Stanford looks to preserve its undefeated record tonight when they face the
Hartford Hawks.
Sunday’s win versus Texas Tech was one for the ages. The Cardinal was
dominant in nearly every facet of the game to the point where every single
player on the roster got to see action. Hopefully, Hartford will put up
more of a challenge in Stanford’s final tune-up before the start of the
conference season.
The Hawks come to Maples will a less than stellar 4-8 record to their name.
Hartford has particularly struggled on the road where they are 1-5. This
is not to say that this game will be a breeze. In fact, in Hartford’s last
outing, they took the now #19 ranked Baylor Bears down to the final minutes
before falling in Waco, 74-59.
Hartford is led by junior guard Joe Zeglinski. Luckily for the Cardinal,
Zeglinski has missed the Hawks’ last two games due to an ankle injury. His
status for tonight’s game is unknown, however should he see any action, it is
unlikely he will be able to play up to his team leading 15.3 points per game and
5.5 rebounds per game averages.
The other Hawk to keep an eye on is senior point guard Jaret von Rosenberg
who leads the team with a solid four assists per game average. Filling in
for Zeglinski, von Rosenberg nearly recorded a triple-double in their game
versus Baylor as he scored 19 points to go along with six rebounds and nine
assists.
Should Zeglinski play, the Cardinal should make containing him their number
one priority. Anthony Goods will presumably get the call to guard the 6-foot
Zeglinski in what should be a good warm-up for the athletic guards he will soon
face in conference play. Von Rosenberg also looks to be a good test for
Mitch Johnson as the Hawks point guard has proved he can do some damage against
the nation’s better programs.
Another promising sign for Stanford is that the Hawks have no one taller than
6’9” on their roster. Sophomore Morgan Sabia leads Hartford in the
trenches averaging over 11 points and four rebounds per game. However, Sabia
along with fellow post Michael Turner, have been plagued by foul trouble all
season.
Coming off the rout of Texas Tech, Stanford needs to keep a cool head and not
look past the Hawks. Thankfully, staying focused is something this senior-laden
team should easily accomplish. All signs point toward Stanford running away win
this game early. The Cardinal needs to keep shooting the ball when open and take
it to the rim when given the opportunity.
Can Stanford get back-to-back 100+ point games? We’ll soon find out… Go
Cardinal!
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