Stanford's 73-64 win Thursday night completed the first season sweep of the Wildcats since 2008 — when every current member of the team was probably first dribbling a basketball. It was the second straight win without three starters and the Cardinal (10-5, 6-3) head to Tempe standing on solid ground inside the tournament bubble.
This team had already faced plenty of adversity before losing Ziaire Williams (personal), Bryce Wills (knee) and Daejon Davis (knee), but since then the available players who were called on to step up have taken on that challenge and made it into an opportunity to succeed.
Jaiden Delaire and Michael O'Connell had career highs in points (21 and 14, respectively) and O'Connell had zero turnovers — the freshman's fifth game without a turnover since taking over when Wills went down four minutes into the Oregon State game Jan.4. Stanford fans are often reluctant to agree with anything Jay Bilas says, but he described the effect of O'Connell's play well when he said that O'Connell's steadiness has become spectacular.
Head coach Jerod Haase wants Delaire to play angry, but not frustrated. Delaire gets stuck sometimes thinking about a mistake on one end of the court and he takes himself out of the next play on the other end. Haase repeatedly emphasized to the whole team Thursday that they needed to have a next-play mentality to shrug off setbacks.
The shorthanded Cardinal fought back twice from a second-half surge by Arizona. The Wildcats went on a 9-0 run to lead by five but then the Cardinal answered to nose ahead by one with 8:23 left. Arizona went back up five as they zeroed in on the basket from beyond the arc — making 8-of-19 for the game and 5-of-10 in the second half — but Stanford again pushed back to regain the lead with 6:03 left in the game.
They didn't look back after that three-pointer by Jones. After Arizona led by five with 7:35 left in the game the Cardinal outscored them 22-7 the rest of the way.
Jones is playing through a bad hip and was on the court for 34 minutes. He scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, had two steals and one block. His ability to defend positions 2-4 is an invaluable asset for Haase and he is a critical piece to one of the best defenses in the country.
Lukas Kisunas also was a solid defensive stopper who had more impact on the game than his stats (three points, four rebounds, two blocks, one steal) suggest. He and Oscar da Silva work well together and Kisunas is lighter on his feet when helping on the perimeter than 260-pound people should be.
da Silva scored 17 points and he had the best start on offense and his effort on that end early in the game gave the Cardinal a nice boost. His main problem continues to be turnovers — he had five.
Stanford has to feel good about where they are right now with its tournament resume.
This team had already faced plenty of adversity before losing Ziaire Williams (personal), Bryce Wills (knee) and Daejon Davis (knee), but since then the available players who were called on to step up have taken on that challenge and made it into an opportunity to succeed.
Jaiden Delaire and Michael O'Connell had career highs in points (21 and 14, respectively) and O'Connell had zero turnovers — the freshman's fifth game without a turnover since taking over when Wills went down four minutes into the Oregon State game Jan.4. Stanford fans are often reluctant to agree with anything Jay Bilas says, but he described the effect of O'Connell's play well when he said that O'Connell's steadiness has become spectacular.
Head coach Jerod Haase wants Delaire to play angry, but not frustrated. Delaire gets stuck sometimes thinking about a mistake on one end of the court and he takes himself out of the next play on the other end. Haase repeatedly emphasized to the whole team Thursday that they needed to have a next-play mentality to shrug off setbacks.
The shorthanded Cardinal fought back twice from a second-half surge by Arizona. The Wildcats went on a 9-0 run to lead by five but then the Cardinal answered to nose ahead by one with 8:23 left. Arizona went back up five as they zeroed in on the basket from beyond the arc — making 8-of-19 for the game and 5-of-10 in the second half — but Stanford again pushed back to regain the lead with 6:03 left in the game.
They didn't look back after that three-pointer by Jones. After Arizona led by five with 7:35 left in the game the Cardinal outscored them 22-7 the rest of the way.
Jones is playing through a bad hip and was on the court for 34 minutes. He scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, had two steals and one block. His ability to defend positions 2-4 is an invaluable asset for Haase and he is a critical piece to one of the best defenses in the country.
Lukas Kisunas also was a solid defensive stopper who had more impact on the game than his stats (three points, four rebounds, two blocks, one steal) suggest. He and Oscar da Silva work well together and Kisunas is lighter on his feet when helping on the perimeter than 260-pound people should be.
da Silva scored 17 points and he had the best start on offense and his effort on that end early in the game gave the Cardinal a nice boost. His main problem continues to be turnovers — he had five.
Stanford has to feel good about where they are right now with its tournament resume.
