Stanford started the season an impressive 6-0, but it was easy to have reservations. All 6 contests had been in Maples Pavilion, and each opponent was from a mid or low major conference. After this dominating win over Oklahoma, it’s time to start taking notice.
The Cardinal flew out to a 17-0 lead, stunning the 27th ranked Sooners and the nation at large. Jerod Haase’s defense flummoxed the Big 12 squad, forcing a series of turnovers and surrendering only contested jump shots. OU didn’t get their first points until the game was 6 minutes gone.
The Sooners managed a quick 10-0 run to cut the lead to 17-10 thanks to tough perimeter shots from Austin Reaves. But that was the last time the lead would be single digits, as the Cardinal responded with an immediate 7-0 run of their own.
They battled their way to a 37-24 advantage at the break. It was the fifth time in seven games that the Cardinal have conceded 25 or fewer in the first half. Oklahoma shot just 29% from the field in the frame and committed 8 turnovers.
It would’ve been easy to rest on the lead, but Stanford had other things in mind. They scored 4 quick points out of the locker room thanks to a block by Spencer Jones and a steal and slam from Oscar da Silva. The defensive effort didn’t seem to dip a bit, and Lon Kruger’s squad was visibly exasperated. Reaves was able to work his way for some tough buckets, but that was about it for the crimson and cream. It was deep into the second frame before they recorded their 4th assist, a true testament to a stifling defense.
Stanford led by as many 24 on their way to the 19 point win. It was the 7th double figure win in 7 games, and the walk-ons once again got game action. It was the first appearance for former manager Dan Begovich.
Tyrell Terry continues to exceed even the loftiest of expectations people had for him. He turned in his second consecutive 20-10 game, reaching those plateaus just seconds into the second half. He’s had 10+ points, 2+ assists, and 2+ steals in each game this season, becoming only the second player in the last 20 seasons to start their career with 7 such performances (Trae Young being the other). It’s uncanny how slow the game looks to him already.
Fellow freshman Spencer Jones had another standout performance, as well. The rangy wing is the prototypical 3-and-D archetype that every team wants these days. He scored 13 points on 4-8 from deep, grabbed 6 rebounds, and notched 3 blocks and 2 steals. A big part of this early season success is thanks to Jones’ shooting and grit, and he no doubt relished the opportunity to play in his backyard.
Bryce Wills was in double figures for the second time this season with 10. Oscar da Silva wasn’t his sharpest, but still put up 9 and 11. Daejon Davis scored 8 second half points and dished out 4 assists. The Cardinal held a 51-32 rebounding advantage, and shot 10-25 from distance. Four different players recorded two steals.
Oklahoma dropped their first game of the season after entering as 5 point favorites. Austin Reaves led the way with 17, while Alondes William and Brady Manek scored 12 and 10, respectively. Their star Kristian Doolittle managed just 4 points on 2-8 shooting while turning it over 4 times.
Stanford looks to win the tournament tomorrow when they face off against an undefeated Butler squad. The Bulldogs knocked off a Cuonzo Martin led Missouri earlier today, and looked very good in doing so. Like Oklahoma, they were the recipient of a handful of votes in the AP poll.
Comments
Will the Butler do it?
Stanford’s youth movement has been looking more promising with each game. Oscar da Silva has been consistent enough on the offensive end but Bryce Wills and Daejon Davis are still playing like spectators, especially Davis.
Fortunately, everyone’s locked-in on defense and that’s more of an uptick on the freshmen’s part than could’ve been expected. Wills is a good defender to assign to opponents’ top perimeter threats. Davis is a really tough defender with great instincts. Of course, Tyrell Terry seems to be the veterans’ precocious little brother, who listens when Davis and Wills coach him. The veterans are setting the example and feeding off the youngsters’ energies and enthusiasm. Quick, athletic, long enough, and hops…all of that seems to mesh, so far.
James Keefe is raw but improving and Lukas Kisunas is playing like a veteran. Spencer Jones is a great scoring addition, who plays defense really well for a frosh. Jaiden Delaire’s offense is sporadic but keeps defenses honest, and he’s a really versatile defender.
