the difference maker, scoring two goals to get the Leafs over the hump.

#3 The Montreal Canadiens turned it up a notch with two goals from Tomas Tatar, Tatar’s second goal was the go-ahead goal in the Habs’ 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers.

#4 The New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal had a big night in the Isles’ 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Barzal scored twice and had an assist as the Islanders get a win on home ice at Barclays Center.

#5 The NHL has selected some of the All-Star players. Matt tells us who he likes as the game will be played on Saturday, Jan. 26th in San Jose

Matt Harrington does the NHL podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks coming off win; face Oilers, who are on a four-game losing streak

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sportingnews.com file photo: The Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid (right) and the Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin (left) share pleasantries. McDavid and the Oilers host the San Jose Sharks today in Edmonton.

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The San Jose Sharks are in Edmonton today at Rexall Center to face the Oilers, who started out with a 9-2-2 record under head coach Ken Hitchcock, but have since lost four straight games. What has been the reason for the slight drop?

#2 Hitchcock, a noted successful coach in previous tilts with other NHL clubs. This has to be just as much as surprise for him as anyone else, but teams do go in a funk, but it’s not a good wear for him.

#3 The Oilers can rebound though they have some potent players and Connor McDavid is no exception with six goals and 20 points in the month of December in 11 games.

#4 The Sharks are coming off a much-needed win against the Anaheim Ducks last Thursday at SAP Center. The Sharks before Thursday had a three-game losing streak going.

#5 The Sharks (20-12-7) are in Edmonton today against the Oilers (18-16-3). How do you see this matchup as the Oilers should be fired up after losing four straight games?

San Jose Sharks podcasts with Len Shapiro are heard each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State to wrap up Bay Area road trip against Saint Mary’s on Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball will wrap up their Bay Area road trip against their final nonconference foe of the season, the Saint Mary’s Gaels, when they travel to Moraga for a 5 pm tipoff. Justin Allegri will have the Spartans’ radio call on KLIV 1590 AM.

Game #12
San Jose State (3-8) at Saint Mary’s (8-6)
Saturday, Dec. 29, 5:00 p.m. (PT)
McKeon Pavilion
Moraga, Calif.

Live stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the ‘Live Stats” feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

A win would mean…
SJSU is looking for their first win over the Gaels since Nov. 26, 2000, which was a 82-68 rout. A win would also be the fourth of the season, tying the team’s 2017-18 total for the whole year.

Oh, so close! 
For the second-straight game, SJSU fell just short in a tight game against a Pac-12 foe. The Spartans led at Cal for all but :02 seconds in the first half, and regained the lead in the second half. However, the Golden Bears went on to take control and prevailed 88-80.

The Spartans’ 80 points were the most against a D1 opponent this season and they shot a season-best 55.8% from the field. Oumar Barry had a career-high 18 points while Noah Baumann added 18 of his own. Michael Steadman tallied his fifth double-double of the season.

Sharpest shooter in the nation
Sophomore Noah Baumann leads the nation in 3-point FG percentage. He is touting a 57.1% clip on 28-of-49 shooting. He is also averaging 2.5 3s per game, which ranks in the top-10 in the Mountain West.

Baumann is averaging 14.0 points per game in the last five games and is touting a gaudy 60% clip from 3-point range (18-30). He is coming off a career-high six 3s at Cal as part of an 18-point performance.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10″ forward is averaging a team-high 13.7 points per game and ranks fourth in the MW with 9.7 rebounds per game. He also ranks 22nd nationally in rebounds per game and 25th in defensive rebounds per game. He has five double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the MW and has scored in double figures in 10-of-11 games, including nine straight.

Staff shakeup
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Scouting the competition
The Gaels enter Saturday’s game with a 8-6 record. They had a four-game win streak in the first couple weeks of December with wins over Cal (84-71), Bethune-Cookman (93-61), New Mexico (85-60) and Cal State Fullerton (81-66) before falling to LSU, 78-74. The Gaels dropped their last game at Western Kentucky 71-68.

Junior guard Jordan Ford is one of the most dynamic scorers in collegiate basketball, ranking in the top-15 in four different categories: total points (third), total FG made (fourth), total FG attempts (seventh) and points per game (13th), which he leads the conference with 23.2.

Saturday’s meeting is the 82nd installment in the series that has been neck-and-neck throughout the years. The Gaels hold the overall advantage 43-39 and have won the last seven straight dating back to Dec. 4, 2001. The Spartans’ last win in the series was on Nov. 26, 2000 in a 82-68 victory in Moraga.

The Gaels are led by 17th-year head coach Randy Bennett.

Oh my Oumar
Senior center Oumar Barry is playing his best basketball as a Spartan as of late. Versus Bethune-Cookman, he finished with a then-career-high 13 points and 7 rebounds. He followed that up with his most dominating performance at SJSU as he recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds–his first-career game with double digit rebounds. He also blocked two shots and was 7-of-10 at the free throw line to help the Spartans to a victory.

Barry followed up with another double-double against Stanford (15 points, 10 rebounds). After playing 38 career games without recording a double-double, he now has two in the last three games.

Barry’s last outing saw a score of a career-high 18 points before fouling out with 4:36 to play at Cal. In his last five games, he leads the team with 14.8 points per game and is averaging 8.0 rebounds.

Conference play in the immediate future
Saturday’s game is the final nonconference bout for the Spartans before they buckle up for their MW slate. The first of nine conference home games will be played on Wednesday, January 2 as SJSU welcomes rival Fresno State to the Event Center at 7 pm.

Stanford and Pitt set to face off in Sun Bowl on Monday

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Photo credit: youtube.com

By: Ana Kieu

Sure, the playoff semifinals are set for Saturday, but that isn’t the end of the 2018 bowl season. There are two full days of bowl games set for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, respectively. In the Sun Bowl, it’s an ACC and Pac-12 showdown as Pat Narduzzi’s Pitt Panthers meet David Shaw’s Stanford Cardinal at the University of Texas at El Paso on New Year’s Eve.

Here’s what you need to know about the Sun Bowl.

Spread
Stanford -4.5

Over/Under
52

Analyses
Stanford is the clear favorite, while Pitt is the obvious underdog. Pitt started out the season just 3-4 before pulling off four straight conference wins to win a division title and a trip to the ACC Championship Game. The Panthers’ rushing attack was dominant, as Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison combined for over 2,200 yards and 20 touchdowns.  The backs had their fair share of explosive plays, which helped drive an offense that didn’t have quite the passing game it hoped with quarterback Kenny Pickett. The Panthers’ problems came on defense when they were prone to giving up the explosive plays and ranked 106th in Bill Connelly’s Isolated Points Per Play metric with 1.26.

As you can see, that’s not good news against a Cardinal offense that ranked 19th with a similar metric of 1.28. The Cardinal faded away from the limelight following a 4-0 start when they coughed up four losses in a five-game skid. But Shaw’s team finished strong with three straight wins heading into the Sun Bowl. Running back Bryce Love didn’t have the Heisman-caliber season that we had hoped for, but quarterback K.J. Costello stepped up in his absence. Costello threw for 3,435 yards for the third-highest single season total in Stanford history, trailing just Andrew Luck and Steve Stenstrom. Costello must continue that kind of output in the Sun Bowl as Love decided to skip the Sun Bowl to prepare for the 2019 NFL Draft.

Like the Panthers, the Cardinal have weak points of their own. This year, it was their defense. We’re used to seeing stout units from Shaw and company, but this year’s team ranked 51st in S&P+ and struggled against the run and pass. Still, Stanford has a slight edge in record against the spread as they’ve gone 6-3-1 as a favorite this season, while Pitt has gone just 5-4 as an underdog. I think the Panthers’ running game can prevent the Sun Bowl from getting out of hand, but I doubt the Panthers can stop the Cardinal’s passing attack.

Spartans and Ducks to meet on Monday in Redbox Bowl

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Photo credit: pac-12.com

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — With bowl preparations all but done, it is time for the game for the 17th annual Redbox Bowl between the Michigan State Spartans and the Oregon Ducks.

The Spartans, coached by Mark Dantonio are looking to end the 2018 with a two-game winning streak, as they look for their second consecutive win in a bowl game.

It was on this date last year, the Spartans ended their 2017 season on a high note, as they defeated the Washington State Cougars 42-17 in the Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

This is the third time that the Spartans have finished their season in the state of California since the 2013 season.

It was on January 1, 2014 that the Spartans won their first Rose Bowl since 1988, when they came up with a huge defensive stop in defeating the Stanford Cardinal by the final score of 24-20.

Overall, this is the seventh time that the Spartans have made a bowl appearance in the State of California.

