Stanford lost for the fourth time in five games, and this might have been the most damaging yet to the Cardinal's NCAA Tournament hopes. Stanford entered the game ranked between No. 40 - No. 42 in the RPI, depending on the service. Colorado, meanwhile, was in the No. 115 - No. 120 range. So, for NCAA Tournament purposes, this was a bad loss that, along with the Cardinal's recent defeats, really puts them very much on the bubble.
For whatever reason, this was one of the sloppiest games of the year. Just not well played by either team. Neither team shot better than 33.3 percent from the field, neither team shot better than 27.8 percent from the three-point line. (Stanford scored only six points in the game's first 12:20, Colorado only 12.) The difference in the game probably came on the boards - Colorado had 18 offensive rebounds to Stanford's eight. Many other statistics were relatively similar. So it wasn't like Colorado - which is now 12-12 this year - brought its A-game and just outplayed Stanford, as can happen. Both teams struggled and Colorado did just enough to win.
-Aside from the loss itself, the biggest concern for Stanford was probably the continued poor play by Chasson Randle. He scored 14 points but was only 4-16 from the field and 3-11 from the three-point line. He's now made only 14 of his last 52 shots over the last four games - 27 percent shooting. His shot selection has been poor and the open looks aren't falling. And not to pile on, because Chasson has been such a terrific contributor to Stanford basketball for so many years, but the charge call with 19 seconds left (Stanford was down three - Chasson stole the inbounds pass and ran over a Colorado defender on his way to the basket) was another questionable late-game decision.
In any event, it's hard not to at least wonder if fatigue has set in - Stanford's starting backcourt has played a ton of minutes all season long.
-Anthony Brown also really struggled - he was 2-11 from the field and scored only eight points, though he did grab 11 rebounds. Suffice it to say, Stanford will not win many games when their two most gifted offensive players combine to shoot 6-27 from the field.
-Reid Travis was held without a field goal attempt in 16 minutes. He did grab three rebounds.
-There were two bright spots. Stefan Nastic scored a game-high 24 points (8-15 shooting). He was, however, victimized by perhaps the worst officiating decision of the game, when he was called for a moving screen when turning to hand the ball to a teammate with 8-plus minutes left. That was his fourth foul, and it certainly hurt the Cardinal down the stretch.
-Michael Humphrey gave Stanford excellent energy, grabbing four offensive rebounds (seven total) and scoring a pair of baskets in 26 minutes in his second straight start. Aside from Marcus Allen, who did not have his best game tonight, Humphrey's emergence over the last few weeks has been one of the few positives for Stanford basketball in the last few weeks. If he continues to improve he could develop into a really terrific player for the Cardinal. Unfortunately for Stanford, with Rosco Allen out and Brown/Randle/Nastic plagued by inconsistency, what was a very promising season could be on the verge of turning into a disappointing one.
-Stanford has a week off before facing Cal next Saturday in what will absolutely be a must-win game for postseason purposes.
For whatever reason, this was one of the sloppiest games of the year. Just not well played by either team. Neither team shot better than 33.3 percent from the field, neither team shot better than 27.8 percent from the three-point line. (Stanford scored only six points in the game's first 12:20, Colorado only 12.) The difference in the game probably came on the boards - Colorado had 18 offensive rebounds to Stanford's eight. Many other statistics were relatively similar. So it wasn't like Colorado - which is now 12-12 this year - brought its A-game and just outplayed Stanford, as can happen. Both teams struggled and Colorado did just enough to win.
-Aside from the loss itself, the biggest concern for Stanford was probably the continued poor play by Chasson Randle. He scored 14 points but was only 4-16 from the field and 3-11 from the three-point line. He's now made only 14 of his last 52 shots over the last four games - 27 percent shooting. His shot selection has been poor and the open looks aren't falling. And not to pile on, because Chasson has been such a terrific contributor to Stanford basketball for so many years, but the charge call with 19 seconds left (Stanford was down three - Chasson stole the inbounds pass and ran over a Colorado defender on his way to the basket) was another questionable late-game decision.
In any event, it's hard not to at least wonder if fatigue has set in - Stanford's starting backcourt has played a ton of minutes all season long.
-Anthony Brown also really struggled - he was 2-11 from the field and scored only eight points, though he did grab 11 rebounds. Suffice it to say, Stanford will not win many games when their two most gifted offensive players combine to shoot 6-27 from the field.
-Reid Travis was held without a field goal attempt in 16 minutes. He did grab three rebounds.
-There were two bright spots. Stefan Nastic scored a game-high 24 points (8-15 shooting). He was, however, victimized by perhaps the worst officiating decision of the game, when he was called for a moving screen when turning to hand the ball to a teammate with 8-plus minutes left. That was his fourth foul, and it certainly hurt the Cardinal down the stretch.
-Michael Humphrey gave Stanford excellent energy, grabbing four offensive rebounds (seven total) and scoring a pair of baskets in 26 minutes in his second straight start. Aside from Marcus Allen, who did not have his best game tonight, Humphrey's emergence over the last few weeks has been one of the few positives for Stanford basketball in the last few weeks. If he continues to improve he could develop into a really terrific player for the Cardinal. Unfortunately for Stanford, with Rosco Allen out and Brown/Randle/Nastic plagued by inconsistency, what was a very promising season could be on the verge of turning into a disappointing one.
-Stanford has a week off before facing Cal next Saturday in what will absolutely be a must-win game for postseason purposes.
