Category: Stanford Cardinal

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Stanford’s year was monumental after getting to the semi finals three straight times

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–Stanford will always be noted for their great achievement for reaching the NCAA semi finals three times in a row although they lost to UConn all three times but they lost to a team that was either near perfect or perfect in the case of this year.

Reaching the Final Four in the first place was tough to achieve, it’s tough to win and look at how many teams in college there are and what the odds are, the Sweet 16 and all the other dances that go on. It’s very tough for Stanford to get that far but congratulations to the Cardinal for what they accomplished this year.

Just getting to the Final Four that is quite an achievement for the ladies of Stanford. Not many schools can claim they went to the semi finals three years in a row like the UConns of the world. Then there’s the men’s game where Kentucky and UConn have been there before.

For the women to make it three times in a row it’s an eye opener and this is our school in the Bay Area to have made it that far. Cal is another great school in the Bay Area a great place for learning and a great place for sports. So three times in a row to make the Final Four that doesn’t happen very often in college sports and the Stanford women did it.

Los Angeles hit with a series of tremors: I was in my hotel in during the Mariners and Angels series about a weeek and half ago and I remember the beginning of a video tape that was played with Dodger great Vin Scully at the microphone on it announcing the Dodgers game when someone was at the plate and Scully said, “here’s the pitch and we’re having a tremor and here’s a ground ball to second” he just mentioned it so casually and it was so funny.

“We’re having a tremor” and he didn’t panic or anything and kept announcing. My broadcast partner Jose Mota was with the Angels doing the broadcast of the Freeway Series against the Dodgers on English TV and he felt it at Dodgers Stadium. I didn’t work that game because I didn’t do the Angels pre season but Mota told me it was quite a jolt.

There is also a lot of people who said they didn’t feel anything so it’s kind of strange it’s an old park, Dodger Stadium know as Chavez Ravine up there on the hill overlooking L.A. It was scary there were a number of after shocks in the L.A. area but nothing like the one in Chile thank God that one was an 8.2 earthquake that triggered a tsunami.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Vice President of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week on Sportstalk

Michelle Richardson on the NCAA Championship finals: Stanford women one and done with UConn; had a great run

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by Michelle Richardson

UConn 75 Stanford 56: The Stanford Cardinal went into the Final Four and wanted to push for a victory this time and got to the NCAA finals but again failed for the third straight time since getting into the semi finals since 2010. It was too much Huskies for the Cardinal as the Huskies top scorers Breanna Stewart finished the game with 18 points and for Stanford Amber Orrange led with 16 points.

“It wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t beat teams that were any good” said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma “I think Women’s basketball needs rivalries like this,teams that aspire to be great and want to win championships”

Stanford star Chiney Ogwumike said it was an exciting year and her last at Stanford, “it’s been an amazing remarkable experience to have Stanford on my jersey one last time.” For head coach Tara VanDerveer it was just a tough game offensively and that the shots were not falling for the Cardinal, “we knew the biggest challenge for us was to score, we worked hard defensively, had a lot of good stops. Their size, when they went big, their size is really disruptive. Probably more than anything, they have very skilled players, play very well together” said VanDerveer.

Notre Dame 87 Maryland 61: The Fighting Irish’s Kayla McBride’s offense kept things going for Notre Dame with her 28 point leading performance. She was a one woman performing machine with those Harlem Globetrotter’s type behind the back dribbles and passes and quick cross overs before hitting the bucket.

For Maryland Brionna Jones finished with 16 points for the top scorer in the loss. For McBride in her senior year this is the one that makes her graduating year sweet finishing up a season in the Final Four with a big win “it means a lot as a senior, I am so proud of this team. We went through a lot of adversity, especially after losing Ace. We’re going to go in and look at the film and be ready for the game” said McBride.

Kentucky-UConn NCAA Finals: Willie Cauley-Stein of the UConn Huskies sat out of the semi finals game on Saturday. Cauley-Stein hurt his ankle in the tournament and made it worse playing on it against Louisville in the Regional semi final win and sat out in the win against Michigan last week.

