Category: Stanford Cardinal

Colorado’s George King shoots over Stanford’s Marcus Allen during the second half of a NCAA college basketball game Thursday, March 2, 2017, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/Cliff Grassmick)

The Stanford Cardinal are (14-15) ran into some great offense from Colorado losing to the Buffaloes (17-13) 91-72 on Thursday night. In Stanford’s last two games they beat Oregon State and they almost beat Oregon but lost to them by two points 75-73. The Ducks were down at the half at Stanford and out played them in the second half and played them within a whisker. The Cardinal will have three players leaving after this season as last game was senior night Christian Sanders, Marcus Allen, and Grant Verhoeven.

Allen was the starter, Sanders and Verhoeven were back ups after this season most of the team is coming back next year but if they want to improve they’re going to have to do a better job of recruiting and get some more rebounding and some better three point shots and more consistent play if the Cardinal hope to get better in the Pac 12.

Jerry Feitelberg does the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oregon forward Jordan Bell, left, shoots against Stanford forward Reid Travis, center, and Josh Sharma during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

For the Stanford Cardinal in last Saturday night’s game how many times do you see four offensive rebounds turned over on one sequence. The Cardinal before the game against Oregon they had two wins and two wins are great and your really going to need two wins and they had that first win barely beating the Cal Bears at Maples Pavilion and they got a win over Oregon State Wednesday night at home.

The Cardinal on Saturday against the Ducks really needed the win but lost on an oddity of a play and a turnover from Reid Travis and losing a game like they did to Oregon the Cardinal didn’t instill too much confidence in their bid to get into the NCAA Tournament. It was really an nailbiter for Oregon getting the win by two points 75-73 but good enough to get them some cushion going into the NCAA Tournament.

Matt Harrington does the Stanford Cardinal podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

By London Marq

PALO ALTO–The #6 Oregon Ducks travel into Palo Alto to take on the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Stanford looked to go 2-0 vs teams from the state of Oregon this week, as they already routed the Beavers of Oregon State this past Wednesday. The Ducks however, currently hold the number two spot in the PAC-12, versus the Beavers who are last in the conference. The Cardinal would need a solid effort to send the Ducks home disappointed. It was not to be as the Cardinal lost at Maples in a razor close shave contest 75-73.

Oregon jumped out front early, with their unselfish fast paced style of basketball. They were able to move the ball around and play good defense. This allowed them to pour the ball in as they scored 17 points off of 11 first half turnovers. Stanford was able to keep the game within reach with their 13 offensive rebounds that lead to 15 second chance points. The score was 43-37 in Oregons favor at halftime.

The second half pace slowed down a bit as Stanford was able to control the call more and maintained their presence on the glass. The Cardinal were able to close the gap and tie the game on the second period and neither team held more than a four point lead after that.

The game remained close until the end when In the final 30 seconds Oregon obtained 4 offensive rebounds on a single possession. It was tipped in finally for a two-point lead by Jordan Bell, Oregon’s star forward, with 14 seconds remaining. Stanford would make an attempt to get the advantage on the ensuing possession but to no avail, ending the upset bid.

Even in the loss, Stanford rose to the occasion against a team with legitimate National Title aspirations this year. Reid Travis, Stanford’s star forward, led all scorers with 27 points. Travis also had 14 rebounds. In contrast, the Ducks had four players in double digits. Nevertheless, this may not have been a win for Stanford, but it should be a game to build off of for Coach Haase and his team.

AP photo: Former Stanford Cardinal Candice Wiggins during Wiggins playing days at Stanford

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Jerry:

The recent interview with Candice Wiggins telling the San Diego Union that the WNBA is 98 percent gay won’t hurt her legacy at all she expressed her opinion and to many people it may not what they wanted to hear but they may disagree with her but her performance on the court speaks for itself when she played at Stanford and in the WNBA.

Wiggins might have said an inaccuracy that the WNBA is 98 percent gay and that inaccuracy overall will blow over it’s not a big deal. Her legacy will remain in tact and the WNBA and Stanford’s basketball program will continue to go on doing their business. It’s not going to change the world or it won’t change anything.

