Coming off an impressive victory against New
Mexico, Stanford looks to win its home opener against a fairly
talented team. Southern Utah did make the Big Dance last year,
albeit as a 13 seed, and gave a very good Boston College team a
good run before bowing out. Here is what the lineups will look
like when both teams take the floor:
PG - Tony Giovacchini vs Jay Collins
With Tony’s superb game against some
talented guards, the PG position is less of a question mark in
this matchup. Jay Collins should provide less of a challenge than
Marlon Palmer as he only scored eight points in Southern Utah’s
opener against Fort Lewis. Look for Tony to continue to improve,
as his defender will be a much better matchup. Look for Tony to
hopefully flourish this game and be able to give Chris Hernandez
some minutes to show what he’s got.
SG - Casey Jacobsen vs Stan Johnson
Johnson had an impressive game against Fort
Lewis, but how much does that say? He had 15 points to be second
on the team but hasn’t had a challenge like trying to stop
Casey before. He did have limited minutes against Troy Bell in
the NCAA tourney but this will be very different in a hostile
environment. Look for Casey to break out this game, as defenses
now have to respect Childress and have a 20-25 point night.
SF - Josh Childress vs Dan Beus
Dan Beus is this team’s best player. He
was impressive in the NCAA tourney and is back for a senior
season. He had 18 points and nine rebounds in their opener and
should be an interesting matchup with Childress. Childress as
very impressive in the opener and looks to be a legit wing scorer
to take some of the load off of Casey. Look for this matchup to
be a draw, as both players should put together some good games.
PF - Justin Davis vs Donnie Jackson
Davis had an interesting opener as he was
quiet at times, but at others he would fly through the lane for
put back dunks. His post moves are still so-so but playing
against an undersized PF (6’7” 195 lbs.) should help
him out. Jackson scored 13 points in their opener but this is his
first year as a starter and should be very inexperienced. Look
for Davis to take advantage of this matchup if he can stay out of
foul trouble.
C - Curtis Borchardt vs Jeff Dorenbosch
Curtis had a solid game against New Mexico
scoring 17 points, but doing it on 18 shots. He continues though
to be a huge presence in the paint (4 blocks) and is a reliable
scorer. Dorenbosch had been fighting the flu and might be playing
limited minutes. Dorenbosch is also undersized so look for
Borchardt to have his way in the paint.
Overall lots of good matchup’s for
Stanford, which should provide an easy game. But Southern Utah
took Boston College to the brink last year and almost pulled the
upset. Even so, look for a 20+ point victory at Maples Tuesday
night.