Tag: NCAA Basketball

NCAAB podcast with Michelle Richardson: Duke anxious to get Williamson back; Knight’s health in decline; Could Howard be effective in postseason?

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On the NCAAB podcast with Michelle:

#1 Just getting an update from Michelle on the Duke Blue Devils’ Zion Williamson, who is out with a mild right knee sprain. Williamson has missed three games since his shoe exploded on him last week. Duke lost to Virginia Tech and beat Syracuse since Williamson has been out.

#2 Former Indiana head coach 78-year-old Bobby Knight is reportedly declining and he’s suffering from a cognitive disorder. He fears his memory is fading on him.

#3 The Howard Bison are a near .500 team. They have won four out of their last six games and have two games left in the season. What do you look for in the Bison going into the postseason?

Michelle does the NCAAB podcasts Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford continues homestand against No. 25 Washington on Sunday afternoon

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball lit up the scoreboard, got the conference win and snapped a two-game losing skid with a 98-50 rout of the Washington State Cougars inside Maples Pavilion Thursday evening. Moreover, it’s safe to say that the Cardinal clobbered the Cougars after suffering back-to-back defeats in the Grand Canyon State at the hands of the Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats on February 20th and February 24th.

In the win over WSU, Stanford (15-13, 8-8 Pac-12) was led by KZ Okpala, who scored 22 points.

“I made the right plays tonight,” Okpala said. “We were all locked in with each other. We came out and did what we had to do.”

Cormac Ryan hit four 3-pointers as well. This led to the Cardinal earning their chance to extend their winning streak against the Cougars to six games.

“I thought our energy level was off the charts,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said. “I loved our energy defensively.”

No. 25 Washington watched their three-game winning streak come to an end Thursday night as the Cardinal’s rival, the Cal Golden Bears, edged the road team 76-73 for the upset. Not only that, Cal finally snapped their 16-game losing skid, which was a great feeling for the players and coaches to say the very least. But as you might’ve guessed, this will likely be a challenge for Stanford, who has been rather wishy-washy this season. Stanford can put on a show or simply freeze into ice on the hardwood.

The Cardinal’s second to last home game at Maples will be against No. 25 Washington Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm PST on the Pac-12 Network. Yes, Stanford has home court advantage, but there’s a reason or two on why Washington found its way back into the AP polls, so the Cardinal has to put on another spectacular performance to prove that they can, too, be a hot-shooting team.

I predict that the Cardinal will fall to No. 25 Washington 75-73. After all, No. 25 Washington likely wants to be crowned as Pac-12 Champions. All they need is one win in the Bay Area to do just that.

San Jose State looks to make it two wins in a row at San Diego State on Saturday

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By: Ana Kieu

The dog days for San Jose State men’s basketball finally came to a screeching halt Tuesday night when the home team shockingly picked up its first conference win of the season 89-82 over the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center. As expected, the crowd was loud, but it was pretty much Spartan alumni and/or season-ticket holders. Hopefully, more current SJSU students flock to these games, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at what to expect in Saturday’s road game.

At a Glance
SJSU, fresh off their first conference win of the season, will look to keep the momentum rolling as they face San Diego State Saturday inside Viejas Arena. Fans can catch the game on Fox Sports San Diego or Mountain West Network. As always, Justin Allegri will provide the Spartan radio call on the TuneIn app.

Game No. 28
SJSU (4-23, 1-14) at SDSU (18-10, 10-5)
Saturday, March 2, 7:00 pm PST
Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, 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.

What Would a Win Mean?
The Spartans are looking for win No. 5 on the season, which would be the most in the last two season since going 14-16 in 2016-17. A win over the Aztecs would also be the second in conference play, also the most since winning seven in 2016-17.

Recapping Game One vs. SDSU
Game one of the two-game series this season against the Aztecs resulted in an 11-point loss inside the Event Center. SJSU played well enough to win, but was unable to hold off SDSU as they took advantage of three Spartan turnovers in a span of three minutes to take a 13-point lead. SJSU was unable to make up the ground and fell 67-56.

Craig LeCesne (14) and Brae Ivey (12) led the Spartans in scoring, while Michael Steadman pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds.

Reviewing the Big Win
SJSU’s 89-82 win over UNM was a historic night inside the Event Center. Not only did it break a 17-game losing streak, it also boasted a plethora of records.