The Spartans are a perfect 6-0 in their previous bowl games in the Golden State, as they are 4-0 in the Rose Bowl, 1-0 in the aforementioned Holiday Bowl and 1-0 in the now defunct Silicon Valley Bowl.

In those six games, the Spartans are 4-0 against Pac-12 teams and 1-0 against teams from the Mountain West Conference.

This is the 10th time that the Spartans have played in the Bay Area, and the first since facing the CAL Golden Bears on August 30, 2008, where the Golden Bears defeated the Spartans 38-31 at Memorial Stadium.

The Spartans made their Bay Area debut against the University of San Francisco Dons, and went back to East Lansing with a 14-0 victory on November 27, 1937.

Almost two years later, the Spartans returned to the Bay Area, to face the Santa Clara Broncos; however, the Broncos defeated the Spartans 6- 0 on November 11, 1939.

On October 18, 1941, the Spartans once again faced the Broncos, and once again, the Broncos defeated the Spartans 7-0.

Seven years later, on November 27, 1948, the Spartans faced the Broncos for the final time and the game ended in a 21-21 tie.

Almost eight years later, on September 29, 1956, the 3rd ranked Spartans defeated the 12th ranked Stanford Indians (now Cardinal) 21-7 at Stanford Stadium.

Three hundred seventy-two days later, on October 5, 1957, the second ranked Spartans defeated the CAL Golden Bears 19-0 at Memorial Stadium.

In the next meeting between the Spartans and then Indians, Stanford upset the then sixth-ranked Spartans 16-13 on September 28, 1962.

The Spartans would not return to the Bay Area until they faced the Fresno State Bulldogs in the Silicon Valley Bowl on December 31, 2001 and lost to the Bulldogs 28-21 at Spartan Stadium on the campus of San Jose State University.

In their last trip to the Bay Area, the Golden Bears defeated the Spartans 38-31 under the lights at Memorial Stadium.

This season, the Spartans ended the regular season with a 7-5 record under Dantonio and are coming off a 14-10 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Spartan Stadium on November 24.

Eleven members of the Spartans team earned All-Big Ten honors, including first-team members in Junior Linebacker Joe Bachie, Sophomore Placekicker Matt Coghlin and Junior Defensive End Kenny Willekes.

The Spartans defense under Defensive Coordinator Mark Tressel, are ranked number one in the country in total rush defense, as they allow only 81.3 yards per game on the ground.

Brian Lewerke leads the Spartans offense, as the quarterback played in 10 games this season, as the redshirt Junior went 162-for-299 for 1,868 yards passing and also threw eight touchdowns, while he was picked off 10 times.

Senior Running back L.J. Scott will be playing in his final game for the Spartans, as he played in just four games and carried the ball 55 times for 180 yards.

Lewerke’s top target at wide receiver was Junior Wide Receiver Darrell Stewart, who hauled in 39 catches on the season. Cody White picked up the most yards thru the air, as he gained 491 yards.

Bachie was the team leader in tackles, as he picked up 94 tackles on the season and also intercepted one pass. Andrew Dowell was not far behind Bachie, as he ended the season with 90 tackles. Willekes led the Spartans in sacks, as he picked up 8.5 sacks in 12 games.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: 49ers to end season in L.A. against a successful Rams team

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Photo credit: ocregister.com

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami:

#1 The 49ers were able to hold a 9-7 lead at half time against one of the best teams in the NFC last Sunday the Chicago Bears (11-4). Do you view this as progress after the 49ers had won Denver and Seattle in previous weeks at Levis’s Stadium?

#2 Going into a game like that, where the Bears know how to protect both sides of the ball, the 49ers to play a game like that head coach Kyle Shanahan really had to have had a great game plan.

#3 The Bears did shutout the 49ers in the second half of that game last Sunday. Did it appear to you that quarterback Nick Mullens and the offense did everything they can to get some head way on offense?

#4 San Francisco 49ers (4-11) safety Marcell Harris said his late hit on Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was not intentional. The hit drew an unnecessary roughness and sparked a brawl that saw 49ers’ cornerback Richard Sherman getting ejected from the game plus two other players.

#5 The 49ers end their season against the Los Angeles Rams (12-3) at the LA Coliseum this Sunday. The Rams are another team having a glory season. Can the 49ers play spoiler again?

This is the final 49ers podcast for the season. Join Joe Lami for the NHL podcast each Friday at  http://www.sportsradioservice.com