The Kings playoff dreams take a hit as they lose to the Celtics 111-109

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
BOS buddy
Photo: @NBSCA

By Charlie O

SACRAMENTO– Wednesday night began with great hope for the Kings as they learned Kyrie Irving would not be playing for the Celtics due to a left thigh contusion. The betting lines immediately changed making the Kings the favorites minus two points.

The other advantage the Kings had going into the game with Boston was it was the second game of a back-to-back set on the road for the Celtics. Statistically, that also gives the home team a higher percentage chance of winning the game.

Things were going the Kings way before the game ever tipped-off. Unfortunately for Sacramento fans when the final buzzer sounded, Boston had defeated the Kings 111-109.

Why did the Kings lose?

There were two key factors that cost Sacramento the game:

  • Too many turnovers – The Kings have done an excellent job of taking care of the ball this season. In fact, it has been one of the keys to their success. On Wednesday night, Los Kings turned the ball over 18 times which resulted in 21 points for Boston. For the season, Sacramento has averaged 13.9 turnovers per game.
  • Not taking advantage of the free throw bonus – The Kings put the Celtics into the penalty in the fourth quarter with 8:25 left to play. That should have created a great advantage for Sacramento to exploit by driving to the basket and picking up a bonus free throw by getting fouled. The Kings were unable to do that. After putting Boston in the penalty, the Kings would not shoot a free throw until there was just 3:36 remaining to play. That five-minute gap without a free throw attempt may well have cost Sacramento the game.

Coach Dave Joerger was proud of his team

Kings Top Performers

  • Harrison Barnes came up big for the Kings again as he put 24 points in the book to go with eight rebounds. Barnes hit 8-of-14 field goal attempts including three 3-point baskets.
  • Buddy Hield added 23 points in the game. It was an odd game for Hield. He scored 14 points in the first half, zero points in the third quarter and nine points in the final period. In hustling Hield fashion, he also hauled in eight rebounds.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein scored 19 points, pulled down seven rebounds and added three assists in a very nice game for the center.
  • De’Aaron Fox had a 16 point game to go with his seven assists.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic had an active night recording 14 points against the Celtics. “Bogi” shot 5-for-9 from the floor and four of those buckets were 3-pointers.

De’Aaron Fox said it is always hard to lose a game like this one

Boston Head Coach Brad Stevens on the game

“They (the bounces) weren’t going our way. We had plenty of chances late offensively that just didn’t go down too. (Jayson) Tatum made a huge play – getting foul(ed) and a huge shot. But, we had a number of other possessions that you felt pretty good about that just didn’t go down. (Marcus) Morris made big plays and everybody stepped up to get up a huge win.”

Celtics Top Performers

  • Jayson Tatum had a team-high and tied for the game-high scoring 24 points. He shot 8-for-17 from the field and hit 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
  • Al Horford put 21 points up on the board and made it a double-double game by grabbing 11 rebounds. Horford scored 17 of those points in the second half.
  • Marcus Morris added 19 points for Boston in just over 33-minutes on the floor.
  • Terry Rozier scored 16 points. He put up 10 of those points in the first half and was a real key the Celtics success on offense in the first 24-minutes.
  • Gordon Hayward added 12 points coming off the bench and dished out five assists as well.

The game’s effect on the playoff races

The loss dropped the Kings record to 32-32 for the season and keeps them mired in ninth place in the Western Conference. The Spurs and Clippers are now tied with identical 37-29 records and both hold a four-game lead over the Kings in the standings.

The Celtics record improved to 40-26 with the victory. Boston now has sole possession of sixth-place in the East with a very comfortable 6.5 game lead over seventh-place Detroit. The Celtics are 1.5 games behind fifth-place Philadelphia.

Same two teams next week

The Kings and Celtics will have a rematch next Thursday in Boston. The Celtics could well determine the Kings fate when it comes to making the NBA Playoffs.

Up next

Both teams are off until Saturday.

The Kings will play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden with a 9:00 AM Pacific time tip-off. The early start is necessary because the Rangers have a hockey game that night in the Garden.

Boston is off to Atlanta to face the Hawks to wrap up their road trip.

 

Condors dominate in 8-4 win over Barracuda

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Bakersfield Condors are a reckoning force that can not be stopped. They dominated from start to finish as they scored four unanswered goals in the first period on their way to a commanding 8-4 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at SAP Center.

For Bakersfield they have won 19 of their last 20 games and have a firm grip on the Pacific Division standings with 73 points and a seven point lead on both San Jose and San Diego. The Cuda have lost three in a row for the second time this season.

