If anyone wondered about whether this team would falter after a tough loss to Butler when playing an inferior opponent, that was decisively answered in the first few minutes Sunday. Stanford sprinted to a 12-0 lead, collected itself after a run by UNC Wilmington and proceeded to dominate the first half on the way to a 72-54 win.
Stanford is 8-1 and headed into the "break" for dead week the finals that will be broken up by the occasional practice as the Cardinal work to build off the best start to a season -- both in terms of record and sustained level of play -- since the Lopi roamed the court.
Stanford was led by a career game from Oscar da Silva. The German scored 26 points on a remarkable 11-of-14 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, blocked one shot, had one steal and zero turnovers in 30 minutes. The jump he has made this season has been the second most important development for this team after the arrival of Tyrell Terry.
This actually wasn't a great game from Terry (nine points, five assists and four turnovers), which in several ways was encouraging for Stanford because other players took the lead.
Spencer Jones continues to impress and don't focus all your attention on his wonderful shooting ability. Yes, he scored 17 points and made five three pointers, but he also blocked two shots and has been a menace with his length and quickness all season.
Jones and Bryce Wills are the best shot blockers on the team. Davis provides good perimeter defense and also dished out several excellent assists (he had five) to help Stanford have 17 assists on 28 made shots.
Head coach Jerod Haase said the goal every game is to be around 10 turnovers, if not below that mark. Stanford had 10 and only four in the first half. Three of those four first half turnovers came during UNCW's run to get within three, however they didn't score off those turnovers. Stanford outscored UNCW 18-2 on points off turnovers.
Lukas Kisunas gave the Cardinal 14 solid minutes (five rebounds, two points and two assists) and the more I watch Kisunas I think he can be a solid role player so long as he stays within this box: Setter of brick wall screens, rebound and play foul-free defense. He brought good energy off the bench today and was praised for it by Haase after the game.
Overall, Stanford heads into the break almost exactly where I imagine Haase wanted them to be. No one got hurt, Stanford won every game it should have and looked like a tournament team against Butler. If not for Kamar Baldwin going crazy in the final two minutes of that game the Cardinal are undefeated and likely in the top 25.
The next game is Dec. 14 at SJSU and then Stanford has two more games (home vs. USF and at the Chase Center vs. UC San Diego) to get ready for what could be the biggest home game in years when Kansas rock chalks its way into town.
Stanford is 8-1 and headed into the "break" for dead week the finals that will be broken up by the occasional practice as the Cardinal work to build off the best start to a season -- both in terms of record and sustained level of play -- since the Lopi roamed the court.
Stanford was led by a career game from Oscar da Silva. The German scored 26 points on a remarkable 11-of-14 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, blocked one shot, had one steal and zero turnovers in 30 minutes. The jump he has made this season has been the second most important development for this team after the arrival of Tyrell Terry.
This actually wasn't a great game from Terry (nine points, five assists and four turnovers), which in several ways was encouraging for Stanford because other players took the lead.
Spencer Jones continues to impress and don't focus all your attention on his wonderful shooting ability. Yes, he scored 17 points and made five three pointers, but he also blocked two shots and has been a menace with his length and quickness all season.
Jones and Bryce Wills are the best shot blockers on the team. Davis provides good perimeter defense and also dished out several excellent assists (he had five) to help Stanford have 17 assists on 28 made shots.
Head coach Jerod Haase said the goal every game is to be around 10 turnovers, if not below that mark. Stanford had 10 and only four in the first half. Three of those four first half turnovers came during UNCW's run to get within three, however they didn't score off those turnovers. Stanford outscored UNCW 18-2 on points off turnovers.
Lukas Kisunas gave the Cardinal 14 solid minutes (five rebounds, two points and two assists) and the more I watch Kisunas I think he can be a solid role player so long as he stays within this box: Setter of brick wall screens, rebound and play foul-free defense. He brought good energy off the bench today and was praised for it by Haase after the game.
Overall, Stanford heads into the break almost exactly where I imagine Haase wanted them to be. No one got hurt, Stanford won every game it should have and looked like a tournament team against Butler. If not for Kamar Baldwin going crazy in the final two minutes of that game the Cardinal are undefeated and likely in the top 25.
The next game is Dec. 14 at SJSU and then Stanford has two more games (home vs. USF and at the Chase Center vs. UC San Diego) to get ready for what could be the biggest home game in years when Kansas rock chalks its way into town.
Last edited:
