You can’t call Stanford’s game at Cal on Sunday a make-or-break game for the Cardinal, not with half the conference season still remaining and no Pac-12 team demonstrating clear superiority amid a mass of so-so teams.
But the game may certainly swing the pendulum one way or the other for the Cardinal. A win on Sunday would move Stanford (15-5, 5-3) into a tie with Cal, considered by most to be the best team in the conference, and a victory could conceivably put the Cardinal into a tie for first place if several other very possible results occur over the weekend.
It would provide a tremendous boost to a Cardinal team that struggled in its road trip to the Washington schools last week. Beating the Bears (16-5, 6-2) at Berkeley, where Cal is unbeaten this season, would make the Cardinal players and coaches believe they are really part of the conference title race at the halfway point. It would make the rest of the conference believe the Cardinal is a title contender, too.
However, if the Cardinal loses – and Cal is the clear favorite on its home court -- the result could be devastating. It would drop Stanford at least two games out of first place, and the Cardinal could fall into a tie with UCLA for sixth place, just two weeks after being tied for first.
Perhaps more important, it would be the third straight loss for the Cardinal, which did not even have back-to-back losses this season until last week’s double whammy at the Washington schools. The momentum the Cardinal had been building through mid-January would be virtually wiped out -- and so would much of the Cardinal's confidence, especially if it's a blowout loss, which is certainly possible, considering the Cardinal lost its two road games last week by double-digit margins.
The Cardinal will need to play its best game to have a shot Sunday.
You would think that Josh Owens, the Cardinal’s most consistent offensive player this season, could make some hay inside against Cal’s smallish frontcourt, but the Cardinal desperately needs Aaron Bright to break out of his shooting slump. He is 5-for-23 from three-point range in his past four games, and the Cardinal needs his outside threat.
It will be interesting to see who Johnny Dawkins uses as his starting lineup. Owens, Bright and freshman Chasson Randle seem to be set as starters, but Andrew Zimmermann, Dwight Powell, Anthony Brown and Jarrett Mann are all candidates to join the starting five, and Dawkins has juggled his lineup frequently. Even Josh Huestis might be considered for a starting role.
We’re guessing Mann and Powell will be the fourth and fifth starters. Powell might be able to exploit Cal’s interior defense, and you may recall that Powell probably had the best game of his career when he had 20 points and seven rebounds in Stanford win over Cal last year at Maples Pavilion. He had just four points in the rematch at Cal, though.
Mann may start for defensive purposes, to guard either Justin Cobbs or Jorge Gutierrez. In any case, Stanford will have trouble matching up against Allen Crabbe, a 6-6 guard. Mann may even try to guard Crabbe, although that leaves defensive holes elsewhere.
A lot of things will have to go right for Stanford to win, such as Bright shooting well and Huestis and Powell contributing significant points and rebounds.
To receive Stanford basketball news regularly, click the subscribe button. It's free.
Comments