It
is often true that the final score of a college basketball game
is not at all indicative of what occurred in the actual game. It
is also regrettably typical of a more talented college basketball
team to play down to the level of their opponent for much of a
game and still produce what looks to be an easy and solid
victory. Tonight's Stanford (1-0) 77-59 victory over the Hornets
of Sacramento State (0-1) perfectly met both of the above
standards. After looking very sluggish in the early moments
Stanford raced to a 39-19 lead late in the first half and it
looked like the rout was on at Maples. Led by an opportunistic
offense, featuring Justin Davis' 17 points and 10 rebounds,
Stanford took advantage of a cheating Hornets defense. The
Cardinal moved the ball crisply, passed well in the interior, and
dominated action on the glass in the first half.
However,
despite the building evidence of a runaway victory, Stanford
began to feel the effects of costly turnovers, missed shots, and
the absence of Josh Childress who sat out the game with an
injured left foot. After closing the half on an 8-2 run, the
Hornets continued to force turnovers and make shots in the second
half, and after a 3-pointer from Joel Jones, they pulled to
within 49-43 with just under 11 minutes left. Rather than
panicking, the Card spurted to an 8-0 run, regained control, and
never led by less than 12 points over the final nine minutes of
what turned out to be an easy victory. Stanford also got solid
contributions from Matt Lottich (13 points, eight rebounds), Rob Little (12 points, seven rebounds), Matt Haryasz (10 points,
seven rebounds) and Nick Robinson (nine points, six rebounds) who
started in place of the injured Childress. The Hornets were paced
by UMass transfer Jameel Pugh's 18 points.
"I
thought that was a very good opening game for us," noted
head coach Mike Montgomery afterward. "Sacramento State is
very quick. They did what they were trying to do - disrupt the
game."
"I
thought we were OK," the coach continued. "We turned
the ball over too much, and too many of the turnovers were
unforced. Part of that was my fault - I did not prepare us for
the half-court trap or the 2-1-2 zone. But others were just
unforced. We need to read each other well."
Observations
The Cardinal have
some work to do before the season gets into its meaty portion.
Stanford looked very flat at times tonight, and this has
to be troubling for Montgomery in light of his team's lackluster
performances against poor teams last season. The victory over
Sacramento State was a direct result of superior talent and
athleticism and had little to do with overall play. There were
significant portions of the game where the Hornets simply
outplayed Stanford and dictated the pace of the game. This is not
to say that the Hornets played a great game, but rather prevented
Stanford from playing their best game. If the Hornets had shot
better than 37% from the field this might have been a very
different game. Simply put, things would have to go perfectly for
the under-sized Hornets to pull off an upset of this magnitude
because they don't have the size and talent level.
Nowhere was this
advantage more apparent than on the glass. Stanford dominated
both the offensive and defensive boards throughout the game,
finishing with a 46-22 advantage in rebounds, including 13 on the
offensive glass. This advantage highlighted the ease with which
Stanford was able to dominate inside and helped offset the
disorganization that led to 20 Stanford turnovers. Overall, the
Card played poorly and turned the ball over far too much, but
Sacramento State lacked the interior presence and shooting touch
to turn a somewhat close game into a nail-bighter.
Stanford must
improve their defense if they want to entertain any of the lofty
predictions that many media types have given them. It is true
that the Hornets shot only 37% from the field, but this number
dropped drastically as the game went on, and does not accurately
show the number of easy shots that they missed. When Stanford
played man defense, defenders were consistenly beaten off the
dribble and taken to the rack for a lay-up or kick out. This kind
of poor defense can be overcome against a team like Sac State,
but these lazy defensive efforts can cause real trouble as the
season goes on. Many people have praised Chris Hernandez for his
defensive intensity, and it is true on most nights, but he was
the worst culprit tonight. That is not to say that he was alone
though, as many Cardinal defenders were ineffective in stopping
penetration. Stanford looked much more effective in zone defense
packages, but the Card surrendered offensive rebounds in these
situations. Frankly, Stanford will be at its best if it can play
straight up man defense, but to do this, some work needs to be
put in on the practice floor, and some additional intensity needs
to be found in game situations.
Offensively, the
Cardinal struggled at times dealing with the Hornet pressure. Sac
State mixed up pressure packages by trapping, providing full court
man to man pressure, and in some situations, playing a full-court
zone defense. Both Stanford point guards had trouble dealing with
these situations. Chris Hernandez turned the ball over four
times, including back to back steals at mid-court that led to two
easy Hornet baskets early in the second half.
"Chris was a
little nervous at times," Montgomery noted.
Jason Haas turned
the ball over three times in 15 minutes, and often looked very
tentative (shades of Tony Giovacchini) when facing full-court
pressure. It seemed that the entire Cardinal offense was rattled
by the pressure and at times moved too quickly and carelessly.
Rather than slowing down and collecting themselves after breaking
the half-court trapping pressure, Stanford often tried to force
the action and paid with costly turnovers.
If tonight is any
indications, Stanford's interior players are going to have a
special season. Rob Little is absolutely chiseled and is far more
efficient than he has been in the past. His 12 points on 5-for-8
shooting were excellent, but he moves so much better on defense
and makes good interior passes. Matt Haryasz looks as if he has
really come into his own so far in the early season. Not only was
Haryasz a stunningly efficient 5-for-5 from the floor, he also
collected seven rebounds and was a real presence on the court.
Long a popular whipping boy of the 6th Man, Haryasz
has received rousing ovations in both games this season as he
left the court. He is still rail thin, but he is definitely going
to be an important piece of the puzzle for Stanford this season.
"Matt has a
pretty good chance to be a pretty good player," praised
Montgomery. "For a lack of a better of a better term, he's a
poor man's Curtis Borchardt. Matt just isn't as big, but he's
active."
All of this is in
addition to Justin Davis. Davis was authoritative against
Sacramento State. Davis controlled the glass, blocked two shots,
altered several others, and hit the deck on a few occasions
chasing down loose balls. Justin Davis has all of the tools to
become one of the great Stanford post players, but he has teased
fans like this before. As always, the biggest question with Davis
will be his consistency each and every night.
Random
Thoughts
Kudos to Carlton Weatherby. He doesn't get much playing time, but late in the game
he found himself in the open floor with an easy lay-up ahead of
him and took the unselfish play and dished off to teammate Fred Washington. Weatherby is the consummate team player… Fred Washington is an incredible athlete, but he looks somewhat lost
on offense and needs to improve his shooting stroke -
understandable for a freshman. Still, he could be a very good
one… Dan Grunfeld will not shoot like this again for a long
time (1-for-7 from the field including an absolutely atrocious
airball). Every shooter has a bad day, but he is the ultimate
competitor and will not be in a funk for long… Free throw
shooting will be an issue all year. Davis shot well (7-10), but
Little was a paltry (2-5). Both players get a lot of attempts and
will have to convert at a high rate.
Plays of
the game
- Justin Davis'
follow slam off of a Rob Little missed jumper to open the scoring
for the Card and tie the game at 2-2.
- A three-play
sequence late in the first half where Davis blocked a shot on one
Hornet possession, Little drew a charge on the next, and Davis
drew a charge on the third, providing the best sequence of
defense all night.
- Rob Little's pass
out of a double team at the high post to a streaking Nick Robinson along the baseline for a power flush.
- Chris Hernandez
lobbing the ball ahead of the pack for a Justin Davis breakaway
dunk late in the game to put the Card up 15.
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