While everyone is at home enjoying their Thanksgiving holiday,
our Stanford Cardinal is off in the Midwest preparing for yet
another hostile crowd and tough opponent. Purdue University is
known for its bruising style of basketball often playing tough
defense and dominating the glass. Who can forget the war in the
1998 Tournament when Stanford and Purdue played as physical a
game as I have seen. Expect more of the same, just with a
different cast of characters for both teams, as Stanford looks to
win its 3rd straight to open the season. Here are the
matchups you should expect to see as the teams take the court on
Saturday.
PG
Austin Parkinson, 6-0, 183, Sophomore, Kokomo, In (4.0 ppg,
2.0 rpg)
Tony Giovacchini , 6-2, 180, Senior, Salt Lake City, Ut (6.5
ppg, 2.0 rpg)
Austin Parkinson is a player that Purdue seems to be very high
on. They like his quickness and slashing ability, but in his
first game against Radford he struggled and only scored four
points. This is another good test for Tony as he has had a good
game in the opener but didn’t play as well in the second
game against Southern Utah. Both players are pretty similar after
their quickness as both players are starting for the first time
and haven’t had too much experience in close game
situations. Look for this matchup to not decide the game but play
a little bit of a factor. Parkinson is the only underclassmen in
the Purdue starting lineup so look for him to not shoot as much
if he struggles. Once again Tony could struggle with this
matchup, so look for Barnes to be thrust into this role as he
looked very good on Tuesday night.
SG
Maynard Lewis, 6-1, 187, Senior, Terre Haute, In (19.0 ppg,
3.0 rpg)
Casey Jacobsen 6-6, 210, Junior, Glendora, Ca (20.0 ppg)
This is the key matchup of the game for both teams. Lewis is
this teams scorer and is full of experience, starting last year
for this teams and has gone through the rigorous Big 10 schedule
three times. Casey must pay attention to his defense this game as
Stanford can’t let Lewis have a big game. Casey again must
shoulder the scoring load and take the big shots for Stanford
when the 20,000+ in Canseco Fieldhouse get into the game. Casey
has had a great season so far and will just have to continue like
he has in this game to give Stanford a good shot at a win. After
seeing double with the Southern Utah zone, he should expect to
see more of the same as Stanford adjusted to it very slowly. With
a more talented team like Purdue the result could have been
different. Casey should take this matchup as keeping him off the
scoreboard seems to be nearly impossible with his new complete
game.
SF
Darmetreis Kilgore, 6-5, 202, Junior, South Bend, In (16.0
ppg, 4.0 rpg)
Josh Childress 6-8, 190, Freshman, Lakewood, Ca (12 ppg)
This is the other big matchup in the game. Quickness should
not be problem for Josh as he has proved that he is a great
defender and is active in the passing lanes and on the block.
Kilgore had a solid game in their opener scoring 16 and getting
double figures in the Radford game as well. Josh needs to hit the
open shots he gets with the defense on Casey for Stanford to be
successful. He did this against New Mexico but not as much so
against Southern Utah, until the waning moments of the games. He
has been everything anyone can ask for and more this season and
his production will lag some games as he is a freshman but until
that happens people can expect great things from him. Look for
him to put this matchup into a draw and for him to continue his
solid play.
PF
Rodney Smith, 6-6, 231, Senior, Indianapolis, In (4.0 ppg, 4.0
rpg)
Justin Davis, 6-8, 230, Sophomore, Berkeley, Ca (7.5 ppg)
This should be a very interesting matchup in the game. Look
for Purdue to not give Davis as many free dunks as he has been
getting this season. With this, look for Justin to have to shoot
with his back to the basket, which is something he hasn’t
done yet this year. It is something that he is fully capable of
excelling at but he is basically an unknown at this point not
knowing what you will get. He is playing a very undersized power
forward which should be to his advantage, but look for Keady to
use a taller player off of his bench if Davis takes advantage of
this matchup. Davis has also had a big problem with foul trouble
this season, whether it being his fault or not it is something he
and the coaching staff will have to work on at least until
January when they can expect Teyo Johnson back from the football
team. Look for this matchup to be a push as both players
don’t produce too much.
C
John Allison, 6-10, 242, Senior, New Palestine, In (6.0 ppg, 5.0
rpg)
Curtis Borchardt, 7-0, 240, Junior, Redmond, Wa (16.0 ppg)
This is going to be a matchup Stanford has to take advantage
of. Borchardt is much more physically gifted than Allison and
should be a force in the post. Allison is a tall guy but
doesn’t provide much of a presence in the paint. He is
active and scrappy but this is one of the weaker opponents
Borchardt will face in the paint. For Stanford to win this game
Borchardt will have to control the boards and get his points in
the paint and make the Purdue defense sag which produces
3-pointers. I fully expect for Borchardt to have a big game
Saturday and notch his second consecutive double-double. Look for
Allison to only play 25-30 minutes and have a lot of big bodies
rotated in to provide energy for Purdue.
Overall the matchups are a little favorable but this is
another quick team where Stanford’s guards will be tested.
Look for this game to be another workmanlike victory as this team
has come accustom to as they don’t sprint out to any big
leads. Overall I see a tough victory in a tough environment and a
3-0 basketball headed into another road matchup against Texas.
Questions or Comments?
email Simon Sez at Stanfordfinal4@hotmail.com