Tag: NCAA Basketball

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: Taking a look at how Reid Travis is faring during current Cardinal win streak

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On the Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington:

With the Stanford Cardinal (10-8), who won their fourth straight game over Washington (13-5) 73-64 in Alaskan Airlines Arena tonight, the Cardinal’s leading scorer Reid Travis 16 points on Saturday night has held up even in the some of Stanford’s tougher moments earlier this season. Regardless of the circumstances that faced the Cardinal earlier this season Travis has come in prepared to throw down or throw up his game as he leads with 30.1 points per game.

Travis is one of two players who started all 27 games in his junior year in the Pac-12 that finished in the top six in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. Travis has led Stanford in nine separate categories (470, 17.4 ppg), rebounding (239, 8.9), offensive rebounding (93, 3.4 orpg, defensive rebounding (146, 5.4 drgp), field goals made (176), field goal attempted (304), field goal percentage (.579), free throws made (118), free throws attempted (181).

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

Sports Headlines with London Marq: Stanford goes for four straight at Washington tonight

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Sports Headlines with London Marq:

1 Stanford’s Dorian Pickens had a night on Thursday against the Washington State Cougars with 78 points and a winning three-pointer with 76 seconds left in the Cardinal’s 79-70 win

2 The Cardin have turned things around with three straight wins beating UCLA, USC, and WSU. They have improved their record to 9-8 and are over .500

3 Pickens three points are a big help for Stanford going 10-35 from three-point range and seven of 10 for three-pointers

4 Stanford got fired up when WSU’s Kwinton Husso hit Stanford’s Reid Travis with a hard foul both players had to be separated and Stanford got fired uo and went on a 21 point run over a 9:57 period

5 Stanford faces Washington at Alaskan Airlines Arena tonight at 5 pm London gives us his take on this upcoming game from Seattle

London Marq does the Sports Headlines and covers the Stanford Cardinal each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Dorian Pickens notches career-high 28 points as Cardinal hold on for 79-70 win over Washington State

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, January 11, 2018

Dorian Pickens had a career-high 28 points–including a key three-pointer–with 1:16 remaining in the second half, helping Stanford to a 79-70 win at Washington State in a Pac-12 men’s basketball matchup in Pullman, Washington, on Thursday night.

Pickens scored a career-high 28 points for the Cardinal (9-8 overall, 3-1 Pac-12), including 7-of-10 three-pointers. Freshman Kezie Okpala contributed a career-high 21 points and Daejon Davis was 6-of-7 on field goals while adding 15 points for Stanford.

Washington State (8-8 overall, 0-4 Pac-12) had a 55-47 lead when Stanford’s Reid Travis drew a hard foul from the Cougars’ Kwinton Hinson. Both players were separated by teammates, and the Cardinal responded with a nine-minute, 57 second 21-3 run to take a 68-58 lead with 6:26 remaining.

WSU cut its deficit to three points twice, but Pickens hit a pair of 3s as Stanford was able to hold on for its third consecutive victory.

The Cougars were hot out of the gate, making 11 of its first 12 shots, including four three-pointers. Pickens kept the Cardinal close, hitting 22 first-half points on 8-of-9 floor shooting. Pickens gave the Cardinal a two-point lead on a pair of threes before Washington State’s Malachi Flynn closed out the first half with three three-pointers. WSU led 45-38 at the half.

Flynn scored 24 points–along with seven threes–to lead the Cougars. Milan Acquaah was next for WSU with eight points, while Drick Bernstine added eight points and 12 rebounds. Robert Franks, the Cougars’ leading scorer at 17.3 per game, was held to eight points and committed six of Washington State’s 22 turnovers.

Travis, the Pac-12’s third-leading scorer coming into the weekend at 21.3 points per game, was held to six points and six rebounds.

The Cardinal’s road trip continues Saturday, when Stanford visits Washington for a 5 p.m. contest.

Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Alexandra Evans: Stanford opens up two game road trip with WSU tonight

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On the Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Alexandra:

1 Looking at last week’s Stanford (8-8) results the Cardinal getting surprise wins over UCLA (12-4) and USC (12-6). The game last week against UCLA was called the best game of the season for the Cardinal.

2 In the USC game, the Trojans came out dominating as four players finished the first half in double figures and it would look like the Trojans would be controlling this game throughout.

3 In the second half, the Cardinal came alive with a strong defense, holding the Trojans to just 30 points in the second half.

4 In that second half, the Cardinal’s Reid Travis scored 29 points, 10 boards, and a double-double.

5 Stanford’s on the road for two games starting tonight at Pullman. Alexandra talks about tonight’s match up with Washington State (8-7).