Bakersfield (35-16-2-1) drew first blood in the first period. Cooper Marody led a two-on-one odd man rush with Tyler Benson after a turnover in the neutral zone. A nice give and go between Benson and Marody resulted in Benson beating Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (11-10-5) to the left side of the net for his 10th goal of the season at 7:49 mark. Kailer Yamamoto received the secondary assist.

The Condors doubled their lead when Marody worked a pretty give and go with Yamamoto. Marody skated in from the right slot and fed a pass over to the Yamamoto at the left faceoff circle and he buried a one-timer past Bibeau for his 10th goal of the season at the 13:12 mark. Logan Day received the secondary assist.

Bakersfield extended their lead over two minutes later. Mitch Callahan chased down a puck near the blue line and sent a wrist shot at the net, where Bibeau initially saved but David Gust, who had crashed the net, was able to gather the rebound and shoot it around Bibeau for his 15th goal of the season at the 15:36 mark. That would be the end of Bibeau’s night as he was replaced by Josef Korenar.

San Jose (30-17-2-4) had a chance to break the seal late in the first period when they had a five-on-three power play, but weren’t able to take advantage of the opportunity once Dylan Gambrell went into the sin bin for interference with just under 30 seconds left on the power play.

“We gotta play better defensively,” said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “You can talk about offense all you want but we can’t give up this many pucks. We’re not stopping shots. We were doing that before. We were getting big saves and we’re not getting that right now.”

The Condors did take advantage with their brief power play opportunity right before the period ended. Caleb Jones sent in a shot from the point where Patrick Russell deflected the puck off Korenar and a crashing Callahan was able to tap in the puck into a wide-open net for his 11th goal of the season at 19:34 mark to end a dominating opening 20 minutes by Bakersfield in which they out shot San Jose 16-7.

Bakersfield kept pouring it on to start the second period. Gust led a two-on-one into the Cuda zone. He lost control of the puck that pinballed in front of the crease off the skate of Evan Polei past Korenar on the short side for his sixth goal of the season at the 2:27 mark.

“It’s really frustrating,” said captain John McCarthy. “We’re going through some adversity which the first half of the year we didn’t have. It’s on us as a group to figure it out. We still got 15 games left (in the season) to turn things around and got ourselves in the playoffs.”

San Jose finally broke through in the second period. TJ Hensick fed a cross ice pass from his own blue line over to a wide open Anti Suomela who skated in alone on a breakaway and beat Condors goalie Shane Starrett (22-4-3) with a wrist shot through the five-hole  for his fifth goal of the season at the 7:25 mark. Cavan Fitzgerald picked up the secondary assist.

Bakersfield regained their five-goal lead right at the end of the middle frame. Gust skated in between the face off circles and sent a pass over to William Lagesson at the left circle and he blasted a slap shot top-self into the far corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season at the 18:42 mark.

San Jose made it interesting in the third period. Jacob Middleton brought the deficit to 6-2 when he won a battle along the left boards. He skated the puck back out to the point where he wristed a shot past Starrett for his fourth goal of the season at 3:16 mark. Jeffery Viel and Jon Martin were credited with assists.

“Scoring goals is always fun,” said Middleton. “But if you can come out on top with a win, it would be a lot more fun. You play to win the game.”

Middleton wasn’t done as just over a minute later he scored his second goal of the evening. He skated into the Condor zone, fed a pass over to Hensick who fed it right back to a Middleton and he snapped a wrist shot past Starrett to the left side of the net for his fifth goal of the season at the 4:21 mark.

“I don’t think we’ve been playing what I like to call Cuda hockey as of late,” said Middleton. “I think we’ve been letting other teams slow us down and box us out. If we get back to doing what made us successful (earlier in the season), it will be good and that is a necessity at this point of the season.”

San Jose scored its third unanswered goal of the period when Francis Perron sent in a shot from the left point that caromed off the back boards onto the stick of Alex True who fed a sweet backhand pass over to Dylan Gambrell all alone on the left side of the net. Gambrell buried the puck past Starrett for his 16th goal of the season at the 10:21 mark.

Bakersfield regained a three-goal lead when Gust sent in a shot from the point that ricochet off Korenar and Ethan Bear onto the stick of Polei. After three whacks at the pick, Polei scored his second goal of the evening and seventh goal of the season at the 13:22 mark.

“Yeah, big time!” said a frustrated Sommer when asked if his team’s losing streak is a result of not paying attention to details. “We got a lot of guys that aren’t committed to playing the way we were playing before that’s for sure.”

Joe Gambradella completed the scoring with an empty netter for his team leading 27th goal of the season at the 17:45 mark.