The Huskies have proven one thing that they know how to do it without him and their prepared to play Kentucky without Cauley-Stein and that’s basketball. That’s the way the game works, one player can not decide whether their team is going to win or not.

This is the second time in the title in three years that Kentucky got here and two years ago they got here with a group of Freshman led by former Wildcat Anthony Davis who is now with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Wildcats now have their own crop of freshman and all we can say this game is really going to be very interesting on Monday night.

The Wildcats have a 29-10 record and the Huskies have a 31-8 record and the last time the Wildcats got in the finals they pretty much finished perfect and blanked everybody for the whole season. This game should be a razor thin margin win for either team it’s evenly matched and should up end being the best of the finales.

Michelle Richardson covered the NCAA for Sportstalk and will be back in the fall

Cardinal Season Comes to an End, Losses to Connecticut in National Semi-Finals

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Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal played their final game of the 2013-2014 season on Sunday night after they were defeated by Connecticut 75-56 in Nashville.  The Cardinal were seeking their third National Championship in school history and their first one since 1992, however they fell short in their sixth trip to the final four in the past seven years.  Sunday also marks the third time in four years that the Cardinal have fallen in the National Semi-Final.

The Cardinal controlled much of the first half.  The Huskies got on the board first with buckets from Bria Hartley and Moriah Jefferson to go up 4-0.  Chiney Ogwumike got on the board first for the Cardinal with a jumper of her own.  Connecticut would get the lead back up to four, until Stanford went on a 7-0 run to give them their first lead of the evening with 16:09 remaining in the half.  The Cardinal held the lead for 12 minutes until Stephanie Dolson tied it up at 22 with four minutes remaining.  The 12 minutes marked the longest stretch of time this season that Connecticut had trailed.  Stanford pushed their largest lead to six, marking the second highest lead a team had on Connecticut all season.  The Huskies continued their run, extending it to 14-0 before Stanford was able to answer with a bucket of their own.  UConn went into the half with a 28-24 lead.

Stanford fell apart in the second half, as Connecticut started the second half with a 5:46 16-3 run.  The three points came from a rare three-pointer from Ogwumike.  The run would be give enough of a lead for UConn to ride out the win.  The Cardinal wouldn’t be able to fight their way back.

Amber Orrange led the way for the Cardinal with 16 points, she also added five assists in the losing effort.  Ogwumike wrapped up her Stanford career with her 25th double double of the season, as the expected 1st overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft finished the game with 15 points and ten rebounds.  Lili Thompson wrapped up the double figure Cardinal scorers with 12 points, eight of which came in the first half.

The Huskies saw all five of their starters get into double figures.  Player of the Year nominee, Brianna Stewart led the way with 18 points.  Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis contributed 15 points, all of which came in the second half.  Hartley shot four of 12 from the field to finish with 14 points.  Both Jefferson and Dolson finished the game with ten points each to cap off the double digits scorers.  Kiah Stokes also came off of the bench to add nine points in 22 minutes played, as the Huskies used only six players in 39-minutes of the game.  In the last minute, substitutes Saniya Chong, Tierney Lawlor, Briana Pulido and Brianna Banks replaced the starting five.

Connecticut remains undefeated at 39-0 and advance to their school’s ninth National Championship.  Next up for the Huskies is another undefeated team in Notre Dame (37-0), who beat Maryland 81-67 in the other National Semi-Final game.  Tuesday will mark the first time ever, where two undefeated teams will battle it out for the National Title.  Connecticut also joins their men’s team in the National Championship, as the men’s team will be going up against Kentucky for the men’s title.  Both Connecticut team’s won the title in 2004, and have a chance to do it again just ten years later.  They remain the only school to accomplish the feat.

Stanford finishes their season with a record of 30-4 and some uncertainty in next season, as it will be the first one since 2008 where an Ogwumike will not be on the team.

