Stanford (12-11, 5-6) played arguably its best game of the season on Thursday in its drubbing of the Beavers. They played a game tonight, too.
The Cardinal were without Daejon Davis after Tres Tinkle’s head got the better of him. Oregon (15-9, 6-5) opted to press, putting the onus on Cormac Ryan and Bryce Wills to guide the offense. Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Stanford.
Stanford missed its first 13 attempts from the field, getting their first points on a Josh Sharma putback some 7 minutes into the game. They subsequently missed an additional 8 shots and didn’t score again for 6 more minutes. It took a late offensive eruption to go into the break with 20 points.
Even when they weren’t turning it over, they were running into the one-man wrecking crew of Kenny Wooten. The facemasked Wooten sent back 5 Cardinal shots in the first 20 minutes, and impacted countless others. He’ll long be in the nightmares of the Cardinal guards, and not just because he looked like Jason Voorhees.
In spite of the slow start, the Cardinal found themselves down only 10 points going into the locker room. Oregon shot just 36% from the field in the period. But the Duck offense wouldn’t be held in check for long.
Payton Pritchard quickly showed why he’s one of the premier players in the conference. The Oregon native scored 15 points on 6-6 shooting in the second half. The Stanford offense was waking up, but Pritchard put their comeback hopes to sleep. He was dynamic, using a series of nifty plays in the paint to extend the Duck advantage.
Stanford shot just 27% from the field on the game. They frequently struggled to get into their offensive sets, and when they did, they made futile attempts at finishing in the paint. Oscar da Silva, three days removed from a career day, saw only 10 minutes of action and was a complete non-factor. Even KZ Okpala couldn’t kickstart things, as he was held to 3-14 shooting.
There were a few things to like from Stanford. Bryce Wills showed he’s becoming a capable scorer, as he led Stanford with 13. Of course, that was a bit overshadowed by his 3-9 from the line. They also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 16 second chance points.
Wills and Okpala were the only Cardinal players in double figures. Josh Sharma added 8 points and 10 rebounds.
Oregon was led by the 20 of Payton Pritchard. Louis King put in 16, and Victor Bailey Jr chipped in 11. Kenny Wooten was probably their player of the game with his 7 blocks, tying a career high.
Stanford will return home to host the LA schools. USC is in Maples on Wednesday night. The Cardinal were swept on their LA road trip last month.
Comments
Stanford completely failed to adjust to the press
They deliberately dribbled and passed down each time, with occasional turnovers to boot, never looking to exploit by passing over the top or screening downcourt to free up a receiver. As a result, they got into what passes for their offense late, and had no rhythm. When you let the opponent dictate the entire flow of the game, you’re bound to lose.
Ballhandling is a major issue for this team and the loss of Daejon was keenly felt. Also, no one would should a three-pointed to exploit the zone defense, so the zone totally worked against them. Cormac Ryan needed to be ready to pull the trigger, but he kept shying away from taking the shot.
All in all, a pretty bad effort last night, but hopefully they’ll learn from it.
By worldblee on 02.11.19 9:10am
I put that all on the coach.
Bingo. Issac White, Sheffield, and Ryan are supposed to be 3-point shooters. But amazingly, Haase can’t draw up an offense to get them open shots. If Ryan and White are going to play, then they need to shoot the ball.
I also point to the fact that Haase had no offensive scheme designed to get the ball to Sharma on the block.
By Blackjoy on 02.11.19 9:59am
Yeah, it's fair to put that on the coach
"Offensive scheme" is somewhat of a phantom this year as they haven’t shown much in that regard.
Also, my bad in not typing "would shoot a three-pointer" in any way remotely close to the proper manner!
By worldblee on 02.11.19 12:43pm
A word about the distaff side
Not sure why Rule of Tree never runs any stories/commentary about Stanford women’s teams, but if any of you b-ball fans saw the Oregon debacle, I have one question. How is it that Sabrina Ionescu is never called for carrying the ball? She’s a great player for sure, but her signature move is a "hesitation" dribble that is more than just a slight hesitation. She dribbles, then pauses with her hand on the side of the ball (sometimes for a full second), then keeps going. Sorry, but that is either a double dribble or a carry. I know the pros routinely do the same thing, but the rules are supposed to mean something in college.
By SU74 on 02.12.19 1:28pm
Ha!
I watched that game and was thinking the same thing. In fairness, she doesn’t consistently turn her palm up, which is what you need to do to get called for a carry. I would like to see some close-ups and see if she’s turning her palm over on some of those.
Officiating in basketball is genuinely horrible. The NBA is corrupt. NCAA is biased and corrupt. The NCAAW officials are just incompetent and possible biased and corrupt. There is zero consistency in officiating from game to game. I saw the men’s Stanford vs Utah (or was it the OSU one?) game and the refs were on a binge of calling charging. Bryce Willis would drive, his defender would move in front of him, and the official would call a charge. It was truly mind-boggling.
While the women’s Oregon vs Stanford seemed decently officiated, the Utah can Cal games were horrific. On a game winning drive, the refs called Alana Smith for a charge. I am amazed at how bad the officiating is. The NCAA could easily pay to have one more ref on the floor and then require them to agree on calls, because so often the ref who blows the whistle has no clue what happened. I’d honestly think referring was super difficult, except I’ve seen refs do a great job officiating, so I know it’s possible.
By Blackjoy on 02.13.19 5:40pm
Referring really isn't that hard
I agree that, for what they get paid, Pac 12 referring is (and always has been) incredibly inconsistent and often just plain incompetent. At the high school and college level, it is not that difficult to learn how to be a decent ref. (The pros are a different story, as the NBA has its own set of unofficial rules regarding superstars.) First, you have to know the rules cold. With video tutorials, there is no excuse as you can see virtually all the nuances of every rule. Second, you have to be decisive. See it, call it. The less thinking the less chance of bias. Third, you have to ignore the crowds. Not every contact (even hard contact) is a foul. The crowd doesn’t see it that way, but you have to. Fourth, you have to understand what constitutes a charge. It is going to happen in the men’s and women’s games. And it is called inconsistently and incorrectly far too often.
The Pac 12 needs to critique each referee’s performance throughout the season and simply get rid of the ones who don’t improve. Two good refs can handle a game, but if one is poor, the other cannot cover for him or her.
By SU74 on 02.14.19 1:46pm