Tag: Stanford Cardinal

This mistake by Stanford men’s basketball could haunt them for years to come

Stanford basketball coach Jerod Haase was let go on Thursday, magnifying the Cardinal’s mistake not hiring Mark Madsen last offseason.

They say hindsight is 20-20, but Stanford’s decision to retain head coach Jerod Haase after last season – instead of hiring prominent alumni and Utah Valley coach Mark Madsen – was viewed as a crucial mistake at the time.

And it looks even worse now.

Madsen instead took the head job at Cal and is clearly in the process of turning the Golden Bears around, while Stanford floundered in mediocrity for another season before ultimately doing what should have been done last year, letting Haase go.

Haase was dismissed shortly after Stanford’s loss to Washington State on Thursday in the Pac-12 Tournament, and held himself accountable for the team’s struggles in an emotional postgame press conference.

“I have not won here to the level that I expect,” Haase said. “Just like I hold my team accountable, I’m being held accountable, and I have no issue with that.”

Stanford failed to make the big dance in all eight of Haase’s seasons in Palo Alto, finishing with a nearly perfect .500 record at 126-127 overall. While he was able to add high-end talent as a recruiter, including Harrison Ingram and Andrej Stojakovic, the on-court results just were not there and the program wanted to find new leadership before moving to the ACC.

Meanwhile, Cal has a full year head start on their rebuild – and it adds a little salt to the wound that Stanford’s bitter rival is in a better place because of Madsen, who almost certainly would have taken the Cardinal job if they had made it available one year ago instead of giving Haase one more – ultimately uninspired – season.

Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen wins Cabo Collegiate, earns PGA Tour exemption

Thor is back.

Michael Thorbjornsen missed almost half a year because of a back injury, including not being able to compete in the U.S. Amateur and the Walker Cup last summer.

He returned this spring for Stanford, and it was a struggle in his first start, a T-71 at the Amer Ari. Then he looked more like the Thor college golf fans have come to know with a T-17 finish at The Prestige.

It’s his latest victory that’s proves he’s back.

Thorbjornsen won the Cabo Collegiate on Tuesday at Twin Dolphin Club in Mexico. He shot 10-under 203 for the victory, beating Ole Miss’ Michael La Sasso by a shot for the title. La Sasso shot 7 under in the final round, including a 5-under mark over his last five holes, to finish runner-up.

Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen at the 2024 Cabo Collegiate. (Photo: Stanford Athletics)

Meanwhile, for Thorbjornsen, the victory earned him a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Championship, set for Nov. 7-10 at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

It’s also an important win in terms of the PGA Tour University standings. Last week, for the first time since the Class of 2024 rankings were released, Thorbjornsen lost his top position to Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht. Now, it’s likely Thorbjornsen slides back into the top spot with only a couple of months left in the season.

The player atop the PGA Tour U standings at the end of the year will earn a PGA Tour card. Nos. 2-5 in the standings will get Korn Ferry Tour status.

Arizona State (19 under) won the team competition by nine shots, bouncing back from its 14th-place finish last week. Texas Tech (10 under) and Arkansas (2 under) were the only other teams to finish under par. Defending champion Vanderbilt placed fourth at 1 over.

ASU’s Preston Summerhays finished third at 8 under while Wenyi Ding and Josele Ballester tied for 10th at 3 under.

Five keys to Colorado beating Stanford on senior night

Colorado can’t afford to overlook a struggling Stanford squad

Colorado men’s basketball seniors Tristan da Silva and Luke O’Brien will be playing their final regular season game at the CU Events Center on Sunday night against Stanford.

The Cardinal (12-16, 7-11) sit 10th in the Pac-12 standings, having lost seven of its last eight games. In what will be Colorado’s (19-9, 10-7) first and only regular season meeting with Stanford, the Buffs will be looking to win their fourth straight.

The Buffs sit fourth in the conference and remain on the cusp of March Madness. With the final three games of the season bringing great importance, the KJ Simpson-led Buffaloes look to take care of a reeling Stanford squad while sending their seniors off with a win in their last home game.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT on FS1.

Here are five keys to Colorado beating the Cardinal:

With Clark and Bueckers making announcements, attention turns to Stanford star Cameron Brink

Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers announced their plans for the future, so the women’s college basketball world turns their attention to Stanford’s Cameron Brink.

The star power in women’s college basketball is at an all-time high.

Not only is Caitlin Clark breaking records and dominating headlines, but Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink are making women’s hoops appointment television. The future is clearly bright with USC’s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo breaking records in their first collegiate campaigns.

And while Clark announced she is leaving to pursue the WNBA, Bueckers is giving it another shot at UConn, teaming with Azzi Fudd for what they hope will be a fully healthy season and a push for a national title.

That leaves Brink, a superstar forward from Stanford, as the biggest star yet to make a decision on her future.

“So, I’m sure all of you are wondering, as far as my decision goes to stay next year or enter the draft, I’m still undecided,” Brink told fans Sunday during a postgame celebration after Stanford defeated Arizona State to clinch Pac-12 regular-season title.

The 6-foot, 4-inch forward is averaging 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds on the year, including a dominant 25 point, 23 rebound performance against Oregon State on Thursday.

Should she declare, most expect her to go No. 2 in the WNBA draft behind Clark, but with name, image and likeness licensing opportunities aplenty in women’s basketball — and far more eyeballs watching the college game than the pros — Brink’s decision is not an easy one.

For now, Brink and the Cardinal turn their attention to finishing the regular season strongly, earning a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament and making a push to bring a national title to Palo Alto.

Men’s Basketball: Duke’s ACC opponents for 2024 are set

The ACC released its conference opponent schedule for 2024-25 on Thursday evening. See who Duke will host and travel to here.

The Duke Blue Devils have officially entered the month of March, which means things will get serious for them on the basketball court. The Blue Devils have just three regular-season games remaining before they play in the ACC Tournament and, after that, the NCAA Tournament for a chance to win the program’s sixth national title.

Even while that takes place, there’s an eye on next year’s team as the Blue Devils discover who their conference opponents will be for the 2024-25 season.

Next year is a big year for the ACC as it welcomes three new teams to the conference: SMU, Stanford, and California.

The expansion means some tweaks to the normal ACC schedule, however, and the conference revealed each team’s ACC foes for the 2024-25 season on Thursday.

Duke’s 20-game schedule for 2024-25 features two two-game series (home and away) versus its two current partners, North Carolina and Wake Forest. The Blue Devils are 1-2 currently this year against both teams. They also have a home-and-away series with the Miami Hurricanes for next season.

Duke will host California at Cameron Indoor for the first time. The last time the schools played was in 2019 when Duke blew Cal out by 35 points in an 87-52 win in the 2K Empire Classic.

Florida State, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Stanford, and Virginia Tech will all come to Cameron next year. Duke will travel for road games at Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, SMU, Syracuse, and Virginia next season.

Duke is 3-1 all-time against SMU in basketball. The Blue Devils’ road trip to SMU is only their second all-time, having played in Dallas on Dec. 8, 1977 – a game which Duke won by 24 points 91-67.

The ACC recently announced that, with the conference expanding to 18 members, only the top 15 teams in the conference will participate in the ACC Tournament next year, which is set to be played March 11-15 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The full schedule will be announced early this fall, equipped with specific game dates, times, and networks.

Oklahoma vs. Mississippi State and the best matchups this week in College Softball

The Oklahoma Sooners face the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a top 25 showdown, but what are the other top games this weekend.

The 2024 softball season is off and running, and tournament play from coast-to-coast continues this week.

The Oklahoma Sooners are heading west for the annual Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic for a five-game slate. Additionally, some fantastic matchups are happening in Austin, Raleigh and in Athens.

But what are the best matchups happening this weekend? Here’s a look at eight games we’re looking forward to.

College golf facilities: Stanford Cardinal and Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex

Take a look at the Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex.

The Stanford men’s and women’s golf teams have long been dominant, and looking at the Cardinal facilities, it’s easy to see why.

The Siebel Varsity Training Complex debuted in April of 2008. The 20-acre site is adjacent to the second hole at Stanford Golf Course and was a collaboration between Stanford and Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects.

The complex features bent grass hitting areas for golfers and donors, five custom green complexes that include bunkers, chipping and pitching areas able to accommodate full to half wedges and a 20,000-square foot putting green situated in front of the Varsity Golf Clubhouse.

Each putting complex is fashioned with characteristics of prominent golf course architects that team members will face in competition. Design features by Alistair MacKenzie, A.W. Tillinghast, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Pete Dye and Tom Fazio are presented. All five practice greens can be played to from a variety of locations on the property.

All greens are bent grass, although four strains were used on the large putting green and three smaller greens. Three types of sand were used in the bunkers, ranging from fine, medium and coarse. As a result, players can adapt to many specific conditions while preparing for tournaments.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex

ACC announces 15 teams will make men’s and women’s basketball tournament despite expansion

The ACC announced on Wednesday that the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will remain at 15 teams, despite the conference expanding to 18 teams.

The ACC announced on Wednesday that only 15 teams will play in the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments despite the conference’s expansion to 18 teams, starting in 2024-25.

The resolution came during the conference’s annual winter meetings, according to a release from the conference.

The ACC reiterated in the announcement that each team’s conference schedule will remain at 20 games for men and 18 for women.

The ACC is adding California, Stanford, and SMU next season to the conference’s current 15 teams.

The current format of the ACC basketball tournament gives the top four seeds a double-bye and the next five seeds a first-round bye, with the final six seeds playing in the opening round.

The conference also recently announced that Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina, will be the next two host cities for the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Georgia adds experienced transfer to loaded tight end room

Georgia lands commitment from experienced tight end transfer

Even despite having lost Brock Bowers to the NFL, the Georgia tight end room was still one of the best in SEC and college football, and that thought only became more evident Friday as the Bulldogs secured a commitment from Benjamin Yurosek.

Yurosek comes to Athens from Stanford, where he has spent each of the last four seasons as one of the Pac-12’s top pass catching tight ends.

A former three-star prospect from the 2020 class, Yurosek has seen in-game action each of the last three seasons at Stanford, a span in which he had a combined 108 receptions for 1,342 yards and five touchdowns. Yurosek also had 16 receptions for 239 yards and a touchdown this past season for the Cardinal, while also rushing for 53 yards on 11 attempts.

As for the impact that Yurosek can have as well, look no further than his 2021 season at Stanford in which he led the Cardinal with 43 receptions for 658 yards and three touchdowns.

Yurosek will now join a 2024 Georgia tight end room that also includes the likes of Oscar Delp, Lawson Luckie, Pearce Spurlin III, Colton Heinrich, and Jaden Reddell.

WBB Recap: Slow start costs Oregon a possible upset on The Farm

After falling down 20-0, the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team plays No. 8 Stanford almost even on the road.

If only they could just erase those first six minutes.

The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team fell down 20-0 to No. 8 Stanford on the road and although they made a valiant effort the rest of the way, the Cardinal came away with an 88-63 win.

It was a historic victory for Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer as she collected win No. 1,202, which ties her with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski for all-time wins in college basketball.

For Oregon, however, it was just another loss down on The Farm, a place the Ducks have won just three times in their history. They fell to 11-8 overall and 2-4 in Pac-12 play.

The game was over in that initial 20-0 run, but then Stanford’s All-American Cameron Brink injured her knee and didn’t come back rest on the night. With Stanford’s post player out, the Ducks went on a 15-2 run and cut that deficit in half at the end of the first quarter at 25-15.

Oregon eventually cut the lead to eight, but could never make a further dent in the deficit. The Ducks could have easily thrown in the towel, but they kept on playing and gained confidence which will hopefully carry over to the next game at California on Sunday.

Chance Gray led the Ducks with 19 points on 6-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point land. Phillipina Kyei was the only other Duck in double figures with 14 points.

The Ducks will next battle the Bears on Sunday for a noon tip-off.