 

Stanford Returns to Final Four for Sixth Time in Last Seven Years After Win Over North Carolina in Regional Final

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Ogwumike Cuts Down the Net

By: Joe Lami

STANFORD, Calif.–The Stanford Cardinal are headed to Nashville for their sixth Final Four in the last seven years, after they defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 74-65 in front of a packed home crowd of 6,145 on Tuesday night.  This will be the 12th time in program history, and the 11th under Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer where the Cardinal will be advancing to the Final Four.

The Tar Heels controlled much of the first half, after Stanford was on the board first.  Both teams shot poorly for the first couple of minutes.  At the first media time out North Carolina was leading 5-2, with the Tar Heels shooting 40% from the field, and the Cardinal only 20%.  Out of the timeout the Tar Heels pored it on, knocking down the next six of seven shots.  Five of which came from beyond the arc to give UNC a 22-9 lead 8:10 into the game.  Alisha Gray was the difference maker in the run as she shot four for four from the field, three of which came from the three-point line.

Stanford would come right back however, in the next four minutes they went onto a 11-4 run to cut the deficit to 26-20.  Stanford would get North Carolina’s lead within one point with 4:25 left in the first half, when Chiney Ogwumike would make a lay-up.  Ogwumike was held to a season low four points in the first half, as the North Carolina defense was very aggressive with her down low.  As Head Coach of the Tar Heels, Andrew Calder, would say “Being physical to Ogwumike is the key to beating her.”  At some points of the contest three different Tar Heels would be guarding the All-American to shut her down.  The Tar Heels would go into the halftime break with a 36-30 lead.

The first half saw some tremendous shooting, especially from beyond the arc.  North Carolina shot just over 53% from three-point land, knocking down seven of 13 shots from long range.  On top of Gray’s three, Xylina McDaniel would hit two.  Stanford wasn’t as strong from long distance, but the three’s they hit came at crucial times keeping them in the game.  Amber Orrange and Bonnie Samuelson both knocked down two.

Stanford made their push to comeback in the first couple of minutes of the second half.  A 18-6 run powered by amazing three-point shooting would be enough to give them the 48-42 lead.  Mikaela Ruef would be the one to do it as well, making it a big shocker.  Ruef came into the game with only six three-pointers in her entire career, knocked three of them down with 15-minutes remaining in the second half.  “We played the percentages, Ruef made the threes and changed the game, she was the x-factor tonight” said Calder.

The amazing outside shooting from Ruef would eventually open up the play down low for Ogwumike.  Once being triple-teamed, she was able to get single coverage and take over, scoring 16 points in the second half, on route to her 26th double double of the season.  “It was the best game that she (Ruef) had played in a Staford uniform” exclaimed Stanford Head Coach, Tara VanDerveer.

Stanford would gain their biggest lead at eight just over the halfway point of the second half, but the Tar Heels weren’t finished yet.  They went on 17-8 run to retake the lead with four minutes to go.  The Cardinal regained their composure after a 30-second timeout taken, giving them one final push to win the game.  Stanford was up three with 92-seconds remaining when UNC began to foul.  The Cardinal were perfect on their foul shots to up their lead to nine to end the game.

Five Stanford scorers got into double figures, the most since Jan 27.  Ogwumike lead the way for Stanford with 20 points.  Ruef was right behind her with 17, and ended just one rebound shy of completing her second double double in as many games.  Orrange was next in line, as she finished with 14, she was also the only Stanford player to play all 40 minutes. Samuelson knocked down three 3-pointers on her way to 13 points.  The three 3-pointers up Samuelson’s tournament total to 14, giving the lead in the tournament.  Lili Thompson was the final player to hit double figures for the Cardinal, as the Freshman finished with ten points in 38 minutes played.

