The Cardinal had their collective heart stomped on for the second straight game. This time it was the Trojans who delivered the blow in a game that Stanford led for 32 minutes but not when it mattered most in the 72-66 result.
(The postgame press conference produced really nothing noteworthy and was a mess because of a bad internet connection which honestly has been a problem for years inside Maples Pavilion.)
Fouls were a major part of the story for the second straight game but this time it was not favorable for the Cardinal. Oscar da Silva and Spencer Jones struggled to defend without fouling and only played 24 and 19 minutes, respectively. Stanford shot only eight free throws (made five) and USC shot 20, but they only made 14.
Stanford was without freshman Max Murrell for undisclosed reasons (he did not appear to be in the bench area) and obviously head coach Jerod Haase is still down three starters. That was not a good formula on paper against arguably the top team in the conference once every game is played and one of the tallest, longest and most athletic. The Mobley brothers combined for six blocks and made it very difficult for da Silva to drive and be successful.
Stanford's offense really struggled in the last 5:19 of game time and USC outscored Stanford 14-7 during that stretch. The gut-punch basket was a very difficult, fall-away jumper by Tahj Eaddy when Stanford had a chance to get a stop and have the ball down two with 30 seconds left.
Jaiden Delaire set a new career high in scoring for the third straight game and Michael O'Connell also established a new career high for the second straight game. They were the offense for the majority of the game and combined to score 42 points. No other Cardinal was in double figures.
O'Connell had four turnovers but I think it was clear early on that he was looking to try to make plays to compensate for the foul trouble to two starters. He also had four assists and six rebounds to go with 20 points on 7-of-12 FGA.
Delaire also was very efficient and scored 22 points on 10-of-16 field goal attempts.
Stanford is unlikely to have any of Ziaire Williams, Bryce Wills or Daejon Davis available Thursday at Cal. Williams is back at Stanford, though.
(The postgame press conference produced really nothing noteworthy and was a mess because of a bad internet connection which honestly has been a problem for years inside Maples Pavilion.)
Fouls were a major part of the story for the second straight game but this time it was not favorable for the Cardinal. Oscar da Silva and Spencer Jones struggled to defend without fouling and only played 24 and 19 minutes, respectively. Stanford shot only eight free throws (made five) and USC shot 20, but they only made 14.
Stanford was without freshman Max Murrell for undisclosed reasons (he did not appear to be in the bench area) and obviously head coach Jerod Haase is still down three starters. That was not a good formula on paper against arguably the top team in the conference once every game is played and one of the tallest, longest and most athletic. The Mobley brothers combined for six blocks and made it very difficult for da Silva to drive and be successful.
Stanford's offense really struggled in the last 5:19 of game time and USC outscored Stanford 14-7 during that stretch. The gut-punch basket was a very difficult, fall-away jumper by Tahj Eaddy when Stanford had a chance to get a stop and have the ball down two with 30 seconds left.
Jaiden Delaire set a new career high in scoring for the third straight game and Michael O'Connell also established a new career high for the second straight game. They were the offense for the majority of the game and combined to score 42 points. No other Cardinal was in double figures.
O'Connell had four turnovers but I think it was clear early on that he was looking to try to make plays to compensate for the foul trouble to two starters. He also had four assists and six rebounds to go with 20 points on 7-of-12 FGA.
Delaire also was very efficient and scored 22 points on 10-of-16 field goal attempts.
Stanford is unlikely to have any of Ziaire Williams, Bryce Wills or Daejon Davis available Thursday at Cal. Williams is back at Stanford, though.
