Stanford kept its foot slammed down on the gas pedal to relentlessly attack an overmatched Washington State squad Saturday afternoon. After the score was tied at 2-2 the Cardinal went on a 24-2 run that effectively ended the game as a competitive contest.
Stanford is 3-0 in conference play for the first time since the Golden Age (03-04) and the 14-2 Cardinal are well positioned before a trip to the City of Nightmares (0-6 on LA road trips under Jerod Haase) to exorcise one of its most painful demons.
The Cardinal offense began showing signs of life and consistency in the second half Thursday in its rally to beat Washington and exploded against a much weaker opponent. The Cougars are just plain bad but not so bad that they should have offered no resistance.
At one point in the second half Stanford reached 70 percent on its field goal attempts and 50 percent from beyond the arc. It finished at 61 and 39.1, respectively.
Tyrell Terry doesn't care if he's five feet beyond the three-point line and he has earned the trust of the staff to shoot it from wherever he wants. He made five 3FGA and scored a career high 22 points. He also had six rebounds, three assists and only one turnover. (Stanford only had nine as a team.)
It was Oscar da Silva who got the Cardinal rolling from the jump, scoring 13 of Stanford's first 20 points and setting the tone for total domination of the paint by the Cardinal: 50 to 16. That remarkable disparity was achieved in a couple ways.
Stanford had 23 assists in the game and did a fantastic job of following its recent coaching emphasis to drive to a spot and make a pass, or attack and if the first move doesn't work then look for a teammate. The Cardinal moved well off of each other on pick and rolls and cuts to take advantage of a teammate's drive.
It was the most efficient and well-executed offensive performance for the Cardinal in more than a month -- what they managed against Oklahoma and Butler was more impressive because of the quality of the opponent.
Stanford's defense was its typical stifling standard. The Cardinal were credited with six blocks, but that seems low, and often forced bad shots by the Cougars. There were a noticeable number of air-balls shot by desperate Washington State players forced to put up hopeful tosses toward the basket.
Their leading scorer is CJ Elleby (19.2 PPG) and the guard didn't make a shot until consecutive threes in the second half to make the score 72-51. The Cougars made 9-of-13 3FGA in the second half and it visibly upset Haase that the defense was allowing those shots, but that was really the only stretch of the game to complain about.
Isaac White had a really good afternoon with 11 points and was the most confident I've seen him all season. (There were several games this season that I don't think it's a stretch to say he appeared rattled.)
Bryce Wills posted up smaller defenders and was effective doing it, which is his better option on offense rather than shoot the ball.
I thought that Lukas Kisunas had a great game and his development is a bright spot among the bench players this season. He knows who he is and plays aggressively. He was a perfect 4-for-4 FGA and scored nine points. He had four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
At a certain point a game like this one is useless to use as an evaluation of the players because the opponent threw in the towel in the first half. However, it's a great sign for the maturity of the team that it mercilessly embarrassed an opponent less than 48 hours after an emotional win.
Stanford is 3-0 in conference play for the first time since the Golden Age (03-04) and the 14-2 Cardinal are well positioned before a trip to the City of Nightmares (0-6 on LA road trips under Jerod Haase) to exorcise one of its most painful demons.
The Cardinal offense began showing signs of life and consistency in the second half Thursday in its rally to beat Washington and exploded against a much weaker opponent. The Cougars are just plain bad but not so bad that they should have offered no resistance.
At one point in the second half Stanford reached 70 percent on its field goal attempts and 50 percent from beyond the arc. It finished at 61 and 39.1, respectively.
Tyrell Terry doesn't care if he's five feet beyond the three-point line and he has earned the trust of the staff to shoot it from wherever he wants. He made five 3FGA and scored a career high 22 points. He also had six rebounds, three assists and only one turnover. (Stanford only had nine as a team.)
It was Oscar da Silva who got the Cardinal rolling from the jump, scoring 13 of Stanford's first 20 points and setting the tone for total domination of the paint by the Cardinal: 50 to 16. That remarkable disparity was achieved in a couple ways.
Stanford had 23 assists in the game and did a fantastic job of following its recent coaching emphasis to drive to a spot and make a pass, or attack and if the first move doesn't work then look for a teammate. The Cardinal moved well off of each other on pick and rolls and cuts to take advantage of a teammate's drive.
It was the most efficient and well-executed offensive performance for the Cardinal in more than a month -- what they managed against Oklahoma and Butler was more impressive because of the quality of the opponent.
Stanford's defense was its typical stifling standard. The Cardinal were credited with six blocks, but that seems low, and often forced bad shots by the Cougars. There were a noticeable number of air-balls shot by desperate Washington State players forced to put up hopeful tosses toward the basket.
Their leading scorer is CJ Elleby (19.2 PPG) and the guard didn't make a shot until consecutive threes in the second half to make the score 72-51. The Cougars made 9-of-13 3FGA in the second half and it visibly upset Haase that the defense was allowing those shots, but that was really the only stretch of the game to complain about.
Isaac White had a really good afternoon with 11 points and was the most confident I've seen him all season. (There were several games this season that I don't think it's a stretch to say he appeared rattled.)
Bryce Wills posted up smaller defenders and was effective doing it, which is his better option on offense rather than shoot the ball.
I thought that Lukas Kisunas had a great game and his development is a bright spot among the bench players this season. He knows who he is and plays aggressively. He was a perfect 4-for-4 FGA and scored nine points. He had four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
At a certain point a game like this one is useless to use as an evaluation of the players because the opponent threw in the towel in the first half. However, it's a great sign for the maturity of the team that it mercilessly embarrassed an opponent less than 48 hours after an emotional win.