UNC’s Gray tapered off in the second half, scoring only four points, as the Stanford defense targeted in on her.  She still lead the way for the Tar Heels with 19 points.  The only other double figure scorer for UNC was Diamond DeShields, who finished with 13, nine of which came in the second half.

The Cardinal finish out their season perfect at Maples Pavilion, as they move onto Nashville.  Next up for Stanford is the number one team in the country in Connecticut.  UConn was the first team to beat Stanford this year, in the second game of the season.  “I think we improved a lot since the first time we played them, and we’ll be ready for whatever game plan the coaches give us” commented Thompson in preparation for UConn.  VanDerveer added that “playing them already help us.”

Cardinal Keep Dancing, Advance to Regional Final with Win Over Penn State

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Photo Credit: gostanford.com
Photo Credit: gostanford.com

By: Joe Lami

STANFORD, Calif.–The Stanford Cardinal returned to Maples Pavilion, a regional host site for this year’s NCAA Tournament, on Sunday where they took on the Penn State Lady Lions in the regional semi-final.  The Cardinal defeated the Lady Lions by the final score of 82-57.

The first half was neck and neck until about half way through.  The Lady Lions went on a 7-0 run to get ahead of the Cardinal 23-19.  The Cardinal were able to comeback with a 14-0 run of their own spanning a 5:12.  The run would end when Ariel Edwards would hit a pair of free throws.  Stanford would get five more points until the Lady Lions would be able to hit a field goal, as Edwards would nail a jumper with 2:47 remaining in the first half.  Penn State was unable to hit a field goal for 6:48 which gave Stanford a big advantage, as their lead would be 38-27.  The scoring drought would begin again until Edwards would be able to get a bucket and a foul with 13 seconds remaining in the half.  Stanford went into the halftime break with a 44-30 lead.

After much control of the first half, the second half went fairly easy for the Cardinal, as then only surrendered 27 points to cruise to victory.  The final minutes for the Cardinal allowed players that wouldn’t normally see minutes in the NCAA Tournament, as Briana Roberson, Jasmine Camp, Erica Payne and Erica McCall were able to jump in the game.

“Today was an ideal day for Stanford basketball” praised Chiney Ogwumike after the game.

Ogwumike led the way for the Cardinal once again, as she finished with 29 points.  She also added 15 rebounds to get her 25th double double of the season, and ups her career total to 83.  Amber Orrange was second in scoring for Stanford with 18 points.  Lili Thompson and Mikaela Ruef both finished the game with 11 points.  Ruef also added 13 rebounds to achieve the double double.

Edwards led the way for the Lady Lions, as she finished with 22 points.  Dara Taylor and Talia East were the other Penn St. players to get into double figures, contributing 11 and ten respectively.

The major factor in the Stanford win was allowing Maggie Lucas to only score six points.  Lucas, the Big Ten player of the year, was averaging 21.5 points per game coming into the contest.  This was only the second time this season where Lucas was held under ten points.  The last time occurred when the Lady Lions lost to Notre Dame at home on December 4.  Thompson was assigned to defend against Lucas, and she was a major factor.  “She was forced to take tough shots all night” claimed Penn State Head Coach, Coquese Washington.  Thompson later added that the key to shutting Lucas down was to limit her touches.

The Cardinal will continue their run on Tuesday with hopes of advancing to the Final Four, as they will take on North Carolina, who defeated South Carolina 65-58 in the other regional semi-final.

Sweet Sixteen Bound Cardinal Punches Ticket to Regionals With Win Over Florida State

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By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal will be returning to Maples Pavilion next weekend as they will be continue on to the Sweet Sixteen, after a victory over the Florida State Seminoles on Monday afternoon.  The second-seeded Cardinal defeated the tenth-seeded Seminoles 63-44 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Seminoles grabbed an early seven-point lead, as they went on a 7-0 run to start the game in the first 1:52.  It wasn’t until the 18:08 mark where Amber Orrange was able to get things started for Stanford with a field goal.  The largest lead for Florida State was stretched to eight points at the 12:31 mark, when the Seminoles had the 14-6 lead.  However, this is when the Cardinal were able to turn the game around, as Stanford went on a 26-2 run, including a 13-minute scoring drought for Florida State to end the half.  Stanford went into halftime with a 32-16 lead.