Plus latest on Cardinal Men’s basketball

Jerry Feitelberg does the Stanford Cardinal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

By London Marq

PALO ALTO–The Stanford Cardinal (14-13) looked to add a second win in as many games as the three game homestand continued against the Oregon State Beavers (5-24). The Cardinal got satisfaction with a home victory at Maple Pavilion 79-66. For both teams wins have come at a premium this season, with Stanford holding a 5-9 conference record entering play. For the Beavers it has been a nightmarish season. Though they won their previous game on the schedule, they had lost all of their prior 14 conference games, leaving them 1-14 in conference play. The last win for Oregon State before conference play was back on December 21st, and before that they had a five game losing streak.

Stanford was dialed up as the came onto the floor scoring seven unanswered points to open the first half. Oregon struggled to put the ball in the hoop, but struggled even more to hold onto the basketball. Numerous times in the first half an Oregon player with possession fell to the floor untouched and relinquished possession to Stanford. It was insult to injury because The Cardinal did an excellent job of forcing turnovers as well, keep their opponents off balance and out of sync. Reid Travis, Stanford star forward, could not be stopped in the paint on either end of the floor. He tallied 17 points and 8 rebounds on the night. The Cardinal went into half-time with a ten point lead.

That lead would grow to more than 20 points in the second period as the Beavers continued to turn the ball over. Oregon State was able to close the gap as the game got to the business end by getting to line (Stanford accumulated 21 personal fouls), and knocking down long ball effectively. Those two statistical categories as well as total assists were the only places Oregon was able to gain an advantage. In the end though they were never able to narrow the gap to a deficit lower than 11 points as they ended up with 21 turnovers on the night.

Stanford walks away from this one with a ‘W’ on the home floor and move a game above .500 (14-13). The host their other Oregon rivals on Saturday when the #6 ranked Ducks come to Maples Pavilion.

Stanford def. Oregon State 79 – 66

Stanford forward Reid Travis (22) collides with California guard Charlie Moore (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Friday night’s win for the Stanford Cardinal over the Cal Bears was huge obviously you want to win the rivalry game and for them to come back the way they did in the second half it was like a 20-5 run and at one time the Cardinal were down by 12 and they came back and pulled off the win. It was really impressive by Stanford and it was impressive in a number of ways the Bears Jabari Bird and Ivan Rabb were doing their thing and the Cardinal were still able to pull off the win.

Dorian Pickens for Stanford had one of his better games of the year and the Cardinal had another strong performance from Reid Travis and a great job by the Cardinal drawing fouls and being aggressive and going to the line and putting players in trouble for Cal. It was a good all around win for Stanford. It was not the way you would necessarily would win games by going to the free throw line but Stanford head coach Jerod Haase would gladly take that.

Matt Harrington does the Stanford Cardinal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford forward Reid Travis (22) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona defeated Stanford 74-67. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Taking a look at how Stanford performed last week in Arizona and at Arizona State. Arizona is one of the top schools in the country. The last time Arizona and Stanford met was at Maples Pavilion where the Wildcats dominated the Cardinal. Fast forward to last week the Cardinal made a game of it against the Wildcats with tenacity in Tucson. It was a very close game and it could have gone either way the Cardinal were down just by three or four points at the half.

Unfortunately they lost not only to Arizona but they lost to ASU on the trip and also earlier at Maples as well. It was thought that ASU was a team that the Cardinal could handle apparently they couldn’t. That’s too bad because if Stanford were able to pull it off against either Arizona or ASU that would have been a good deal for them.

Jerry Feitelberg does the Stanford Men’s basketball podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Arizona State guard Torian Graham and Stanford forward Trevor Stanback (33) battle for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, February 11, 2017

TEMPE, Ariz. – After trailing most of the game, Arizona State put together a furious run late in the second half to overtake visiting Stanford 75-69 in Pac-12 men’s basketball Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Sun Devils used a 12-5 run in the final 3 minutes, 25 seconds – including the go-ahead 3-pointer by Torian Graham with 18 seconds remaining – to secure their fourth win in their last 12 games.

After Kodi Justice sank a pair of free throws to pull ASU to within 69-68 with :36 to play, Stanford turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play, setting up Graham’s sixth 3-pointer of the game.

