Tag: Stanford Basketball

Pac-12 women’s basketball report: Stanford stunned, Utah ties for first

Stanford’s loss to Washington abruptly turned the Pac-12 race. Utah’s title odds have risen, and Colorado is back in the hunt.

The Stanford Cardinal lost to USC three weeks ago, but had not lost a game since then. The Cardinal were still leading the Pac-12 standings heading into their Sunday game in Seattle against the Washington Huskies. USC won in Seattle two weeks ago, but it wasn’t easy. The Trojans had to battle into overtime to finish off UW.

The Huskies haven’t thrived in the Pac-12 this season, but they have been consistently competitive. Stanford was fully expected to win, but Washington was going to make the Trees earn it.

Washington picked quite a time to break through and play crunch-time minutes better than it had at any previous point this year.

Washington had come up short in OT against USC, late in regulation against UCLA, and against other high-profile opponents. On this day, however, the Huskies stacked together several late-game defensive stops. They also crashed the boards and scored 30 points in the second quarter after an eight-point first quarter. Trailing 65-63 with 3:19 left, they scored the next eight points and earned a 72-67 win.

Washington finished plus-10 in rebounds and allowed only two offensive boards to Stanford’s powerful front line. A team which had knocked on the door but hadn’t busted through finally crossed the threshold …

… much as USC finally broke through against the same Stanford team after losing twice to UCLA by a combined total of four points.

Stanford’s loss to Washington, combined with Utah’s win at Oregon on Sunday, pushed the Utes into a first-place tie with the Cardinal. Colorado swept the Oregon schools as well to be one game back.

It’s a three-team race again after it seemed Stanford and Utah were separating from the pack.

Stanford goes to Colorado and Utah on the final weekend of the regular season in late February. Those two games are likely to decide the 2023 Pac-12 champion.

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Pac-12 women’s basketball report: 8 teams likely to go to NCAA Tournament

Washington State’s road wins at Arizona and Arizona State put the Cougars inside the cut line. Meanwhile, it’s a Stanford-Utah battle for the Pac-12 title.

The USC Trojans are doing really well. They’re winning lots of games. They have a 16-5 record.

They must be situated in an easy conference, right? They’re taking advantage of weak opponents, right?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In men’s college basketball, the Big 12 has a good chance of putting eight of its 10 teams in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. That’s the gold standard among conferences. The Big Ten might get nine, but that’s out of 14 teams, not 10. The Big 12 could put 80 percent of its teams into the field. That’s crazy.

In women’s college basketball, the Pac-12 is poised to put two-thirds of its 12 teams into the field. Yes, eight teams are now likely to make the Big Dance with USC in the process of solidifying a bid (not a lock, but now really close) and Washington State significantly improving its bubble resume. The Cougars were near the cut line heading into the weekend, but they won at Arizona State and then beat No. 19 Arizona in Tucson. Wazzu got star player Charlisse Leger-Walker back in its lineup after she missed the USC and UCLA games due to having to tend to a private family matter in her native New Zealand. Leger-Walker was fresh and rested for the Arizona game. She helped the Cougars upset the Wildcats, exactly the kind of win WSU needed to feel much safer about making the NCAA Tournament.

Eight teams is a huge haul for the Pac-12, reminding everyone that whereas football and men’s basketball are often a struggle for the Pac, women’s basketball has been delivering the goods for some time.

The other big news story of the weekend in Pac-12 women’s basketball is that with USC beating Colorado, the Buffaloes absorbed their third conference loss of the season, pushing them one game behind Utah for second place in the conference.

Stanford leads at 9-1 after sweeping the Oregon schools. Utah is second at 8-2 after sweeping USC and UCLA. Colorado is third at 7-3. UCLA got swept on its Mountain road trip to Colorado and Utah. Arizona lost to Washington State, meaning that the Wildcats and Bruins are 6-4, further removed from the top tier. This is now a three-team race at the most. Realistically, it’s now a two-team battle between Utah and Stanford.

Colorado isn’t out of the race, but the Buffs now have zero margin for error, and they have lots of tough games left: at Oregon, at Arizona, home against Stanford. This weekend separated the top two from the rest of the field, even while the Pac-12 likely increased its NCAA Tournament bid count.

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Pac-12 basketball report: Stanford beats Colorado to regain sole possession of first place

When Stanford lost to USC, the Cardinal no longer had first place all to themselves in the Pac-12. Now they do again, after sweeping Utah and Colorado.

USC might have helped Stanford become better as a team. The Cardinal, after losing to Lindsay Gottlieb’s Trojans one week ago, were freshly humbled. The 55-46 loss to USC came out of nowhere, but it certainly transformed the Trojans’ season. USC is now an NCAA Tournament contender with better-than-even odds of making the field.

That game might have transformed Stanford’s season as well.