Maybe Oklahoma had a bad day? The Sooners were definitely a higher caliber challenge, but would the Cardinal have stayed with them if that early 17-0 burst hadn’t happened? Now, Butler awaits.
A next-day turnaround against another good team? Butler’s team includes 9 upperclass players who will raise the bar. How good can this young Cardinal team be? Stay tuned…
By Candid One on 11.26.19 12:03am
As Tyrell Terry goes, so goes the team
The key to this team is Terry. Jones is the X factor.
Personally, I think the offense Haase is running is terrible. But I admittedly don’t know much about basketball offensive play calling. The good news is the defense is much better now than when Haase took over, so Haase is doing something tight.
Whoever that really big kid on the bench is, Haase is TOTALLY unware how good that kid could be. He’s got a tremendous motor and if Haase would play him consistently he would settle down and could average a double-double.
Daejon is trying too hard. He needs to relax and let the game come to him.
Its hard to figure out how good this team is. We may not really know until they play UW and Arizona.
By Blackjoy on 11.26.19 4:44pm
Both Daejon Davis and Bryce Wills have different early roles
Last year, Sharma, Okpala, and da Silva were most of the front court defense. This year, da Silva needs different help. Wills and Davis are carrying a lot of the defensive load; they get the toughest assignments. This season, Davis is only shooting half as often as Terry but both are making around 49% of their shots. Davis is not shooting as much because, unlike last year, Stanford usually more scorers on the floor. Davis is currently leading the team in assists and steals. Until this HOF tournament, Daejon’s scoring hasn’t been needed. Last year, he was the Cardinal’s #2 scorer, after Okpala, despite missing many games. Davis knows how to score but hasn’t needed to carry the load. As team chemistry evolves and competition toughens, it’s likely that Davis and Wills will contribute more scoring. Unlike last year’s horridly tough nonconference schedule, they haven’t seen enough challenge to guage how wary the rest of the PAC-12 should be. But last year’s showing was plagued by injury and illness to Davis and Cormac Ryan; certainly, the loss of Daejon last year was pivotal in several games. Health will matter this year too, as the frosh confront the attention they’re earning from future opponents.
By Candid One on 11.27.19 2:18am
Butler game
Unfortunately we lost, but that was an amazing see-saw game against Butler last night. I thought we were outmatched early but was excited to see how we fought back and almost won. I wonder if there could have been a different scheme to stop the red-hot Kamar Baldwin at the end, since it was almost a foregone conclusion they would go to him again. And I was also confused why we didn’t call a time-out after Butler went up by 1 with a few seconds left. Did we have no time-outs left?
By brandtjl1 on 11.27.19 9:59am
Haase had a timeout in his pocket
But in college, the general consensus is to play it out in such a spot. There’s no half court advance rule like in the NBA, and going the length of the court in 5 seconds is a lot easier against a scrambling defense than one that’s set.
By Grant Avalon on 11.27.19 11:02am
Haase should have forced Baldwin to give up the ball
During the timeout after the 5 second call against Butler, Haase should have known that Baldwin was the one person Stanford did not want to shoot. He should have had Da Silva (or whoever was guarding McDermott) double team Baldwin with Davis and forced someone else to shoot the ball, McDermott would have been my first choice.
Speaking of McDermott, you could see that the kid could barely move. Haas should have called numerous clear outs for the guy he was guarding.
I honestly don’t get the offense Haase is running. With out Terry and Davis ad libbing, I think we’d be 1-7. I thought we should have beaten Butler by 15, but we have plays where Da Silva is trying to dribble down from the free thrown line and gets stripped repeatedly. Really Haase? We also have zero offensive rebounding on account of the scheme putting everyone on the perimeter.
I have to say, had Terry’s lost shot happened in the 1st half, the refs call a foul. A Butler player totally runs into Terry and takes out Terry’s legs as he’s trying go to the basket, but no call because of the bullshit mentality of "let the players decide the game" aka we don’t call fouls in last second shots? Ridiculous.
By Blackjoy on 11.27.19 5:37pm