Stanford would also control the second half as well, outscoring the Seminoles by three points to complete the victory.

All-time Pac-12 leading scorer, Chiney Ogwumike, led things for the Cardinal as she finished the game 8 of 11 from the field for 21 points.  She ended the game just one rebound shy of the double double.  Lili Thompson had another outstanding performance, as she contributed 14 points in the win, including a perfect 4 for 4 from the charity strike.  Bonnie Samuelson completed the list of players that got into double figures, as she came off the bench to score 11, with nine points coming from beyond the arc.

Florida State was able to achieve something that few teams have been able to do against Stanford this season, and that is to out-rebound the Cardinal.  The Seminoles won the rebound battle  35-32 with 12 of them coming on the offensive side of the glass.  Natasha Howard, Brittany Brown and Kai James all finished the game with seven rebounds for FSU.  Howard was also the Noles leading scorer, as she finished the game with nine points.

The Cardinal will be returning to the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in a row, and now they will be coming back to their home floor for possibly the next two games.  Up next for the Cardinal will be the winner of Penn State and Florida, before what is expected to be an Elite Eight matchup with the number one seed in the region, South Carolina.

Michelle Richardson on March Madness: Cardinal to face Dayton Thursday;Wichita 35 game win streaks ends

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by Michelle Richardson

Stanford 60 Kansas 57: I don’t know about anybody else but my bracket totally looks like crap and the Stanford Cardinal did their homework for this game and at Stanford kids usually don’t come out of college early. When Stanford went in there they were truly the underdog going against Kansas on Sunday.

The point of the advantage for Stanford are the players staying in college to the end and having the experience on the team and Kansas just had too many younger players on their team and Stanford won out on experience. Even though the Jayhawks had athletic talent they couldn’t necessarily get the job done because in college you have to play the more athletic talent game.

You really have to have knowledge of the game and college is the place where you gather that knowledge where you gather that knowledge about playing basketball. It was a very good game, you had four of the Cardinal starters in double digits and they really played well on both sides of the ball. The leading scorer for Stanford was Dwight Powell with 15 points, Chasson Randall had 13, and with ten points each Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic.

Cardinal vs. Dayton (Thursday March 27): These two teams match up very evenly and this one is going to be a real barnburner. Both of these teams get up and down the court very well, they know how to score. Dayton is one of those teams that is not afraid. Dayton will go there and fight you tooth and nail.

They’ve done this many times before and for Dayton head coach Archie Miller who really got his young men focused and really have to get these guys ready to play. Dayton is the quintessential of giant killers don’t be surprised when they beat Ohio Stated during the season and they can beat an Ohio State because their not afraid of Ohio State.

Many of those young men who played for the Dayton Flyers probably played high school and Jr.College ball against these same gentlemen who are at Ohio State. Ohio State won’t even play the other Ohio teams in pre season. The Buckeyes won’t play Dayton, Toledo or Kent State. They don’t want to play those guys because those kids are too familar with these players.

Stanford and Dayton will be a war on Thursday for the next step in the brackets.

Kentucky 78 Wichita 76: The Shockers broke my heart I actually had Wichita going to the finals in the NCAA against Michigan State. I honestly thought Wichita State would be able to challege for the national championship and they did. Hats off to all of those young men. They really played a great basketball game against Kentucky and had a great 2013-14 season that they will never forget.

It was a very close game the high scorer for UK was Andrew Harrison with 20, Aaron Harrison with 19, and Julius Randall and James Young both finished with 13. For Wichita’s high scorers, Cleanthony Early finished with 31 and Ron Baker had 20. Fred VanFleet had only four points but he had six assists.