» The win was the second all-time against the Lobos and the first-ever in San Jose.

» Noah Baumann broke his own school record with eight 3-pointers on 8-of-12 shooting. He finished with a team-best 26 points.

» Brae Ivey tied a school record with six steals on the evening. He was one of multiple players to tally six steals, but just the first since Justin Graham versus the Santa Clara Broncos on December 10, 2010.

» Michael Steadman had his second-straight game with 21 points as well as his second-straight double-double. He had 10 made field goals and 20 field goal attempts, both the most by a Spartan this season.

» Steadman and Baumann became the first duo to score 20 points this season and were the first since Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman versus Wyoming in the Mountain West Tournament last season (3/7/18).

Nice Newcomers
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 69.9% of the Spartans’ offense (1,243-1,778).

Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the Spartans’ offense with 362 points (20.3%).

Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann has been shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the MW in 3-point percentage (46.5%). Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.5).

Baumann set a new school record of 22 consecutive games with a 3-point bucket made against UNLV on Feb. 16, breaking a tie with Robert Owens, who closed out 2009-10 on a 21-game streak, for the new record. His streak is currently at 25.

In the loss to Utah State, Baumann had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he scored a career-high 29 points and tied the then-school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.

Baumann has hit the school record in 3-point makes twice the season, the second time, however, versus New Mexico, he broke the record outright with eight. He finished 8-of-12 from the 3-point range to lead the Spartans to a win over New Mexico.

Baumann holds the first and seconnd highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 versus Utah State and 26 versus New Mexico. The sophomore is averaging 10.7 points in MW play, second-most on the team (Steadman). He’s also second to Steadman with 11.6 points in the last five games.

The Zach Chappell Show
Freshman Zach Chappell has come on strong as of late, starting the last five games and averaging 9.4 points in those starts. Against UNLV, Chappell finished with 11 points, a career-high six rebounds and nine assists — tied for the most by a Spartan this season. He had 10 points versus Colorado State.

In the win over New Mexico, Chappell finished with a career-high 17 points and dished out 9 assists. He now has two games with 9 assists on the season, which was tied with Craig LeCesne for the most by any Spartan.

Chastain in Charge
Junior center Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup with senior Oumar Barry sidelined by injury. Chastain has started the last 10 games in his stead.

Ch-Ch-Changes
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.

Hidden Gem
Despite losing 90-71 to CSU, the Spartans may have found a hidden gem in the form of junior walk-on Brian Rodriguez-Flores, who played 17 minutes and scored a season-high 13 points. He followed with a season-best 33 minutes at Air Force, where he was the first player off the bench and finished with 12 points.

Starry Knight
Freshman guard Seneca Knight has upped his game recently. In the last five games, he has been averaging 9.6 points, third-best on the team in that stretch. Against Colorado State, he led the team with a 14 point performance. He followed with 12 points at Air Force.

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 13.4 points per game and ranks sixth in the MW with 8.4 rebounds per game. He has nine double-doubles on the season, ranking fourth in the conference and has scored in double figures in 20-of-27 games. He also has 12 games with double-digit rebounds.

Steadman leads the Spartans with five games with at least 20 points, and has twice achieved the feat in back-to-back efforts. First was against AF and USU. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to AF. He then followed up with 20 points at USU.

Steadman has also achieved the feat in the last two games, starting with a career-best 17 rebounds and 21 points at AF. In his last outing, he finished once again with 21 points and pulled down 11 boards in the win over UNM.

Steadman is averaging 14. 8 points per game in the last five games and is averaging 13.4 in MW games.

Change It Up
Prioleau has used 10 different lineups throughout the season with no one player starting each time out. Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup the last four games. Seven newcomers have made starts, including freshmen Seneca Knight, Zach Chappell, Trey Smith and Christian Anigwe.

Baumann and Steadman Remain as Keys
In SJSU’s four wins this season, there have been two critical factors: Noah Baumann and Michael Steadman.

In those four games, the pair is averaging 15.3 points each. Steadman has pulled down 11.3 rebounds in those games while Baumann has been red-hot from the 3-point range in each game, averaging 69.6% from the 3-point range (16-23).

On the Board(s)
SJSU ranks third in the MW in offensive boards with 11.0 per game and rank sixth in defensive boards with 26.0.

