The Stanford Cardinal, winners of four straight, are red-hot as they approach conference play as the team is rounding into form. Freshman sensation Ziaire Williams has scored in double figures in each of the past three games but even if he didn’t reach that ‘double-digit plateau,’ Williams was a factor, recording eight defensive boards and 10 total rebounds against North Carolina A&T.
Williams has scored at least 10 points in five of seven contests this year, and save for their most recent outing against CSU Bakersfield, has cut down on the turnovers since the season opener.
As Williams heats up, the Cardinal have seemingly found their groove as a team as well. During their four-game winning streak, Stanford is dominating the paint. In fact, over the past four games, they’ve outscored their opponents in the paint by a combined margin of 164-86.
Also during that four-game win streak, the Cardinal have seen a whopping 79.4% of their points come from their starting five players on the court.
Stanford isn’t only playing good basketball overall, they’re also snapping negative streaks. By beating Arizona during this win streak, the Cardinal snapped a 20-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
As they’re set to begin a full-conference schedule of play with Oregon State on December 31, we can take a look how they’ve fared overall, through seven games, that includes that four-game winning streak:
Average points per game: 72.7 (opponents: 64.6)
Field Goal Percentage: .461 (opponents: .385)
Rebounding per game: 37.4 (opponents: 35.0)
Assists per game: 12.6 (opponents: 11.9)
Turnovers per game: 16.0 (opponents: 16.9)
Individual leaders:
Points: Oscar da Silva, 18.8 points per game; Daejon Davis, 13.8 points per game; Williams, 12.0 points per game
Rebounds: da Silva, 6.0 rebounds per game; Williams, 5.9 rebounds per game; Bryce Wills, 5.0 rebounds per game
Assists: Davis, 19; Williams, 17; Williams & da Silva, 15
Steals: Spencer Jones, 13; Wills, 9; Davis & da Silva, 7
Blocks: Jones & Davis, 7; Williams, 4
Field goals made: da Silva, 48; Williams, 29; Wills, 28
3-point FG made: Jones, 10; Williams, 8; da Silva, Davis & Taitz, 5
Free throws made: da Silva, 31; Williams, 18; Davis, 16
Stanford next plays vs Oregon State on December 31 from Corvallis.
Comments
It is still early, but this is a good team
I’ve not been a Jerod Haase fan for most of his tenure. His players did not seem to improve under his tutelage. They were (and are) horrendous free throw shooters (something easily taught). They make way too many careless turnovers. And they played just well enough to lose against good teams. But this year has a different vibe. The man to man defense is outstanding. Every single player has bought into it. And they have four very good ball players in De Silva, Wills, Williams, and Davis. Wills, in particular, has been tremendous. If they had a capable big inside, they would be a top ten team. I also have to credit Williams for buying into the team concept. Although he may be a one and done (an unfortunate trend that now plagues Stanford), he is not trying to make this a highlight reel year. He shares the ball. He plays defense. And he brings two things to the team that will hopefully slop over to the other players: (1) excellent free throw shooting (calm, set routine, high arc); and (2) a high arching 3 point shot. The latter is key to making threes. Every good three point shooter in the pros shoots at roughly a 40-45 degree arc. Williams’s shot is at the high end, but it rarely hits the back of the rim, an indicator of a too-low arc.
The Arizona win was not a fluke. Except for one very brief moment, Stanford led the whole way. And it was on a neutral court. So, keep it up Stanford.
By SU74 on 12.28.20 9:57am