Stanford beat Washington State 71-56 in their Pac-12 opener this afternoon at Maples Pavilion. They outscored the Cougars 44-32 in the second half and overcame a significant deficit at the free throw line. (WSU had 18 more attempts.) Not Stanford's best performance, and Washington State is not exactly a formidable opponent, but a Pac-12 win is a Pac-12 win.
The good
-Marcus Allen was terrific off the bench, scoring six first-half points (eight total) and grabbing three rebounds. He provided a much-needed boost when Stanford was sluggish early.
-Stefan Nastic was very aggressive on the offensive end. He was able to get to the free throw line nine times, initiating contact on several drives from the free throw line area. Nastic finished with 16 points.
-Along with Allen, Robert Cartwright's energy helped turn things around for the Cardinal.
-Very solid all-around game from Anthony Brown, who scored 13 points, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, and had five assists.
-You're starting to see the ceiling everybody talked about with Michael Humphrey as a recruit. He hit three midrange jumpers in Stanford's win over Pine-Bluff the other day, and drove from the three-point line and knocked in a little floater today. It was not a move/finish many 6-10 players are capable of producing. He still needs to get a lot stronger and the fouls are problematic (3 more in 9 minutes), but you see flashes.
-Stanford held Washington State to only 10 points in the final 13 minutes of the first half after the Cougars took an early lead.
The bad
-Stanford's slow start. The Cardinal trailed 8-0 and then 14-4 before getting things going. Slow starts have plagued Stanford for much of the early season. Stanford started Grant Verhoeven in Reid Travis' place today. I wonder if Stanford tweaks its starting lineup with Travis out. With both Verhoeven and Christian Sanders on the floor at the same time - two nonscorers - perhaps there is a higher risk for a slow offensive start as was the case tonight? Then again, Rosco Allen seems to have taken to the sixth man role, and you have to like Cartwright and Marcus Allen's energy off the bench, so we'll see how they approach it.
-Chasson Randle's slow start - he was 0-7 from the field before finding his rhythm and going 5-6 the rest of the way.
-The officiating was a bit ticky tack at times, but Stanford never wants to allow 39 free throws in a game. The Cardinal was fortunate the Cougars missed 15.
Postgame Quotes (via Go Stanford)
Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
“We got off to a slow start, so to bounce back and take control in the second half against a team like Washington State was great to see from the guys. I’m pleased with how they responded.”
“We are going to miss Reid. He’s a big body that provides rebounds and offers us a strong presence on the court. But anytime there is an injury or need to replace a starter, it’s just an opportunity for other guys to step up like Grant did today. I thought Grant did a great job for us today and I am pleased with his performance.”
“Rosco is like a sixth starter for us. He comes in and gives us points, which brings a different match-up because he can play a variety of positions on the court. Rosco gave us a lot of versatility and productivity, which was what we especially needed off to a slow start and several baskets behind.”
Stanford Senior Anthony Brown
“Our bench did a great job today, especially Rosco and Marcus. The bench carried us for part of the first half all the way through the end of the game. In games like today, the starters picked up fouls and the bench provided energy and productivity.”
“We need to play a lot better than today, especially when we have a tough schedule ahead of us. We need to have a better start on our home court. Anytime you have a ranked opponent come to your house, you can’t let them leave with a win and that’s our mindset for the upcoming home game.”
Stanford Sophomore Marcus Allen
“My mindset was to provide energy off the bench. Though we had a slow start, my job was to get the starters up and bring them my energy so the team can be up as a whole.”
Washington State Head Coach Ernie Kent
"I thought it was a good, physical conference game and I was proud of the way we battled a strong team on their home floor. We were excellent in executing our game plan, particularly in the first 10 minutes of the game. We had an opportunity to really put them in a big hole, but we took some really quick shots -- out of rhythm shots -- consequently we missed those shots. I thought our guys 'hunted' a little too much -- they had a look, then they wanted to jack it up real quick.”
"We gave them eight second-chance points on seven offensive rebounds in the first half. Those are all mental things where we broke down and they made us pay. In the second half, they became the aggressor, and you're not going to beat a lot of people when you're 24-39 from the free throw line. Of the two best free-throw shooting teams in the conference, they made theirs and we didn't make ours. We missed way too many free throws, and we lost the ballgame. It's as simple as that."
"When you've got Randle going 0-7 in the first half, you're doing some things right with him defensively. But he's a great player, and he took over the game in the second half. There are not a lot of adjustments you can make when a guy is blowing right by you in the lane and they're so big underneath.”
Washington State Sophomore Josh Hawkinson
"We sort of let this one get away from us. We knew that Randle was going to come back and score in the second half, but we still were unable to stop him. Randle, Nastic and Brown were the key guys we knew we had to stop, and they put it together in the second half."
"I've found all season long that there's a soft spot in the middle, whether it was man or zone. I wasn't able to knock down a shot in this game, but it's normally there. I was short on every single shot -- I wasn't using my legs -- I was having an off-day. We're going to get back into the gym, and we're going to fix that. We'll come out better shooting in the next game."
This post was edited on 1/2 6:09 PM by Andy Drukarev
The good
-Marcus Allen was terrific off the bench, scoring six first-half points (eight total) and grabbing three rebounds. He provided a much-needed boost when Stanford was sluggish early.
-Stefan Nastic was very aggressive on the offensive end. He was able to get to the free throw line nine times, initiating contact on several drives from the free throw line area. Nastic finished with 16 points.
-Along with Allen, Robert Cartwright's energy helped turn things around for the Cardinal.
-Very solid all-around game from Anthony Brown, who scored 13 points, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, and had five assists.
-You're starting to see the ceiling everybody talked about with Michael Humphrey as a recruit. He hit three midrange jumpers in Stanford's win over Pine-Bluff the other day, and drove from the three-point line and knocked in a little floater today. It was not a move/finish many 6-10 players are capable of producing. He still needs to get a lot stronger and the fouls are problematic (3 more in 9 minutes), but you see flashes.
-Stanford held Washington State to only 10 points in the final 13 minutes of the first half after the Cougars took an early lead.
The bad
-Stanford's slow start. The Cardinal trailed 8-0 and then 14-4 before getting things going. Slow starts have plagued Stanford for much of the early season. Stanford started Grant Verhoeven in Reid Travis' place today. I wonder if Stanford tweaks its starting lineup with Travis out. With both Verhoeven and Christian Sanders on the floor at the same time - two nonscorers - perhaps there is a higher risk for a slow offensive start as was the case tonight? Then again, Rosco Allen seems to have taken to the sixth man role, and you have to like Cartwright and Marcus Allen's energy off the bench, so we'll see how they approach it.
-Chasson Randle's slow start - he was 0-7 from the field before finding his rhythm and going 5-6 the rest of the way.
-The officiating was a bit ticky tack at times, but Stanford never wants to allow 39 free throws in a game. The Cardinal was fortunate the Cougars missed 15.
Postgame Quotes (via Go Stanford)
Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
“We got off to a slow start, so to bounce back and take control in the second half against a team like Washington State was great to see from the guys. I’m pleased with how they responded.”
“We are going to miss Reid. He’s a big body that provides rebounds and offers us a strong presence on the court. But anytime there is an injury or need to replace a starter, it’s just an opportunity for other guys to step up like Grant did today. I thought Grant did a great job for us today and I am pleased with his performance.”
“Rosco is like a sixth starter for us. He comes in and gives us points, which brings a different match-up because he can play a variety of positions on the court. Rosco gave us a lot of versatility and productivity, which was what we especially needed off to a slow start and several baskets behind.”
Stanford Senior Anthony Brown
“Our bench did a great job today, especially Rosco and Marcus. The bench carried us for part of the first half all the way through the end of the game. In games like today, the starters picked up fouls and the bench provided energy and productivity.”
“We need to play a lot better than today, especially when we have a tough schedule ahead of us. We need to have a better start on our home court. Anytime you have a ranked opponent come to your house, you can’t let them leave with a win and that’s our mindset for the upcoming home game.”
Stanford Sophomore Marcus Allen
“My mindset was to provide energy off the bench. Though we had a slow start, my job was to get the starters up and bring them my energy so the team can be up as a whole.”
Washington State Head Coach Ernie Kent
"I thought it was a good, physical conference game and I was proud of the way we battled a strong team on their home floor. We were excellent in executing our game plan, particularly in the first 10 minutes of the game. We had an opportunity to really put them in a big hole, but we took some really quick shots -- out of rhythm shots -- consequently we missed those shots. I thought our guys 'hunted' a little too much -- they had a look, then they wanted to jack it up real quick.”
"We gave them eight second-chance points on seven offensive rebounds in the first half. Those are all mental things where we broke down and they made us pay. In the second half, they became the aggressor, and you're not going to beat a lot of people when you're 24-39 from the free throw line. Of the two best free-throw shooting teams in the conference, they made theirs and we didn't make ours. We missed way too many free throws, and we lost the ballgame. It's as simple as that."
"When you've got Randle going 0-7 in the first half, you're doing some things right with him defensively. But he's a great player, and he took over the game in the second half. There are not a lot of adjustments you can make when a guy is blowing right by you in the lane and they're so big underneath.”
Washington State Sophomore Josh Hawkinson
"We sort of let this one get away from us. We knew that Randle was going to come back and score in the second half, but we still were unable to stop him. Randle, Nastic and Brown were the key guys we knew we had to stop, and they put it together in the second half."
"I've found all season long that there's a soft spot in the middle, whether it was man or zone. I wasn't able to knock down a shot in this game, but it's normally there. I was short on every single shot -- I wasn't using my legs -- I was having an off-day. We're going to get back into the gym, and we're going to fix that. We'll come out better shooting in the next game."
This post was edited on 1/2 6:09 PM by Andy Drukarev