The Cardinal were very alert, attentive and forceful in two double-digit wins over nationally-ranked opponents this past weekend in Palo Alto. Stanford handled No. 8 Utah by 12 on Friday in Maples Pavilion. The Trees then stopped No. 24 Colorado by 13 on Sunday afternoon.

What made the effort all the more impressive for Stanford was that guard Talana Lepolo was out with an injury. The Cardinal persisted and played stellar defense in both games.

Stanford is now 7-1, all alone atop the Pac-12. The Cardinal lost sole possession of first place when they fell to USC. The Trees got back on track and moved ahead of the two mountain schools and UCLA, which are all 6-2 in the conference.

UCLA won at Washington State on Sunday. Utah won at Cal. Arizona won at Arizona State.

USC is tied for fifth in the conference with Arizona at 5-3.

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USC women’s basketball moves into projected NCAA Tournament field after huge win over Stanford

ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme moved #USC into his projected NCAA Tournament field. Catch up with all the news and notes after USC beat Stanford.

This is how you know something big has happened, and that the game has changed for USC women’s basketball.

The Trojans are now a projected NCAA Tournament team after taking down No. 2 Stanford and dealing the Cardinal their second loss of the season. Stanford’s only other loss was to No. 1 South Carolina, the defending national champion.

All jokes aside about Stanford being unable to beat USC — either the one in Columbia, South Carolina, or the one in Los Angeles — the Trojans did vault past a lot of bubble teams and moved into the field with a win over a projected No. 1 seed. Stanford is still a No. 1 seed and would need to lose at least one more game, probably two, to risk losing that seeding position.

Beating a No. 1 seed is as good a bubble win as it gets. USC’s projection as an NCAA Tournament team, which you will see below from an ESPN bracketologist, is not an overreaction to the win over Stanford.

The other really good sign for USC’s NCAA tourney prospects: The Pac-12 is so deep in women’s basketball that USC will have other chances to notch high-value wins and keep moving up the board. As long as the Trojans win the games they are supposed to win, merely picking off two or three more high-end wins should be enough to get them into the field.

Here’s the ESPN projection below, accompanied by a lot of other news items, statistics, notes, and team reactions:

Texas basketball earns hard fought win over Stanford, 72-62

No. 7 Texas improves to 9-1 with a double-digit win over Stanford.

Texas basketball has been through more than its share of adversity this season. On Sunday, the team continued to deliver quality effort in a double-digit win over Stanford.

Stanford is not a very good basketball team this year. The squad fell to 4-7 on the season. Nevertheless, the Cardinal posed presumably a bigger challenge than the Rice Owls earlier in the week.

Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice led the charge for Texas offensively. Carr totaled 17 points while Allen and Rice each added 15 points of their own.

The Longhorns shot 45.2% from the field and 38.1% from three point range.

This Texas team has showed resilience since Rodney Terry took over as acting head coach. And while they haven’t been able to dominate opposition, there’s something to be said for taking the court and winning regardless of margin of victory.

Texas (9-1) will face the sneakily good Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (10-1) on December 21 as they prepare for their New Years Eve conference opener with Oklahoma.

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Gonzaga strengthens Texas’ resume with win over No. 4 Alabama

Texas faces Stanford at 12 pm CT on ESPN2.

The Texas Longhorns’ resume looks stronger after Saturday. No. 15 Gonzaga, who Texas dismantled earlier this season, soundly defeated the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Gonzaga is off to a rockier start than usual. The Bulldogs sit at 9-3 on the year with double digit losses to Purdue and Texas and a one-point loss to Baylor. Albeit, their schedule is not without resume-building wins.

Saturday’s 100-90 win over the Crimson Tide wasn’t the only big win the Bulldogs have secured. Gonzaga defeated Kentucky 88-72 in addition to close wins over Michigan State, Xavier and Washington. In short, they are facing a nonconference gauntlet.

Plenty of uncertainty surrounds the Texas basketball program, but the team is fortunate to have earned an early win over one of the top teams in the country.

Given its performance against Rice, the Longhorns can’t take anything for granted moving forward. For that reason, the Gonzaga win could pay dividends on Selection Sunday at the end of the season.

Texas faces Stanford at 12 pm CT on ESPN2.

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No. 1 South Carolina versus No. 2 Stanford is the main course of college basketball’s Feast Week

Previewing Sunday’s college basketball matchup between Stanford and South Carolina.

Do you enjoy watching basketball played at its absolute peak? If so, Sunday’s women’s college basketball game between No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks and No. 2 Stanford Cardinal should do more than settle your basketball appetite.

The clash of the NCAA’s best will check off many boxes that include the future stars of the WNBA, some of the top recruits from recent high school classes and better yet, a showdown between two teams that recently reached college basketball’s mountaintop.

We dive into it all ahead of Sunday’s potential national championship preview. Here’s what to watch for, a brief history of the two and how to watch.