Starrett finished the game making 33 saves on 37 shots to earn the victory. Bibeau gave up three goals on just 12 shots. Korenar (19-7-1) suffered the loss as he made 13 saves on 17 shots in mop-up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/4 on the power play. Bakersfield was 1/2.

San Jose has lost the last four games to Bakersfield and are 3-3-1-1 on the season against their Pacific Division rival.

The announced attendance was 2,360.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Condors on Saturday 3/9 in the second game of a five game homestand at 6:00 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose State loses to Wyoming 81-71 in final home game of the season

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State men’s basketball wrapped up the 2019 home slate with a … Wednesday night in the Event Center.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup featuring Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Ashtin Chastain, Michael Steadman and Zach Chappell.

Prior to the tipoff, SJSU honored senior Oumar Barry. Barry signed a National Letter of Intent with the Spartans in 2017 after stops at DePaul University from 2015-16 and Iowa Junior College from 2016-17. Barry graduated from Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. Barry was also a top-10 rated high school prospect in Virginia.

The Spartans won the tip and the game went underway. Jake Hendricks got the party started by hitting a 3-pointer and giving the Cowboys a 3-0 lead at the 18:47 mark of the first half. Then, SJSU got on the board when Chastain shot a free throw to cut Wyoming’s lead to 3-1 just 30 seconds later.

But the Cowboys poured in the points for a little over four minutes until Baumann hit a 3 to end the Spartans’ scoring drought at the 12:46 mark. As a result, Baumann extended his school record to 27 consecutive games with a 3. SJSU proceeded to pick up the pace as Baumann hit a 3, LeCesne made a layup and Ivey hit a 3. LeCesne shot a pair of free throws, Christian Anigwe threw down a dunk and Baumann hit a 3 to bring the Spartans within seven, 28-21, with 8:14 left.

There was still some hope in SJSU, who was down by 10, 31-21, but Baumann came to the rescue with back to back 3s to bring the Spartans within four, 31-27, with 6:16 left. Baumann made it a one-point game with a 3 and LeCesne made a layup to help the Spartans snatch a 32-31 lead with 4:19 left.

The two-minute mark proved to be the introduction to a back and forth affair between the two teams. Justin James shot three free throws in a row to put the Cowboys back on top 36-35, but Steadman knocked down a jumper in the paint to help the Spartans regain the lead, 37-36, but Wyoming was back in the game with back to back 3s by James and A.J. Banks. SJSU trailed 42-37 at halftime.

Once again, Hendricks opened the scoring by shooting a free throw just nine seconds into the second half, but Baumann hit a 3 to bring the Spartans within three, 43-40, at the 19:21 mark. The score remained close until Hendricks shot a fastbreak free throw to put the Cowboys ahead 50-44 at the 16:43 mark. That was the start of the Cowboys’ 5-0 run that extended their lead by 10, 54-44, at the 14:40 mark. Isaiah Nichols ended the Cowboys’ run with a layup in the paint along with a free throw just 35 seconds later. Ivey added a fastbreak free throw to bring the Spartans within eight, 54-48, at the 13:32 mark.

Despite the fact SJSU inched their way into the game, Wyoming was a tough customer. The Spartans pulled within six, 56-50, thanks to Steadman’s jumper at the 12:55 mark. Baumann shot a pair of free throws to keep the Spartans within six, 58-52, at the 10:23 mark, but his personal efforts weren’t enough to suppress the Cowboys.

SJSU went on a 6-0 run, courtesy of Steadman’s jumper, Baumann’s pair of free throws, Ivey’s jumper and Chastain’s layup. SJSU’s run was ended by James’ dunk with 4:59 left.

Steadman shot a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game, but Hendricks hit a 3 to put the Cowboys back on top 68-64 with 4:33 left.

Fast forward to the two-minute mark when the Cowboys pretty much took over. Particularly, Hendricks, who hit two 3s, and James, who shot four free throws — two fastbreak and two regular. Banks added three throws — two regular and one fastbreak — to make it a 10-point game with 45 seconds left. Steadman knocked down a jumper in the paint to avoid a double-digit loss, but his efforts were ruined by the Cowboys, who added in a pair of fastbreak free throws to hand the Spartans a 81-71 loss.

SJSU falls to 4-25, 1-16 MW, while Wyoming improves to 7-23, 3-14 MW.

SJSU concludes the 2019 season with a road game at rival Fresno State Saturday, March 9 at 4:00 pm on the Mountain West Network.