VanFleet was all over the place and he got into a litle foul trouble and had to be taken out of the game and that’s what took the turn for the Shockers was that they missed VanFleet. The problem with Wichita State was you only had points scored by two guys. The loss snapped a 35 game winning streak.

Michelle Richardson does commentary on the NCAA weekly for Sportstalk Radio

One Down, Five to Go, Stanford Defeats South Dakota in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament

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By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal started what they are hoping to be a long NCAA Tournament run on Saturday afternoon with a win.  They defeated the South Dakota Coyotes by the final score of 81-62.  The Cardinal were given a number two seed after they were defeated by USC in the semi-finals of the Pac-12 tournament.  Their opponent, South Dakota, earned the 15-seed after they won the Summit Conference Tournament.  The Coyotes also had a record of 19-14 coming into the contest.

South Dakota held the game close for the first seven minutes of the game, and actually held a two point lead at the 17:56 mark, but at the 13-minute the Cardinal gained the lead and they kept it for the rest of the game.  The Cardinal led the game 42-27 going into the halftime break.  They then outscored the Coyotes 39-35 in the second half to earn the 81-62 victory.

It was a huge day for Senior star Chiney Ogwumike, as she became the all-time Pac-12 leading scorer in the contest.  She only need one-point to gain the feat, as she finished the last contest tied with Candice Wiggins.  Ogwumike finished the game with 22 points, and eight rebounds in the 35 minutes played.  She led all scorers in the effort.

Bonnie Samuelson came off of the bench to tie her career high, as the Junior Guard sunk six of ten shots from beyond the arc to net 18 points.  Lili Thompson scored 11 points and brought down six rebounds in her first NCAA Tournament contest.  She also went 50% from three-point land, as she went three of six from beyond the arc.  Amber Orrange was the other Stanford player to get into double digits in scoring, as she finished the game with ten points.

South Dakota had a bright spot in the loss, as Nicole Seekamp finished the game with 22 points, shooting 9 of 13 from the field.  She also finished the game with five rebounds.

Stanford only has one more team in front of them before they can return to their home court, Maples Pavilion, as part of Regionals.  The tenth seed Florida State Seminoles will be the Cardinal’s next opponent, as they defeated Iowa State on their home floor earlier Saturday 55-44.  The Round of 32 contest is set for Monday at 3:30 PST.

Michelle Richardson on March Madness: Doubleheader tonight to open up tournament with Stanford-New Mexico on Friday

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by Michelle Richardson

Albany-Mt.St.Mary’s: Mt.St.Mary’s (16-16) had a good run last year and had a good run for it this year and finished the regular season Albany (18-14), St.Mary’s has a better home record of (10-3) and Albany has a home record of (9-3). Albany has a road record of (7-11) and St.Mary’s record on the road (6-13). Both teams are currently on win streaks.

Albany has a three game win streak and St.Mary’s has a four game win streak, if your not familiar Albany plays in the American East Conference and St.Mary’s plays in the Great North East Conference better known as the Moutaineers. These teams are going to be playing in Dayton Ohio to open up the NCAA Tournaments.

So their definitely in the LeBron James neck of the woods, these two teams are going to be a good match up and they have some standouts on both teams you have guard Peter Hooley for Albany he’s the leading scorer with 15.7, Michael Rowley is the Great Danes leading rebounder with 6.7 per game and has 2.8 assists per game. St.Mary’s has Julian Norfleet with 17.6 points per game, Gregory Graves with 5.3 rebounds and Norfleet with 5.5 assists.

NC State (23-9)-Xavier(21-12): The Minute Men against the Wolf Pack who would have thought that NC State would be in the play-in game. Personally this is going to be interesting. NC State has a home record, the Heels are not that great on the road and their on a losing streak right now.

The Musketeers of Xavier University 21-12 out of the Big East out of the American Conference. The Musketeers are averaging 72 points a game. Their averaging 67.9 for their opponents. Xavier’s home record is 15-2 so they played really well and they have a bad road record at 4-6.

