Coming off a victory over Bay Area rival Cal (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12) to split the rivalry series, Stanford men’s basketball (13-13, 5-9) will look to build more momentum in the final weekend homestand of the regular season. The Cardinal will first play host against Oregon State (5-23, 1-14) on Wednesday before taking on talented No. 6 Oregon on Saturday for their final match in Maples.
Against the Beavers, Stanford will try to take the season sweep in its contest, following a defensive rout of Oregon State on its home court. The Cardinal held the Beavers to only 46 points on 35 percent shooting. Hasse’s squad worked on all cylinders during their match in Corvallis earlier this season, causing more Beaver turnovers than field goals made.
Interestingly enough, although Oregon State owns the all-time success against the Cardinal (75-69 all-time), Stanford has dominated the match-up in recent years.
Oregon, on the other hand, will provide yet another tough conference test for Stanford in their final match of the season. Led behind junior forward Dillon Brooks, the Ducks have fought their way to No. 6 in the nation behind efficient ball movement and intense work ethic, translating into numerous formidable stats.
Oregon ranks either first or second in the Pac-12 in points per game, field goal percentage defense, blocked shots per game, assists per game and assist to turnover ratio.
In Sunday’s match against Cal, junior forwards Dorian Pickens (23 points) and Reid Travis (19 points, nine rebounds) showed flashes of untapped offensive talent as the Cardinal’s leading scorers on the season. The victory marked only the second win for Stanford in its previous seven contests all against conference opponents.
Stanford’s last victory against Oregon State in January actually didn’t feature the Cardinal’s leading scorer, Reid Travis. Despite Travis’s absence, Hasse’s team cruised to a 62-46 victory, which bodes well for Wednesday’s match-up with Travis on the court. Junior forward Michael Humphrey put up a game-high 21 points in addition to 12 points from Marcus Allen to propel Stanford to victory in Corvallis.
The Cardinal were on the other side of the blowout against then-No. 11 Oregon in Eugene during the very same road trip. The Ducks defense suffocated Stanford’s offense from generating any momentum throughout the game by holding the Cardinal to only 32 percent from the field while forcing 13 Stanford turnovers.
While Stanford lays relatively low on the Pac-12 competitive totem pole heading into the final games of the season, the Cardinal still have a lot to gain from picking up these victories down the stretch of the final season. Stanford currently sits at 5-9 in conference play and is surrounded by four other Pac-12 teams within one game in the standings heading into the coveted conference championship.
If the Cardinal can pick up victories at the hands of some lower-tier competitors at the end of the season, Stanford could potentially jump from ninth to seventh in the conference championship, which will definitely affect the Cardinal’s postseason life in a highly competitive Pac-12.
The OSU game tips off Wednesday at 8 p.m. Coverage will be available at GoStanford.com.
Contact Jose Saldana at jsaldana ‘at’ stanford.edu and Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu.