Stanford Men's Basketball: Cardinal prepares for Arizona State

On Thursday, Stanford will head to the state of Arizona and play the Sun Devils before playing the Wildcats Saturday. For Stanford, Arizona State should be an easy win if they play as well as they did against the two LA teams.

Recently, the Sun Devils lost by thirty in both of their last two games versus Arizona and Utah. However, Stanford struggled against those same teams earlier in the season as well, but now, Stanford seems to have found momentum. They have won four of their last five and beat a ranked Oregon team. They have started to shoot the ball better and work together as a team. Stanford's momentum shouldn't be stopped against Arizona State Thursday.

For Arizona State, look out for Sophomore guard Tra Holder, who averages 14.6 points per game. Stanford successfully guarded USC's Jordan McLaughlin but slipped up against UCLA guards, Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton. If Stanford can cover Tra Holder like they did with McLaughlin, they'll be in a good position defensively on Thursday.

Offensively, Stanford has found success through Rosco Allen, Michael Humphrey, and Dorian Pickens. Rosco Allen and Michael Humphrey has been a consistent contributor all year, but Pickens has just recently emerged as a scorer after scoring twenty fives versus USC and sixteen against UCLA. All three players scored high numbers against UCLA, and hopefully, they can do the same against Arizona State.

Stanford beat Arizona State by only two points at home earlier in the year. Also, Stanford has been inconsistent on the road, but Stanford should still feel confident heading into Thursday. They have found their identity over the past two games, and Arizona State has been a struggling PAC-12 team all year. Stanford almost certainly needs to win the PAC-12 tournament to clinch a spot in March Madness, and if Stanford can win Thursday, they'll gain even more confidence heading into the tournament.

Be sure to watch the Cardinal Thursday night, 8 PT on Fox Sports 1.