Headline Sports with London Marq: More trouble as Giants outfielder arrested for DUI, Will Baer’s situation be a distraction for Giants?; Kings lose two close ones against NBA’s best; plus more

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mug shot photo by Scottsdale Police and sfgate.com: In this Friday, March 1, 2019, photo provided by the Scottsdale Police Department, San Francisco Giants outfielder Cameron Maybin is shown in a booking photo in Scottsdale, Ariz. Police said Tuesday that the 31-year-old was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 If things couldn’t get worse for the San Francisco Giants, Giants outfielder Cameron Maybin was arrested at 2:30 am on Friday morning for DUI. He was driving in Scottsdale when he was pulled over by an officer who said he smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. Maybin was arrested and released two hours later. The team said they are monitoring the situation and had no comment.

#2 With San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer being in the headlines this week, could this be a distraction for the team in spring training?

#3 How despite losing, the Sacramento Kings played some very close games with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks this past week?

#4 Chaquita Evans became the first woman to be drafted by an NBA team in the NBA 2K league. Does this signal that more women could be playing in the NBA?

#5 The Oakland Raiders and the Oakland Coliseum Authority authorized a two-year deal on Tuesday for the Raiders to stay at the Coliseum for 2019. The team will pay $7.5 million and 2020 is an option year at the cost of $9.5 million. The Raiders are still being sued by the City of Oakland as they’re moving to Las Vegas and will leave the city in a financial lurch as the lawsuit claims.

London Marq does Headline Sports each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Men’s basketball looks forward to closing out the season; Football culture is a priority; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and @SJSUSpartanFB

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. SJSU got blown out by SDSU 84-56 last Saturday.

2. SJSU will host Wyoming tonight.

3. Beyond Football has been shaping a culture at SJSU.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda looking to make amends Wednesday night after rough weekend

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (30-16-2-4) had a breakdown in their defense on Friday and Saturday, losing by scores of 8-4 and 5-2 to the Ontario Reign on Friday and Bakersfield Condors (34-16-2-1) on Saturday.

#2 On Saturday, things didn’t get better as Bakersfield scored two goals in the first period to open up the game.

#3 The Barracuda used goaltender Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (19-6-1), but Bakersfield was crashing the nets all game long. Was Korenar just having an off night or did the Condors prepare for this one against the Barracuda?

#4  Condor goalie Shane Starrett (21-4-3) saved 32 of 34 San Jose shots in the three goal win.

#5 The Bakersfield Condors are back this time at SAP Center in San Jose. Can the Barracuda turn it around?

Marko Ukalovic covers the SJ Barracuda and does the Barracuda podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Celtics blow out the Warriors at Oracle 128-95

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Boston Celtics, a team that has not lived up to expectations this season, came into Oracle Arena Tuesday night and handed the Warriors their worst loss at home in the Steve Kerr era. The Warriors fell behind once again in the first half. In the last 10 games, the Warriors trailed by more than 10 points after the first 24 minutes of action. It was worse Tuesday night as they trailed Boston by 25 73-48 at the intermission.

The Celtics dominated the Warriors on both ends of the court. They made 29 shots from the field while the Warriors made 15. They made 8 threes. The Warriors made 6. The Celtics had 22 rebounds, the Warriors had 17. The Celtics had 23 assists on 29 buckets. The Warriors had 11. The Celtics had six steals, the Warriors 2. The Celtics turned the ball over six times, the Warriors 12. The W’s did not make a field goal in the last 3:53 of the second quarter. Gordon Hayward, coming off the bench and looking like the Gordon Hayward that was an All-Star when he was with the Utah Jazz, knocked down 19. Kyrie Irving had 11, Jayson Tatum 12, and Jalen Brown 9.  Steph Curry led Golden State with 19. Kevin Durant had 10, Draymond Green 5, and the Warrior bench added 12.

The Warriors played a little better in the third quarter. They scored 28 points, but they lost ground as Boston scored 32. The Celtics had a commanding 105-76 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Kerr waved the white flag as he pulled all of his starters except DeMarcus Cousins. The Boston reserves outscored the W’s backup guys 23-19 to win going away 128-95

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors lost for the fifth time in the last eight games. They are 44-20 for the year and are still 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver for first place in the Western Conference. The Warriors face the Nuggets Friday night at Oracle. The Celtics improved to 39-26 and are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Warriors were missing Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney due to injury. Shaun Livingston had the night off. Curry led the W’s with 23. Durant had 18 and Cousins finished with 10. No other Warrior was in double figures. Boston had five players in double-digits. Gordin Hayward had 30. He was the third Celtic player this season to come off the bench and score more than 30 points. Kyrie Irving 19, Jalen Brown, the ex-Cal Bear, had 18, Jayson Tatum 17, And Marcus Morris 10.