It doesn’t mean their not going to get it done, I can’t tell you who I give more of an edge to in this contest because both teams have played the big boys before. It’s not like people are going to be bowing to Xavier but keep in mind the ACC is a very strong basketball conference.

New Mexico(27-6)-Stanford(21-12):The Los Lobos have averaged 23 points a game, the success of the Lobos really goes to the coaching. Everybody thought when former Lobos head coach Steve Alford left to go to UCLA that the Lobos would fall apart.

The Lobos are really letting people know that “were here and were here to win” the Lobos beat San Diego State to win the Mountain West Conference. San Diego is ranked number 13. The Lobos can only be their own worst enemy if they lose to Stanford on Tuesday night at Scottstrade Arena in St.Louis.

The Lobos handled San Diego St they won that game 64-58 to be the Mountain West champions. Stanford is a very good school but please understand the Lobos are a better team not because I’m a Lobos alumn, but mostly because the Lobos are mostly going to give them a challenge. Stanford lost to UCLA 89-59 and they lost big to a Steve Alford coached team.

So how do you think that the Cardinal will do again a formerly Steve Alford coached team? This game is scheduled for Friday night.

Michelle Richardson is covering the NCAA for March Madness

Michelle Richardson on the NCAA: Witchita State playing undisputed champion like basketball

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by Michelle Richardson

Witchita State (34-0) vs. Indiana State (23-10): The thing that I said about college basketball is the regular season is one thing but when March Madness arrives anything can happen. Witchita State is no joke and everybody continued to look beyond the Shockers that is the most insulting part. The people who looked beyond them and it was kind of inseparable but Witchita State has continued to make some changes.

They played Indiana State on Sunday the Sycamores are averaging 71 points per game, the Shockers are averaging 75, the Sycamores are allowing 67 points per game and the Shockers are allowing 59 points per game. Indiana State’s home record is 11-2 and for Witchita State they are 18-0. The road record for Indiana State 9-7 and for Witchita they’re 12-0.

Witchita State took a 33 game win streak into the game against Indiana State, the Sycamores were on a two game win streak. This was a game that was close and no one gave up any kind of ground and it was close on the scoreboard. It’s going to be interesting Witchta State beat Indiana State twice this season with their first meeting on January 18 Witchita wins that one by 20 68-48. The Shockers defeated the Sycamores 65-58 at Indiana State back on Feb 5th.

Duke 93 (24-7) North Carolina (23-8) 81: This was a great ball game but Duke came out on top, Duke has been searching and they have really been making the moves and they want to get in the big dance and their number four. They took the first half 40-37.

Then after that first half Duke kept after them with the help of Jabari Parker who finished with 30 points, Rodney Hood with 24 points, and Quinn Cook with 11. Parker was on fire 11 rebounds, Parker was really all over the place on both ends of the court. Hood had two turnovers but got two rebounds.

Duke had 54 points just from their two starters and Cook who had the 11 points with the top three scorers, North Carolina couldn’t match the fire power of Duke. On offense for Carolina Marcus Paige 24 points, Brice Johnson 15, and James Michael McAdoo 13 points.

San Diego 51 (27-3) New Mexico (24-6) 48: There is a chance that these two teams will meet again and probably for the Conference Championship. Expect to see both of these teams in the NCAA Tournament in different brackets, San Diego is ranked number ten and New Mexico is ranked at 21.

New Mexico is hoping that they don’t get knocked out of the top 25, they played good basketball New Mexico’s top scorers in the match Cameron Bairstow had 20, Alex Kirk 14, and Kendall Williams with seven. Finals for the top three in San Diego’s winning cause, Xavier Thames 23, Winston Shepard eight, and Josh Davis with six.

This was just that kind of game where you had a top scorer like Thames and everyone else on the San Diego roster followed him with single digits in the win.

Michelle Richardson does commentary on the NCAA each week for Sportstalk radio