“We were telling the guys to stick with the game plan, keep playing hard,” Cardinal Coach Jerod Haase said. “But Arizona State hit some big outside shots at the end when they had to.”

Michael Humphrey, a junior from Phoenix Sunnyslope, added, “They started getting their outside shots to fall. (ASU) played a great game, but we really have to buckle down on defense in those last two minutes, and do what we’d been doing all game.”

Humphrey said there’s no added pressure to come back and play in his home area, saying, “We try to keep it like any other road trip.”

Stanford has lost five of its last six games, including back-to-back road defeats in the desert.

“This is a very tough loss to take, but we have to find a way to win these types of games,” Haase said.

Humphrey finished with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Marcus Allen led the Cardinal with 20 points, with Reid Travis adding 17 points and 11 boards. Robert Cartwright finished with five assists and Marcus Sheffield had three of Stanford’s eight steals.

Graham connected on 8 of 15 field goals, including 6 of 11 from behind the 3-point arc, to lead ASU with 24 points. Tra Holder finished with 16 points for the Devils, followed by Justice with 13 and Obinna Oleka with 11. Shannon Evans II added nine points and six assists.

Stanford (12-12 overall, 4-8 Pac-12) outrebounded the Sun Devils 49-27 and forced 17 turnovers. But the Cardinal also committed 21 turnovers themselves, which ASU converted into 23 points.

Almost mirroring the defensive approach used by California earlier in the week, the Cardinal came out and rotated a variety of zone defenses, which Arizona State (11-14 overall, 4-6 Pac-12) failed to solve until midway through the second half.

“I thought we played good defense, both zone and man, hitting the gaps and making it difficult for them,” Humphrey said. “But we still have to do a better job at the end.”

Stanford led 33-32 at halftime and opened the second half with a 13-6 run, building a 46-38 lead with 15:22 remaining when Humphrey was awarded two points on a goaltending call.

The Cardinal took their largest lead of the game at 56-47, using a six-point run on a dunk and layup by Allen and a Travis layup with 9:17 to play.

As Stanford began to cool off offensively, the Sun Devils slowly chipped away at their deficit. With 6:08 left, Justice hit 1 of 2 free throws, and Graham’s put-back on the second free throw tied the game at 59-59, completing a 12-3 ASU run.

Stanford kept the game close until the Sun Devils pulled away in the final seconds. Trailing 71-69 after Graham’s clutch 3-ball, the Cardinal turned the ball over with :16.4 remaining. A pair of free throws by Tra Holder made it a two-possession game with :12.4 left.

With :02.8 remaining, Robert Cartwright missed a desperation 3-point attempt, and Humphrey fouled out chasing the loose rebound.

“It’s never fun to lose, and this is a tough one to take,” Humphrey said. “But like Coach said, we can really learn a lot from it. This is a lesson with two close losses here in Arizona and we have to figure out how to win them down at the end.”

The Cardinal were 4 of 11 on second-half free throws while facing the Curtain of Distraction, which entertained the announced crowd of 8,206.

Stanford returns home on Feb. 17 to host the rematch with California, looking to avenge a 66-59 loss to the Bears on Jan. 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PDT.

TAGS: Stanford men’s basketball,Arizona State,Michael Humphrey,Pac-12 Conference,Sports Radio Service,Daniel Dullum

Stanford forward Reid Travis (22) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona defeated Stanford 74-67. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Despite the score it was a close game between Stanford and Arizona at the McHale Center on Wednesday night in Tucson if you look at it the Cardinal were down by three at the half 35-32 they lost the second half 39-35. You have to contrast that from the first game when they met earlier in the Pac 12 season back on January 1 when Arizona came to Maples Pavilion and won it by 39 points. They blew out the Cardinal on New Years Day but lost by seven on Wednesday night.

Morale victories don’t count but Stanford head coach Jerod Haase has to be pleased with the play of his team. The one thing about this game the Cardinal sent the Wildcats to the free throw line for example Arizona’s leading scorer Allonzo Trier who scored 22 points on the night went to the foul line 12 times and converted 12 times. When the Cardinal played the foul game it really did foul up their chances at closing the gap on the Wildcats.

Jerry Feitelberg podcasts Stanford Cardinal basketball each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com