Preview: Stanford Men’s Basketball heads to Charlottesville to battle No. 23 Virginia
On Saturday at 11:15 AM PT on The CW, Stanford men’s basketball will face No. 23 Virginia on the road. Stanford comes in at 13-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC while Virginia comes in at 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.
Last time out: Stanford defeated Virginia Tech on the road on by a final score of 69-68. Ebuka Okorie lifted the Cardinal to victory, scoring 31 points.
RECAP: Ebuka Okorie lifts Stanford Men’s Basketball to win at Virginia Tech
Student-Athlete Availability Report: Tallis Toure, Evan Stinson, and Kristers Skrinda are once again out for the Cardinal. As for Virginia, Jacari White is out while Devin Tillis is probable. White is averaging 10.9 points per game, so his absence is significant given he’s the third leading scorer on the team. Tillis is more of a role guy, averaging 5.9 points per game. Though both guys come off the bench.
On Virginia: The Cavaliers have had a really strong season so far, hence their ranking. Their two losses are to Virginia Tech (85-95) on the road in overtime and against Butler (73-80) at a neutral site. Their key wins are over Cal, at NC State, Dayton (neutral), Northwestern, and at Texas. They also defeated Villanova in a home exhibition.
The Cavaliers are led by freshman forward Thijs De Ridder, who is averaging 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on 54.3% shooting from the field, 40.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 61.1% shooting from the foul line. Graduate student guard Malik Thomas, who transferred from San Francisco, is the number two scorer on the team, averaging 12.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
In ACC play, the Cavaliers average 81.7 points per game on 43.8% shooting from the field, 29.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.8% shooting from the foul line. They average 41.7 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 5.7 steals, 6.3 blocks, and 13.3 turnovers per game. They also average a +9.0 rebound differential and a -2.3 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 72.0 points per game on 35.5% shooting from the field, 25.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 76.1% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is let Ebuka Okorie do his thing. They need to keep getting him opportunities to score and get out in transition. If he has 20+ points, Stanford will have a chance to make this interesting.
Secondly, Stanford needs to keep their 3-ball falling. When guys like Ryan Agarwal, Benny Gealer, and of course Okorie are making their threes, Stanford is a dangerous team.
Finally, Stanford needs to just play loose and relaxed. They already got a road win this week against a quality Virginia Tech team. Nobody expects them to win this game. They should have fun going for a road sweep of the Virginia schools and let the chips fall where they may.
Prediction: After picking Stanford to defeat Virginia Tech, I gotta pick this week to be a split. I think Virginia defeats Stanford 79-72. Virginia on paper is the better team and getting a road sweep would be really tough.
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