Get caught up with how the men’s basketball team has been doing over the past week with our breakdowns of the last three games:
Stanford 83, Carroll (Montana) 38
Two days after Christmas, Stanford men’s basketball team showed no signs of missing a beat in its final game before conference play began, opening the floodgates early en route to an 83-38 blowout victory over the Carroll Fighting Saints. The Cardinal improved to 7-4, while Carroll dropped to 8-4.
Guard/forward Dorian Pickens once again led the charge, totaling 18 points on just nine shots, including 3-of-5 from downtown. Over the previous three games, Pickens had shot 8-of-34 from the field, including a staggering 52.2 percent from deep.
“We believe in Dorian and what he is capable of,” head coach Johnny Dawkins said. “And he’s not where he’s going to be. He’s hitting his stride. We watch it in practice and now we’re seeing it translate.”
Pickens was able to probe the Saints’ defense, especially on the right wing, to set up fellow sophomore forward Michael Humphrey on the pick and roll. Humphrey scored two baskets in the opening two minutes, opening up the floor for senior forward Rosco Allen, who had 13 points in the first half to help Stanford jump out to a 44-18 lead.
The Saints, who were without leading scorer Zach Taylor, had a difficult time establishing their offense from the start, while Marcus Allen stayed active on the perimeter and helped Stanford score 25 points off 12 Carroll turnovers.
– Irving Rodriguez
***
Stanford 70, No. 21 Utah 68
On Jan. 1, Stanford opened the new year and Pac-12 play with a 70-68 upset-win over then-No. 21 Utah.
Senior Rosco Allen scored the game-tying basket with 10.5 seconds left in regulation, and while Utah had the opportunity to secure the lead with 1.8 seconds remaining, Utah’s Brandon Taylor missed both shots, forcing the game into overtime during which Stanford would outscore the Utes by 2, with all five of its seven points, including the go-ahead bucket, coming from Allen
While Utah had the ball for the last play of overtime, Lorenzo Bonam was called for a travel. The Utes also played those final five minutes without their top scorer, Jakob Poeltl, who had scored 16 points before fouling out in regulation.
Overall, the Utes went 11-for-24 off free throws, including 3-for-9 in the second half and 1-for-4 in overtime. Aside from the pair of shots from the charity stripe that Taylor missed, Utah missed another two during the last 20 seconds of regulation and two more during overtime. Their 19 turnovers, off which Stanford scored 11 points, also allowed the Cardinal to come back in the second half from a 12-point deficit.
Stanford had a slow start from the field, shooting under 25 percent in the first half, but came out much stronger after halftime, recording a 53.1 field goal percentage. Marcus Sheffield, earning his career high, and Marcus Allen combined for 31 points, while Rosco Allen ended the game with 17 of his own.
The game marked the team’s first win against Utah since March 2014; the Cardinal had lost to the Utes twice last year, 75-59 and 80-56. The win also marked the team’s second win in overtime this season from that many overtime games.
– Alexa Philippou
***
Stanford 55, Colorado 56
A second-half comeback managed to make things interesting, but Stanford (8-5, 1-1) fell 56-55 to Colorado (12-3, 1-1) to give the team its first loss in Pac-12 play.
As has happened often this season, Stanford started slow, finding themselves down 10 points by halftime. The Cardinal tightened their interior defense after the break, forcing the Buffaloes into lower-percentage, long-range attempts, but Colorado was able to corral enough rebounds and sink enough key baskets to stay just in front as the clock expired.
Michael Humphrey led Stanford with 19 points and 8 rebounds. The sophomore was the only Cardinal player to score in double figures as the perimeter players in particular struggled, the first time all season in which the team hadn’t had multiple shooters hit this mark.
The Cardinal were out-shot, out-rebounded and out-assisted by the Buffaloes but managed to make up much of the difference in turnovers and free throws. Stanford forced 12 more takeaways over the course of the game and collected 10 more points from the charity stripe than their opponents, continuing to cement these areas as strengths but doing little to improve on their shortcomings from other recent games.
Josh Scott topped all Colorado scorers with 14 points, while substitute George King made a few key plays down the stretch to keep the Buffaloes in the lead.
The defeat marks the end of a seven-game home stand for the team, a period which saw them go 5-2 after starting out the season with a 3-3 record. Stanford’s two losses during this stretch came by a collective three points, indicating that this team possesses considerable potential if it can take a slight step up in Pac-12 play.
– Andrew Mather