Alexandra podcasts Stanford basketball each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Cal Bears Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips: 11 years in the waiting first time USC & UCLA knocks off Cal; It was an easy win for UCLA

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On the Cal Basketball Podcast with Morris:

1 First time in 11 years that Cal is beaten by USC and UCLA

2 The Trojans and the Bruins didn’t have to put up too much sweat in facing Cal this week

3 UCLA got a 13-2 start on Cal from the opening tip in their 107-84 win

4 The 107 points and 17 threes were UCLA’s best offensive effort of the season

5 As Cal licks its wound and prepares for Washington Thursday and Washington State on Saturday

Morris Phillips covers Cal Bears Men’s Basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Stanford completes comeback to edge USC 77-76

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By: London Marq

PALO ALTO–The venue was packed at Maples Pavilion as Stanford hosted the USC Trojans in a much-anticipated PAC-12 matchup. After their best performance of the season last Thursday against UCLA, the Cardinal would have an opportunity to improve to .500 on the season.

It was a tail of two halves, as the Trojans were in control early. Metu was the leading scorer from USC. His 20 points helped the Trojans gain an 11-point halftime advantage. Four total players from USC scored in double digits.

The Cardinal came alive in the the second period. They were strong particularly on defensive. Holding an explosive Trojan team to less than 30 points in the second half, they were able to close the gap. The Cardinal defense fueled their offense. Reid Travis pulled in a double-double with 29 points and 10 boards.

His strong performance put Stanford in position for a spectacular finish. At the tail end of the game, the Trojans scored a go-ahead basket to lead by two. With 1.7 seconds left on the clock, Stanford in-bounds the ball to Dajeon Davis. Davis nailed a walk-off 3-pointer from beyond half court before being mobbed by his teammates.

This makes two big wins in a row for the Cardinal, against two notable conference foes. The look to keep up the consistency against Washington State on Thursday.

Stanford defeated USC 77-76.

Up Next: The Cardinal visit the Washington State Cougars on Tuesday at 6 pm PT.

Beat LA? Not Cal: Bears get swept by USC and UCLA at home for first time in 11 years

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Photo courtesy of Kelley L. Cox/KLC Fotos

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–For the first time in more than a decade, both UCLA and USC have victories at Haas Pavilion in the same season. And with the Cal Bears still struggling to find their footing against Pac-12 competition, neither the Bruins or Trojans had to sweat.

UCLA got their opportunity to take advantage of the Bears on Saturday afternoon, and did so from the opening tip, racing to a 13-2 to advantage on their way to a 107-84 win, featuring a season-best 13 made three-pointers. The 107 points and 17 threes were both season-bests for the Bruins, while the defenseless Bears allowed at least 90 points in a game for the sixth time this season.

Thomas Welsh led the Bruins with 19 points, 14 rebounds despite playing with a protective mask for the first time following a collision with Stanford’s Reid Travis on Thursday. Aaron Holiday added 21 points and freshman Kris Wilkes had 16 as six Bruins scored in double figures. UCLA bounced back from a crushing double overtime loss at Stanford on Thursday with 58 percent shooting from the floor against Cal.

“That’s key especially playing on the road in the Pac 12,” Welsh said. “You have to get ahead early and I think we did a good job of that tonight.”

The Bears were led by Justice Sueing with 22 points, and Marcus Lee with 19 points, 15 rebounds. But the home team’s offense was absent in UCLA’s quick start, as Cal shot just 26 percent in the first half while falling behind 54-33.

“We try to put the best lineup out there to give us the best fight, give us the best chance from the start of the game,” coach Wyking Jones said. “You see me juggling the lineups a bit, so we can put guys out there that will bring it from the start. It’s just a situation that for some reason, we don’t have good starts. We weren’t aggressive in the first half, we didn’t look to attack the zone like we did in the second half.”

The Bears (7-9, 1-2 in Pac-12 play) dropped two at home after winning four of five, including their stirring comeback at Stanford last week. Unlike their tentative effort against Trojans, the Bears were scrappy and determined, making a brief, second half run that cut UCLA’s lead to 13 at one point. But the Bruins seized control again, by making 9 of 11 from distance in the second half to pull away.

The Bears travel to Seattle on Thursday to meet Washington.  It will mark the Bears’ second trip to the Emerald City in less than a month, after an earlier road win over  Seattle University.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: After Thursday’s UCLA stunner Cardinal hope to top act with win over USC on Sunday

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By Matt Harrington

PALO ALTO–It was a little bit of a stunner what Stanford did in their victory over the UCLA Bruins 107-99. They have to look at their potential UCLA is upset with their performance but Stanford needs to look at the game on Thursday as this is your potential. In the final minutes of that double overtime game the Cardinal had four freshman on the floor including the Cardinal’s Dorian Pickens.

