Stanford snapped its three game losing streak with a dramatic - and somewhat improbable - comeback win over Arkansas this morning against Arkansas.
The Razorbacks used a 15-0 run to build a substantial first-half lead; Stanford's deficit reached 20 points midway through the period. The Cardinal did cut it to single digits, but still trailed by 10 at halftime and by double digits for much of the second half. Arkansas built its lead to 17 points with 6:29 left in the game, after which the Cardinal took over.
Stanford went on a 21-1 run to conclude the game and notch its third victory of the year.
There were several key plays down the stretch.
-Michael Humphrey skied for a pair of blocks in the game's final possessions.
-Stanford went to the free throw line eight times (and converted five) in the final 1:43
-The Cardinal trailed 66-65 with nine seconds left after forcing a shot clock violation. Marcus Allen received the inbounds pass and dribbled the length of the court. He created separation from his defender and went in for a layup, which was goaltended with 2.9 seconds left to put Stanford up by one. Arkansas coach Mike Anderson was assessed a technical foul following the goaltend call; Rosco Allen made those two free throws to put Stanford up by three. Arkansas actually very nearly made a halfcourt shot to send it to overtime, but the ball rimmed out and the Cardinal won.
The interesting part (well, one of) the comeback was the personnel Stanford had on the floor during it. I believe the Cardinal used the same lineup for the final 7:39 - Michael Humphrey, Rosco Allen, Cameron Walker, Marcus Sheffield and Marcus Allen. No Reid Travis, no Dorian Pickens, no Christian Sanders. Cameron Walker played a lot of point guard in that grouping.
Stanford struggled in the early going due to a combination of missed shots and turnovers. The Cardinal is not a particularly good ball handling team without Robert Cartwright, and Arkansas played a very aggressive style of defense. This resulted in seven turnovers in the first 9:10 of the game. Meanwhile, the Cardinal scored only nine points - and one field goal - in the first 11:48. On the same token, credit the Cardinal for cleaning things up against Arkansas' pressure - they committed only eight turnovers in the final 30-plus minutes. And the shots did start to fall - Stanford finished the game 46.9 percent from the field.
-Stanford shot 32 free throws to Arkansas' 16. The Cardinal shot only 59.4 percent from the line (19-32), so that continues to be somewhat problematic
-Rosco Allen scored a career-high 25 points. (5-8 shooting, 3-5 3pt, 12-15 FT). Rosco is one of the most talented players and scorers on this year's team - I think the Cardinal will need more performances of this type moving forward to achieve the consistency/wins they desire.
-Nice bounceback outing from Michael Humphrey. The sophomore scored 12 points (6-9 shooting) and grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with the blocks. He had only two points (0-2) against Villanova.
-For reference, Arkansas was 2-2 entering today's game. They beat Southern and Charleston Southern and lost to Georgia Tech and Akron. They were picked by the media to finish 11th in the SEC. So not the best opponent, but a win against a major conference opponent is a win against a major conference opponent, and perhaps the massive comeback + second half success is something Stanford can build on.
Stanford will now be off for a few weeks before returning to play on Dec. 12 against Darmouth.
The Razorbacks used a 15-0 run to build a substantial first-half lead; Stanford's deficit reached 20 points midway through the period. The Cardinal did cut it to single digits, but still trailed by 10 at halftime and by double digits for much of the second half. Arkansas built its lead to 17 points with 6:29 left in the game, after which the Cardinal took over.
Stanford went on a 21-1 run to conclude the game and notch its third victory of the year.
There were several key plays down the stretch.
-Michael Humphrey skied for a pair of blocks in the game's final possessions.
-Stanford went to the free throw line eight times (and converted five) in the final 1:43
-The Cardinal trailed 66-65 with nine seconds left after forcing a shot clock violation. Marcus Allen received the inbounds pass and dribbled the length of the court. He created separation from his defender and went in for a layup, which was goaltended with 2.9 seconds left to put Stanford up by one. Arkansas coach Mike Anderson was assessed a technical foul following the goaltend call; Rosco Allen made those two free throws to put Stanford up by three. Arkansas actually very nearly made a halfcourt shot to send it to overtime, but the ball rimmed out and the Cardinal won.
The interesting part (well, one of) the comeback was the personnel Stanford had on the floor during it. I believe the Cardinal used the same lineup for the final 7:39 - Michael Humphrey, Rosco Allen, Cameron Walker, Marcus Sheffield and Marcus Allen. No Reid Travis, no Dorian Pickens, no Christian Sanders. Cameron Walker played a lot of point guard in that grouping.
Stanford struggled in the early going due to a combination of missed shots and turnovers. The Cardinal is not a particularly good ball handling team without Robert Cartwright, and Arkansas played a very aggressive style of defense. This resulted in seven turnovers in the first 9:10 of the game. Meanwhile, the Cardinal scored only nine points - and one field goal - in the first 11:48. On the same token, credit the Cardinal for cleaning things up against Arkansas' pressure - they committed only eight turnovers in the final 30-plus minutes. And the shots did start to fall - Stanford finished the game 46.9 percent from the field.
-Stanford shot 32 free throws to Arkansas' 16. The Cardinal shot only 59.4 percent from the line (19-32), so that continues to be somewhat problematic
-Rosco Allen scored a career-high 25 points. (5-8 shooting, 3-5 3pt, 12-15 FT). Rosco is one of the most talented players and scorers on this year's team - I think the Cardinal will need more performances of this type moving forward to achieve the consistency/wins they desire.
-Nice bounceback outing from Michael Humphrey. The sophomore scored 12 points (6-9 shooting) and grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with the blocks. He had only two points (0-2) against Villanova.
-For reference, Arkansas was 2-2 entering today's game. They beat Southern and Charleston Southern and lost to Georgia Tech and Akron. They were picked by the media to finish 11th in the SEC. So not the best opponent, but a win against a major conference opponent is a win against a major conference opponent, and perhaps the massive comeback + second half success is something Stanford can build on.
Stanford will now be off for a few weeks before returning to play on Dec. 12 against Darmouth.