Arizona vs Stanford College Basketball Prediction, Game Preview

Arizona vs Stanford prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win on Thursday.

Arizona vs Stanford prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Thursday, March 10

Arizona vs Stanford Game Preview, Pac 12 Tournament How To Watch

Date: Thursday, March 10
Game Time: 3:00 ET
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
How To Watch: Pac-12 Network
Record: Arizona (28-3), Stanford (16-15)
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– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Arizona State vs Stanford College Basketball Prediction, Game Preview

Arizona State vs Stanford prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win on Wednesday.

Arizona State vs Stanford prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Wednesday, March 9

Arizona State vs Stanford How To Watch

Date: Wednesday, March 9
Game Time: 3:00 ET
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
How To Watch: Pac-12 Network
Record: Arizona State (14-16), Stanford (15-15)
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– Today’s Best Bet to Lock in Now

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– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Arizona State vs Stanford Game Preview, Pac-12 Tournament

Why Arizona State Will Win

The Sun Devils have finally started to win.

They played well throughout the year – especially on the defensive side – but there wasn’t any payoff in loss after loss. That all changed around the middle of February, and now it comes into the Pac-12 Tournament on a 7-1 run.

The defense continues to be fantastic – no one has hit 70 points on the Sun Devils over the last eight games, and getting to 60 has been a grind. That includes a win over Stanford a few day ago..

Arizona State might not be hitting enough from three, but the defense is suffocating. Stanford only hit 37% from the field and couldn’t seem to get anything going in the 65-56 loss, but …

– Latest Polls AP | Coaches

Why Stanford Will Win

Stanford can hit the boards.

It’s not shooting well and scoring has been a problem. Fortunately, this isn’t going to be any sort of a shootout – the Cardinal should never be out of this.

As long as it can play a grinding game and win the rebounding battle – it was +10 against the Sun Devils – Stanford should be dangerous. It was able to win the first meeting back in late January even though it didn’t shoot well, but …

– Top 25 Game Previews, Predictions

Arizona State vs Stanford: What’s Going To Happen

Stanford has apparently decided that it’s done scoring for the 2021-2022 college basketball season.

It hasn’t hit 70 points in a few weeks, it’s not getting enough from three, and it’s not doing a thing to manufacture points from the free throw line.

This isn’t going to be anything remotely pretty, but it’ll look just fine for an Arizona State defense that should take over early on.

Arizona State vs Stanford Prediction, Lines

Arizona State 65, Stanford 57
Line: Arizona State -3.5, o/u: 128.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3

– CFN Latest NFL Mock Draft: Post-Combine

Must See Rating: 2.5

5: King Otto
1: Lost City

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2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

Arizona vs Stanford Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview

Arizona vs Stanford prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win on Thursday.

Arizona vs Stanford prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Thursday, March 3

Arizona vs Stanford How To Watch

Date: Thursday, March 3
Game Time: 9:00 ET
Venue: McKale Center, Tucson, AZ
How To Watch: ESPN2
Record: Arizona (25-3), Stanford (15-13)
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Arizona vs Stanford Game Preview

Why Stanford Will Win

Stanford is having a few problems, only beating lowly Oregon State over the last six games and putting up just 39 points more than you did against Cal a few days ago.

However, the team can still hit the boards.

Arizona might have all the talent, the scoring, and the pop to score in surges, but there’s no shot to hang with this team if you can’t rebound.

Stanford gets a ton of offensive rebounds because there are plenty of changes, but it’s second in the Pac-12 behind Arizona in rebounding margin. It came up with nine more than the Wildcats in the first meeting and …

– Latest Polls AP | Coaches

Why Arizona Will Win

And Stanford lost 85-57.

There’s just no scoring punch with the Cardinal right now. It shot well against the miserable Beavers, but they couldn’t buy a basket. They’ve had major issues just to get 60 points over the last several weeks, and they’re about to struggle against the Wildcat defense, too.

Arizona is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage allowed, and not it’s getting a team that hasn’t come close to hitting 40% of its shots over any of its last three games.

The Wildcats average over 84 points per game. Stanford has scored more than 80 once since pushing past Dartmouth in overtime in mid-December.

– Top 25 Game Previews, Predictions

What’s Going To Happen

At some point Arizona is going to give everyone a rest.

It already has the Pac-12 regular season title locked up, and there’s still a date with Cal in a few days as the home finale, but the focus should still be there.

Stanford will be plucky, and it’ll be able to hang around a bit, but it’s just won’t score enough to pull off the shocker.

Arizona vs Stanford Prediction, Lines

Arizona 83, Stanford 64
Line: COMING, o/u: COMING
ATS Confidence out of 5: COMING

Must See Rating: 2

5: Tyrannosaurus regina
1: Tyrannosaurus imperator

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2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams