M. Basketball: Ducks Down

Jan. 25, 2010, 12:50 a.m.

Landry Fields and Jeremy Green put on a scoring clinic, the Cardinal big men shut down one of the conference’s best post players and Stanford rolled to an 84-69 victory over Oregon (10-9, 2-5 Pacific-10 Conference) on Saturday to wrap up an impressive and dominant home stand.

Sophomore Jeremy Green scored 25 of the Cardinal’s 84 in a win against Oregon on Saturday. The guard was one of three Stanford players in double digits, helping to improve the Card’s record to 9-2 at home. (GARNER KROPP/The Stanford Daily)
Senior Landry Fields scored 32 of the Cardinal’s 84 in a win against Oregon on Saturday. The forward was one of three Stanford players in double digits, helping to improve the Card’s record to 9-2 at home. (GARNER KROPP/The Stanford Daily)

Fields had a career-high 32 points and Jeremy Green tallied 25 of his own on eight for 12 shooting, including three of four from behind the arc. Fields also led the Cardinal (10-9, 4-3 Pac-10) in nearly every statistical category — he added eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

“He’s just a great player,” said head coach Johnny Dawkins. “He’s broken some barriers and it’s only helping.”

The Cardinal was in control for much of the game, as Stanford jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half. A running jumper by Fields with three seconds to go before halftime gave the Cardinal a 39-30 advantage heading into the locker room.

The early going was characterized by physical play from both teams. Each had success on the offensive boards and, subsequently, plenty of second-chance opportunities. Stanford, though, was able to capitalize on those chances, to the tune of 11 points, while Oregon was left wanting — they tallied just five points. This was in large part because Stanford was able to couple its aggressiveness with finesse, while the Ducks were unable to maintain much control. This was particularly evident in the play of their sophomore center, Michael Dunigan, generally considered one of the Pac-10’s budding stars. He was held to just two points — both came on free throws — and tallied no rebounds, as he flung his body around the post against smaller defenders, but could not register any results. His directionless play earned him frequent trips to the bench.

The absence of one of their top producers put the Ducks at a serious disadvantage, particularly because Stanford’s stars were practically uncontainable. But that was not the sole reason for the Cardinal’s success — in its second game as a shorthanded team dealing with chronic injuries, Stanford was able to utilize the entirety of their rotation effectively.

Sophomore Matei Daian, for instance, had six points, four of which came off of put-backs on missed shots. Classmate sophomore Jack Trotter, the Cardinal’s main post scoring threat, displayed other parts of his game, bringing down key rebounds and dishing out four assists with zero turnovers. Both Daian and Trotter were effective in eliminating Dunigan and Oregon’s frontcourt presence for much of the game.

“Matei gave us a big lift off the bench again,” Dawkins said, “and Jack Trotter handled the ball well against their pressure.”

But it wasn’t just the big men either. After sophomore point guard Jarrett Mann got into early foul trouble, Dawkins turned the offense over to redshirt junior Da’Veed Dildy, who kept the attack churning. Thrown in with extensive minutes from senior Drew Shiller, who added 10 points and effective defense against Oregon’s senior Tajuan Porter and the guards were able to demonstrate their depth.

With the entire machine rolling, the Cardinal was able to expand on its lead in the second half. Stanford raced out to a 20-point advantage in just over six minutes and got its lead to as high as 23 points.

“I thought we had a good start coming out of halftime and gained some momentum,” Dawkins said. “We were able to play consistently from then on.”

“The second half is the time to close the game,” Green said.

The contest appeared to be over, but Oregon had other plans. Porter, who had been shut down for about 36 minutes, exploded at the end, nailing three-pointer after three-pointer to bring the Ducks to within 13 points. He went from just four points with 3 minutes, 30 seconds remaining to 16 at the game’s conclusion.

“Porter can score as fast as any young man I’ve ever seen,” Dawkins said. “With him as a weapon they are capable of beating anybody.”

But Porter’s outburst was too little, too late. The Ducks fouled constantly in an effort to exploit an old Stanford weakness — free throws — but the Cardinal was consistent from the stripe. The team drained 76.3 percent of its shots from the line.

Stanford now sits in second place in the topsy-turvy Pac-10, with six of its next eight games on the road. Although the Cardinal has been effective in defending its home court, it has yet to find much success outside of Maples. But in the previous two games, it has dominated two conference opponents, both of whom were picked to finish ahead of the Cardinal this year.

It’s a hard team to project, but Stanford’s resiliency is, at this point, tangible.

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