Series History: SDSU
The Aztecs lead the series by a slim margin 39-35, but have claimed nine of the last 10, including the last three. The Spartans’ last win came on February 7, 2017 at home 76-71. Prior to that win, SDSU had a seven-game win streak, the second-longest streak in the series. The longest such streak belongs to the Spartans, who won nine straight from 1948-1952. SDSU won the first game against SJSU this season 67-56 in San Jose.

The Aztecs, under second-year head coach Brian Dutcher, enter Saturday’s game on a one-game losing skid after USU knocked them off of a five-game winning streak 70-54 in Logan, Utah.

SDSU excels at shooting the 3-ball. They rank second in the MW in 3-point percentage with a 36.6% clip and also rank third in 3-point defense (33.0%). The lethal scoring duo of Jalen McDaniels and Devin Watson will once again prove to be a huge test against SJSU as they each rank in the top-10 in the MW in scoring. The duo combined for 49 points the first time the teams met in February (Watson: 27, McDaniels: 22).

Baumann Chases History
Noah Baumann is having a season to remember in his second season as the Spartans’ sharpshooter. In addition to breaking two school records already (consecutive games with a 3 and single-game 3-pointers), he is quickly ascending the single-season mark for made 3-pointers.

Baumann is 67-of-144 from the 3-point range with three regular season games to go. His 67 makes currently rank as the seventh most in school history.

SJSU Single-Season 3-Point Record Leaders
1. Robert Owens (2010) … 78
2. Rashad Muhammad (2014) … 75
3. Billy Landrum (2000) … 74
4. Adrian Oliver (2011) … 70
5. Tim Pierce (2008) … 69
6. Mac Peterson (2010) … 68
7. Noah Baumann (2019) … 67

Baumann’s 46.5% 3-point percentage is also on pace to break his own school record set last season (46.0%).

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey Friedman: Start to finish, Cardinal don’t let up WSU in 48-point blowout

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Photo credit: @Pac12Network

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey:

#1 From start to finish, the Stanford Cardinal (15-13) left little doubt about this game with the Washington State University Cougars (11-17) as the Cardinal won it by 48 points at Maples Pavilion Thursday night.

#2 KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 22 points and was a key factor for the big margin win for the Cardinal.

#3 The Cardinal’s Isaac White and Cormac Ryan both finished second in scoring with 14 points they were finding their accuracy in this game.

#4 There was no mercy rule in this one Stanford head coach Jerod Haase milked it for all it’s worth getting all the offense he could out of the players.

#5 The Washington Huskies are up next Sunday at Maples and they are not a pushover, ranked 25th in the nation and first in the Pac-12. Will the Cardinal have their hands full or will they be able to hang with the Huskies?

Joey does the Cardinal podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Dog Days Are Over: Cal clips the Huskies to end 16-game losing streak

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Washington coach Mike Hopkins may have been the first to grasp what was transpiring when he called a pair of early timeouts to express his exasperation with the indifference his Huskies were displaying on defense.

Ultimately, Hopkins’ timeouts didn’t work.

The Cal Bears, off a favorable start, wavered briefly before halftime, only to recover and hand Pac-12 leading Washington a damaging 76-73 loss that will weigh heavily with the NCAA selection committee. Immediately, Cal’s win ends their 16-game losing streak that had outweighed any positives Wyking Jones’ team had gathered in a trying season.

“We knew we had it in us. We just had to find it,” said Connor Vanover. “It took awhile, but now I think moving forward we will have a clear head. If we can beat Washington, why not anyone else?”

Meanwhile, Washington found little consolation in winning the conference regular season title despite the loss when their closest pursuers, Oregon State and Arizona State, both loss on Thursday.

“We didn’t respect the game,” Crisp said. “We didn’t respect our opponent. We just expected we would come out and win the game. Obviously, you’re never going to win basketball games like that.”

The Bears bothered Washington early with a 2-3 zone that forced the Huskies into some careless turnovers, and quick, fruitless possessions. The Bears took the lead, 19-16, on Paris Austin’s 3-pointer with 11:57 remaining before halftime.

Any scenario seeing the Bears end their lengthy losing streak would have to involve an offensive explosion since the nation’s 313th-ranked defense was unlikely to make a difference at the Pac-12 level. And that formula played out as Darius McNeill,  Connor Vanover and Justice Sueing combined for 51 points, and the team shot 55 percent from the floor, and 53 percent from distance. The Bears shared the ball, solving Washington’s frequent use of a 2-3 zone.

“They kept their composure,” Jones said of his Bears’ poise down the stretch. “We turned it over a couple times, late, and they did as well, but the guys just continued to believe, more than anything. Connor continues to shine and kind of give us all a preview of how good he can be.”

And most importantly, the Huskies were limited, failing to produce a run that could create some separation on the scoreboard.

Instead, the Huskies blinked, scoring just four points in the final 5:03 of the game, allowing Cal to protect a paper-thin lead.

With Washington misfiring, the Bears got their final basket from Vanover with 3:26 remaining. Three made free throws broke the tie and gave Cal a lead they would protect.

The Huskies missed three shots in the final minute, including a good look from David Crisp at the buzzer. Crisp led all scorers with 32 points, but only 5 of those 32 came in the final 12 minutes of the game.

“We’ve done about everything wrong in the last couple games where we give up the lead within the last five minutes,” Sueing said. “Going into this game, we were used to having that close, intense matchup. We made it a thing to make sure we stayed together and fight until the end.”

“You got to play with passion and have a chip on our shoulder with every possession and we didn’t have that tonight,” Hopkins said. “We didn’t have basic principles. We were breaking down and you can’t do that with your foundation.”

Cal hosts Washington State on Saturday, their final home game before they close the regular season at Stanford on March 9.

Stanford routs WSU at Maples 98-50

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

by Joey Friedman

PALO ALTO — The Stanford Cardinal (15-13, 8-8 in Pac-12) routed the Washington State Cougars (11-17, 4-11) by a final score of 98-50 on Thursday night after dropping two consecutive road games to the Arizona schools last weekend. They looked to redeem themselves against the 11th-seeded Cougars with the Pac-12 tournament just a 3-game home-stand away.

Stanford looked focused on both offense and defense to start the game. On the back of 6 forced turnovers, 4 steals, and 3 blocks and they stretched their lead to 24 points with the score 31-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half. In that time, Cormac Ryan made 3 of his first 4 three-pointers and KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 11 points. Okpala finished the half with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Ryan, battling two ailing ankles, played tonight game assisted by what appeared to be heavy-duty ankle braces.

Sophomore point guard Daejon Davis injured his knee midway through the first half. Although he didn’t return to the court, he did return to the bench with crutches later on. No update had been made available since.

Stanford’s lead only grew, as everything appeared to be going right for the Cardinal. They took a 52-15 lead to the locker room at the half. Stanford converted a remarkable 64% (7-12) of their three-pointers in the first half after combining for a 15% 3 pointer percentage in the two games against the Arizona schools on the road last week. They also smothered the Cougars who shot just 23% from the field in the first half and were kept scoreless from beyond the arc (0-8).

The second half was more of the same. Sophomore Isaac White hit 3 3-pointers of his own in the second half. He finished the game tied with Cormac Ryan for second on the team in points with 14.

Freshman Jaiden Delaire finished with 12 points, 8 of which came in the second half. Fellow freshman Bryce Wills also finished in double digits with 10 points to pair with 5 assists. Senior Josh Sharma had 8 points and 7 rebounds while freshman Lukas Kisunas had a career-high 7 rebounds. Two of Stanford starters, Deajon Davis and Oscar Da Silva, didn’t score.

Stanford finished the game shooting 60% from the field and 54% from 3-point range. Stanford also collected a total of 20 assists. They forced 15 WSU turnovers and collected 26 points off those turnovers as a result. Head coach Jerod Hasse praised Stanford’s energy level tonight, especially on defense.

What’s Next?
Stanford will host the 25th ranked Washington Huskies on Sunday at 1:00 PM before they host the rival Cal Bears to close out the season. Washington is the 1-seed in the Pac-12 and the only school in the conference to be ranked.

Washington State will travel across The Bay to the 12-seed California Bears on Sunday at 4:00 PM before they host the Oregon schools to close out the regular season.

29 San Jose State football players named to Academic All-Mountain West Team for Fall 2018

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

An all-time high 57 San Jose State student-athletes from five sports were named to the Fall 2018 Academic All-Mountain West team.

The 57 student-athletes are an all-time high at SJSU for this past fall, including an all-time high 29 Spartan football players. SJSU has the second-most football award winners in the MW.

Spartan volleyball had nine players honored, tying for the most honored since joining the MW in 2013. Women’s soccer had nine players honored, followed by women’s cross country at six and men’s cross country at four.

Five Spartan student-athletes received their fourth Academic All-MW honor — Luiza Andrade (volleyball), Darriell Franklin (women’s soccer), Craig Huff (men’s cross country), Josh Oliver (football) and Jeanette Zambrano (women’s cross country). Seven students-athletes received honors for the third time in their career, while 13 Spartans earned Academic All-MW recognition for the second year. 32 achieved the recognition for the first time in their career.

“We are elated to recognize a record-number of Spartans who exemplified academic prowess this past fall,” said Eileen Daley, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic and Student Services. “We reach these goals by setting high standards, providing academic support and genuinely investing in the academic achievement of our student-athletes. The ongoing partnerships with our academic team, coaches and student-athletes have led to this success. This Mountain West recognition also provides incentive for more student-athletes to continue their hard work and effort in the hopes of standing among their peers as Scholar-Athletes.”

To earn Academic All-MW recognition, a student-athlete must complete at least one semester, maintain a 3.00 or better cumulative GPA and participate in at least 50% of the contests for the season.

A league-record 703 student-athletes have been named to the Fall 2018 Academic All-MW team. Sports recognized include men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Former linebacker soaks in first AAF win; Hapless an understatement for men’s basketball; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB and @frankginda05

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. Frank Ginda, a former Spartan linebacker, and the San Diego Fleet soaked in their first AAF (Alliance for American Football) win 24-12 over the Atlanta Legends on Sunday, February 17th.

2. SJSU lost its 16th in a row last Wednesday 91-70 at home against the Colorado State Rams.

3. What were your thoughts on SJSU’s games against Air Force and New Mexico?

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

SJSU earns first conference win of the season

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball resumed their hunt for their first conference win of the 2019 season Tuesday evening. SJSU hosted the New Mexico Lobos inside the Event Center. There was a healthy mix of both Spartans and Lobos fans in attendance, which was a highlight considering the fact that the Spartans haven’t really sold out in recent years.

Prior to the tipoff, SJSU announced a starting lineup featuring Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Ashtin Chastain, Michael Steadman and Zach Chappell. That was a solid lineup. It was just a matter of fact of whether or not the Spartans were able to hold on to secure a win.

UNM got on the board first as Carlton Bragg made a layup to open the scoring. SJSU then snatched a 3-2 lead on Baumann’s 3-pointer just 15 seconds later. Baumann extended his school record to 25 consecutive games with a 3. Steadman followed up with a layup and Chappell hit a 3 to make it a 8-2 game at the 18-minute mark.

The game turned into a back and forth affair. UNM knocked back to back jumpers by Corey Manigault and Makuach Maluach, and SJSU was within four after Chastain made a layup.

SJSU got ahead 14-7 on back-to-back jumpers by Steadman and Chastain. Sure, Keith McGee helped keep the score close for UNM with a 3 and fastbreak layup, but Steadman continued to dominate on the hardwood with a layup, jumper in the paint and vice versa. Christian Anigwe also dominated with a pair of free throws to make it a 20-14 game at the 12:27 mark.

The game remained in a back and forth affair. The Lobos’ offense heated up, but the Spartans refused to back down, making it a 1-point game, thanks to Chappell’s 3 with 7:14 left.

Chappell helped the Spartans grab a 31-30 lead with 6:24 left, but it was short-lived as the Lobos got ahead 32-31 on Manigault’s jumper in the paint 15 seconds later.

Baumann came to the rescue with two 3s in less than a minute to give the Spartans a 37-34 lead with 4:36 left. But the Lobos persisted on Manigault’s jumper and McGee’s 3 for a 39-37 lead with 3:59 left.

Steadman made a game-tying layup and Rodriguez-Flores knocked down a jumper to put the Spartans ahead 41-39 with 2:48 left. But the lead was short-lived as Bragg made a layup to tie the game and Anthony Mathis hit a 3 before drawing a foul that allowed Chappell to make two free throws. Chappell made one free throw to bring SJSU within two. Steadman added a game-tying jumper to tie the score 24 seconds later.

UNM regained the lead 46-44 on Manigault’s layup, but Baumann hit a 3, and as a result, SJSU salvaged a 47-46 lead to end the first. The Spartans had their best shooting this season — 19 of 31 or 69% — in the first.