The Celtics made 49 baskets compared to the Warriors’ 34. They were 14-for-34 from three-point range. The Warriors made eight threes in 35 attempts. The Celtics dominated on defense with 12 steals and five blocks and forced the Warriors to commit 21 turnovers.

The Warriors are reported to be interested in signing Andrew Bogut as a backup center. Bogut was the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the Australian League. He has stated that he is interested in returning to the NBA and has to clear up some issues with a visa before he can join the Warriors. He should be here in about 10 days if he decides to accept the Warriors’ offer.

Up Next: for the Warriors will be Friday night when they face the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.

The Raiders should call the Steelers for Antonio Brown

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Photo credit: musiccitymiracles.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

There have been multiple reports in recent days that the Raiders would be interested in trading for Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, which Oakland should do in a heartbeat. Armed with three first-round picks in this April’s NFL draft and flushed with nearly $73 million in salary cap space per Overthecap.com, the Raiders can send one of those picks to Pittsburgh and pay the going rate for the dynamic Brown.

Imagine quarterback Derek Carr throwing touchdowns to a wide receiver like Brown?

Carr threw for 4,049 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season, much of that with insufficient talent at wide receiver. After the team traded away Amari Cooper to Dallas near midseason, free-agent addition Jordy Nelson was slowed by injuries for much of the season.

In fact, Carr’s most trusted receiver in 2018 was tight end Jared Cook, who had a career-year across the board. Cook had career-highs in catches (68), yards (896) and touchdowns (six) is an unrestricted free-agent and chances of him returning to the Silver and Black are a possibility.

But Antonio Brown would give Carr a legit weapon that other teams would have to fear. Brown has the ability to score from anywhere on the football field and the way that Raiders head coach Jon Gruden can design plays, getting Brown the ball shouldn’t be a problem.

Brown finished with 104 catches for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns, which led the NFL in 2018. Last season was the sixth-straight season that Brown recorded at least 100 catches, an NFL record per the Elias Sports Bureau.

With the Steelers reportedly seeking a first-round pick, the Raiders could ship either their own No. 4, or the No. 24 (from Chicago) or the No. 27 (from Dallas) respectively to Pittsburgh for Brown.

Just a thought, but the Raiders should make the move.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: What has happened to Golden State?; No stupid move on Phils part getting Harper; As Bumgarner goes so does Giants pitching staff: plus more

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Photo credit: @warriors

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 The Golden State Warriors, who had lost four of their last six games, got a stunning win in Philadelphia against the 76ers 120-117. The Warriors needed the win to stay on top in the Western Conference. They now lead the Denver Nuggets by 1 1/2 games who the Warriors play on Friday. They also struggled against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night and play the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

#2 Was it stupid or did it make sense for the Philadelphia Phillies to sign Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million deal?

#3 How much of a measuring stick will San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner be and how effective will he be for the Giants?

#4 Down to 45 players on the spring roster, the Oakland A’s need to cut 20 more players before the regular season starts. How much confidence do you have Bob Melvin’s selections when the regular season nears?

#5 The A’s haven’t given up on Kyler Murray. They feel he will come back to baseball and it’s their hope he will play ball for them. What are the chances?

Barbara Mason is filling in for That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford closes out the season against Cal Thursday night

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball fought all the way, but came up just short in Sunday’s 62-61 loss to the Washington Huskies at Maples Pavilion. Stanford had a chance to win on the game’s final possession, but KZ Okpala’s shot at the buzzer was no good and Stanford fell to Washington.

Josh Sharma scored 16 to go along with 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, before Washington forced a pair of turnovers in the final 2:37 to gain an advantage. A Sharma basket put Stanford back on top with 1:51 to go, but Washington got consecutive baskets from Nowell to go on top for good.

Oscar da Silva added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal.

Now, Stanford (15-14, 8-9 Pac-12) has another conference foe, Cal (7-22, 2-15 Pac-12), to host at Maples Thursday night. Well, it’s not going to be friendly, as these two teams are conference foes and the same thing will be applied to their respective fanbases. Stanford has one goal in mind and that’s to beat Cal, but that’s easier said than done. Although Cal is the equivalent of San Jose State in the Pac-12, Cal might unleash their anger on Stanford. But you never know which Stanford team will show up so this may turn out to be a down-to-the-wire Pac-12 clash.

By the way, Stanford teamed up with Coaching for Literacy in Sunday’s game. Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase and company wore green ties, lapel pins and wristbands to raise awareness and support the #Fight4Literacy cause.

Oh, and before I forget, Cardinal guard Cormac Ryan ranks third among freshmen in school history with 47 three-pointers.