Stanford came into tonight’s game versus the Oregon Ducks looking to build
momentum off their big win on Saturday night again the California Golden
Beats. Despite not having Mitch Johnson in the lineup (strained calf,
day-to-day), Stanford led nearly wire-to-wire, defeating the boys from Eugene,
77-55.
The Cardinal started off hot in the first three minutes of the game.
With Mitch on the bench, Kenny Brown started the game over Drew Shiller at the
point guard spot and helped Stanford to an early 10-2 advantage, punctuated by a
three-pointer from Anthony Goods. Over the next 3:03, the Ducks hung
around, down just 10, before the wheels came off the bus and the ineptitude switch came on for Oregon as Stanford
went on a 10-0 run spanning the next 8:40 to take full command of the game at
27-7. It wasn’t until Churchill Odia hit a three-pointer that Oregon could
finally get itself into double-digits. During that scoreless span, Oregon
missed eight shots and turned the ball over seven times. Despite keeping
it close the rest of the way, Landry Fields would cap the first half with a
dynamic put back just before the buzzer, helping Stanford go into the half with
a 22-point lead, 40-18.
In the first half, Stanford shot 45% overall from the field, 44% from beyond
the arc, 47% inside the three-point line, and just 5-9 from the free throw
stripe. Oregon made just 32% of their shots, including 2-5 from the
three-point line, 29% inside the arc, and 4-4 from the free throw line.
The Cardinal led in almost every other category, including 21-11 on the boards
(nine of those rebounds were of the offensive variety), committed just eight
turnovers (Oregon had 14), and 11 assists to the Ducks four. This was the
fourth time, and third instance in just seven conference games, where Oregon
failed to top the 20-point mark in the first half of play.
Stanford was amazingly ahead by 22 without last week’s Pac-10 Player of the
Week, Lawrence Hill, scoring a single point over the first twenty of minutes
play. Individually, the Cardinal were led by Goods who had 12 at the break
on 3-7 shooting. Fields added 11 points and six rebounds while Kenny had
six on two three-point makes. The Ducks were led by Michael Dunigan and
Tajuan Porter, who had five apiece. No one else had more than three points
for Oregon.
The second half was more of the same as Stanford rolled off eight of the
first 11 points of the final stanza, taking a 48-21 lead after a Da’Veed Dildy
layup. Stanford was still up 23, 56-33, with just under 13 minutes to go after a
360-layup from Dildy and a Lawrence Hill dunk when Oregon put together its only
impressive run of the game, outscoring Stanford 12-2 over the next 2:20 to bring
the Ducks within 13 points at 58-45. Stanford, though, would not allow
Oregon to get any closer, slowly stretching its lead to 23 with less than six
minutes to go after a Hill free throw. The teams would trade buckets the
rest of the way before Stanford finally settled on the final 22-point
margin.
For the contest, Stanford shot 50% from the field (56% in the second half),
8-20 from beyond the three-point line, and 47% inside the arc. Their free
throw shooting left a lot to be desired as they finished 13-22, just below 60%,
for the game. The Ducks’ improved offense in the second half helped them
finish the game shooting 39% from the field. Oregon managed to shoot 53%
from three-point land, but just 33% from inside the arc. They did finish
the game with the better charity stripe shooting, netting 14-16 from the
line. Stanford outrebounded Oregon 34-23, had 18 assists to Oregon’s
seven, and committed just 13 turnovers to the Ducks’ 22, tying their season high
they reached against former Stanford assistant coach Eric Reveno’s University of
Portland Pilots in an OT win earlier this season. Stanford scored 25
points off those turnovers, while Oregon had just four. The Cardinal also
had their way inside the paint with the Ducks, outscoring them 34-14, despite
just seven points from their primary big men, Will Paul and Josh Owens.
Individually, Goods led the way for Stanford with 20 points on 5-10 shooting,
although he was a stellar 8-9 from the charity stripe. Fields was the only
other player in double figures as he finished with 13 points and eight rebounds
for the Cardinal. Hill and Brown both had nine points for Stanford, with
the duo adding ten assists to their final stat lines. The bench
contributed 23 points for Stanford, including five each from Jeremy Green,
Jarrett Mann, and Shiller. For Oregon, the Ducks were led by Porter’s
quiet 14 points, despite Stanford’s efforts to blanket him with defenders all
night long. Kamyron Brown had 11 off the Ducks bench, while Matthew Humphrey
also got 10 off the pine for Ernie Kent’s program which has not won a game at
Maples Pavilion since our own Emeritus was at Stanford over 20 seasons ago!
Next, Stanford will take on an Oregon State team who delivered the shocker of
the season so far in the conference by defeating the California Golden Bears,
69-65, at Haas Pavilion minutes before the end of Stanford’s contest. Will
Oregon State (2-5 in league play) still be riding high off of a huge conference
win when they visit Maples and play Stanford on Saturday at 7:00pm? Only
time will tell, but you better believe that Johnny Dawkins will have his players
ready for a game that will be much tougher than people thought it would be
before the season, and even the night, began.
GoStanford.com - Stanford vs. Oregon Box Score and Play-by-Play
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