SJSU opened the second half with a dramatic flair as Steadman made a fastbreak free throw, Chastain knocked down a jumper in the paint and Knight hit a 3 — all in 28 seconds.

But like the first half, the game was in a back and forth affair that saw multiple ties and leads. UNM pulled within three on Mathis’ pair of free throws and Malauch’s layup in just three seconds. SJSU went ahead 60-52, thanks to Chastain’s pair of free throws along with Baumann’s 3, by the 15:34 mark. Chappell gave the Spartans a 10-point lead 62-52 with a fastbreak layup at the 14:33 mark. Baumann hit a 3 to make it a 65-52 game 24 seconds later.

SJSU went on a 9-0 run that lasted a little over two minutes. Chastain made a pair of free throws, Baumann hit two 3s and Chappell made a fastbreak layup. Bragg made a layup at the 13:12 mark to end the Spartans’ run.

Steadman knocked down a jumper to help the Spartans to a 70-62 lead with 8:38 left. The Lobos pulled within five on Manigault’s layup and free throw. Baumann, however, hit back to back 3s to make it a 76-65 game with 7:35 left.

SJSU went cold and was unable to score for a little over six minutes. Brae Ivey’s layup extended the Spartans’ lead to 78-71 with 1:22 left, but the Lobos pulled within seven on McGee’s layup just eight seconds later.

The game went down to the wire. Chappell made two pairs of fastbreak free throws. McGee made a layup. McGee hit a 3. Ivey made a pair of fastbreak free throws. Baumann made a pair of fastbreak free throws. Anigwe threw down a dunk in the paint. Anigwe made a free throw and missed the other. Malauch hit a 3. SJSU held on for a 89-82 win for their first conference win of the season and snapped their 17-game losing skid in the process.

SJSU heads to SDSU for a conference matchup on Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm PT.

Stanford kicks off final homestand of the season vs. Washington State Thursday

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: Ana Kieu

Last week, Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball toured the Grand Canyon State with two conference matchups against the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz. on February 20th and the Arizona Wildcats in nearby Tuscon, Ariz. on February 24th, respectively. Stanford got swept by both teams by the final scores of 80-62 and 70-54 in that order. It was unfortunate as the Cardinal had just built up a two-game win streak in Palo Alto, Calif. prior to boarding the two flights. But what can the team do? They can only move on and learn from previous mistakes.

Anyways, Stanford (14-13, 7-8 Pac-12) has been slated to open the final homestand of the season at Maples Pavilion. Game one has been scheduled for Thursday evening versus the Washington State Cougars, who currently sit second to last in the conference with a 11-16, 4-10 Pac-12 record, at 6:00 pm PT on the Pac-12 Network.

Yes, Stanford sits two spots above Washington State, but that won’t automatically mean that the Cardinal will win the conference matchup. Just take a look at my alma mater, San Jose State Spartans, this season under second-year head coach Jean Prioleau, who mustered a measly 3-23, 0-14 MW. As you can see, those three wins weren’t conference wins, so there’s a thing or two that makes conference games a tad bit tough, like, say, opposing team strength and quality of game site. If I missed anything, please contact me directly on Twitter @AnaKieu. Thank you!

Stanford was exposed to the hot-shooting Sun Devils and Wildcats, who both managed to get hot at the right times to down the Cardinal by far-fetched routs. Stanford was without Daejon Davis in Tempe. While Davis returned just in time for the Tuscon tilt, Stanford needed more than Davis’ leadership with 14 points for double figures to rise above Oscar da Silva’s 12 points, Josh Sharma’s 11 points and KZ Okpala’s 10 points.

Stanford’s stats were extremely poor as they shot just 39.6% from the field overall and finished 4-of-20 from beyond the arc in Tuscon. That being said, Stanford proved to be significantly better in the second half, shooting 52.2%. However, Arizona shot 50% in the second half to keep up and outlast the Cardinal in the end.

Oh, and in other news, Milwaukee Bucks center and Stanford alum Brook Lopez hosted a block party Monday night against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. The Bucks downed the Bulls 117-106. Lopez scored 13 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes played. Lopez, a North Hollywood, Calif. native, played college basketball at Stanford from 2006-2008 and was selected 10th overall by the New Jersey Nets in the 2008 NBA Draft.