The Stanford Cardinal look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday Night as
they play host to the Cal State Northridge Matadors at Maples Pavilion in the
team's home season opener.
Johnny Dawkins' squad traveled to New Haven, Connecticut this past Friday and
got their first win of the 2008-09 season by defeating the Yale Bulldogs,
75-67. Lawrence Hill led the Cardinal with 22 points and 11 rebounds,
while Anthony Goods chipped in 19 in a game which was tight throughout the first
half, but saw the Cardinal gradually pull away in the second stanza for its
first victory of the season.
While Stanford is playing this game at home, arguably the quality of opponent
has increased exponentially. The Matadors are a near unanimous choice to
win the Big West Conference this season, getting all but one first place from
the coaches. Last season, Cal State Northridge managed a 20-10 record,
going 12-4 in league play, although their season ended early due to a mild upset
in the Big West Conference tournament’s semifinals at the hands of the Cal State
Fullerton Titans, who went onto win the tournament and represent the league in
the NCAA Tournament.
Like Stanford, Cal State Northridge has a strong base of seniors, although it
can be argued that the Matadors’ seniors had better years last season as juniors
than Stanford’s collection. Spearheading a squad of eight lettermen and
four redshirts coming back to play for head coach Bobby Braswell are senior
standouts Deon Tresvant, Josh Jenkins, and Tremaine Townsend. Tresvant, a
shooting guard was the first bench player to ever lead a team in scoring,
getting nearly 14 a game, good for 10th in the Big West. Jenkins, the
point guard, led the league in assists at 6.4 per contest. Townsend, a 6-9
forward, was a beast inside for Northridge, averaging nearly 10 rebounds per
game and just over one block per contest, both tops in the conference.
This trio doesn’t even include three-year starter Rob Haynes, who averaged about
seven points a game and made 40 three-pointers. Needless to say, this
foursome could bring a lot of heat on the Cardinal defense, both inside and
outside the paint.
However, in their first game of the season, Cal State Northridge struggled
like Stanford did against a lesser foe, winning 73-62 at home over Cal Lutheran,
a Division III team out of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference. In that game, the Matadors were down one at the half
before coming back for the win in front of just over 1,000 fans. Jenkins
led the team with 16 points, while Haynes had 12, but it was junior forward Tony
Osunsanmi who was the star of the game. The team calls him the “Dennis
Rodman” of the squad and the 6-4 forward delivered off the bench with seven
points and 14 rebounds (eight of them offensive) in just 19 minutes of
play. If Osunsanmi repeats this performance, the Cardinal could be in for
a long night on the offensive glass.
Stanford has won its last two home openers, including resounding victories
over Harvard and Siena, but did lose to the Matadors’ league foe, the UC Irvine
Anteaters in a stunner to start the 2005-06 season, 89-73.
For Stanford to win, they will have to take the lessons learned in New Haven,
along with their two exhibition games, and really go after it on the glass to
keep Northridge from getting a ton looks on the offensive end. Even if
they can do that, it is no guarantee that they will be successful, but it would
limit the Matadors’ possibilities of getting confidence on that side of the
court. Without the rebounding edge, it could be a long night for the
Cardinal and head coach Johnny Dawkins
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