The Cardinal shouldn’t be under pressure anymore and after going through a game like that and a lot of time to develop they’ve have grown into the role. Stanford has to look at that as their potential. The Cardinal have got Dorian Pickens back. This is his second game back now. He had a career night that’s what the team’s capable of when they’re healthy.

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

 

 

Slow start, turnovers lead to USC rout of Cal in Pac-12 home opener 80-62

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Jonescalbears.com photo: Cal Bears head coach Wyking Jones during recent press conference

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–The pained look on Coach Wyking Jones’ face said it all. The question regarding repeated slow starts for Jones’ California Golden Bears, especially at Haas Pavilion, was fair given that Cal scored just eight points in the first 10 minutes of Thursday’s disappointing 80-62 loss to USC.

And Jones’ response? As honest and revealing as any Division I basketball coach ever wants to be or has to be when admitting his team was outclassed.

“It’s frustrating, but our guys aren’t trying to do that,” Jones said. “They are trying to do the right thing. They are young, it’s a process, and we have to just focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. These guys who are freshman are going to be sophomores next year, and then juniors and then seniors, and really good. You have to focus on what the light at the end of the tunnel is as opposed to what’s going on right now.”

What’s going on for Cal right now is a youth-laden club without a forceful, ball handling leader is taking its lumps.  USC, a pre-season Top 25 pick that’s dealing with a recruiting scandal and its own shortcomings, may have been the last opponent the Bears wanted to see on the occasion of their Pac-12 home opener. Those lumps Cal’s taking were hand delivered by the Trojans on Thursday.

USC’s zone look with arms and hands everywhere befuddled the Bears to the tune 22 turnovers juxtaposed against just 13 assists on 23 made baskets.  Of those 23 baskets, only eight came in the first half when Cal fell behind by 26 points (38-12 with 1:54 remaining).  The deficit grew to 30 points briefly in the second half as Cal’s issues offensively morphed into defensive indifference.  While the final score was more palatable, this marked the third time this season Cal has lost by 18 or more points at home this season.

If the light at the end of the tunnel that Coach Jones spoke of was to be interpreted literally, it would have been one lit candle at the western most juncture of BART’s Transbay Tube on Thursday.

“We have another game on Saturday against UCLA so we have to move past this and regather tomorrow morning, and prepare for UCLA,” said freshman Justice Sueing, who led the Bears with 15 points.

In fairness to the Bears, the Trojans are the last team a struggling outfit wants to see. Just ask USC’s most recent opponent Washington State.  With the Cougars methodically trying to regain their footing against the Trojans on New Years’ Eve after a first half that was as poor as Cal’s, WSU cut USC’s lead to just eight points. But on the next six possessions, Washington State committed five turnovers and saw their deficit balloon to 18 points in less than the three minutes that elapsed on the game clock.

Against Cal, USC’s zone caused the Bears to be extremely tentative to the point that guards Don Coleman and Darius McNeill became non-factors in the first 25 minutes of the game.  Cal’s normally high scoring guards combined to miss 13 of their 16 shots while committing six turnovers.  While McNeill found a way to extend his impressive streak of hitting at least one three-pointer in 14 of his 15 games as a collegian, his penetration into the paint was almost non-existent.

Marcus Lee had an impressive start offensively with a follow dunk and a couple of other buckets from point blank range, but five turnovers and foul trouble kept the Kentucky transfer from making much of a difference as the game progressed.

The Trojans were led by Nick Rakocevic with 19 points. Bennie Boatwright added 15 points, and Jordan Usher had 14 off the bench for USC.

Chimezie Metu was suspended for the first 20 minutes for his actions against Washington State in which cameras caught the 6’10” junior jabbing an opponent in the groin. Metu played 11 minutes in the second half, in which his epic dunk over Lee immediately triggered a SportsCenter alert all the way across the country at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

The Bears return to the hardwood on Saturday when UCLA visits Haas Pavilion at 3:30pm.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Alexandra Evans: Pickens returns from foot injury; Okpala’s defense good looking forward to tuning up on offense

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On the Stanford Men’s Basketball Podcast with Alexandra:

Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase has expressed his concerns about the defense particularly after dropping a home game against Cal on their home floor at Maples Pavilion last weekend. The Cardinal held a 17-point only to see it dissolve in 7.5 minutes of the first half. Haase was also concerned about their 6-8 record and how to pull out of it but laying defense as a big factor.

The return of Dorian Pickens is key for the Cardinal, Pickens was out after missing seven weeks due to a foot injury, and Kezie Okpala, who missed the first 12 games of the season due to improving his academics and made his first appearance at Sacramento for the neutral site game against the Kansas Jayhawks. It was a game that Okpala remembered with mostly Jayhawks fans, but Okpala–despite losing the game by 21–pushed hard throughout the game.

Alexandra Evans is Stanford Cardinal beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com