Preview: Stanford Men’s Basketball welcomes Oregon to Maples Pavilion for an exhibition
On Thursday, October 30th at 5:00 PM PT on ACCNX, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome Oregon to Maples Pavilion for an exhibition game.
On Stanford: Stanford is coming off a season in which they went 21-14 overall and 11-9 in the ACC, winning their first round NIT matchup against CSUN 87-70 before falling to Kent State 75-77 in the second round. Their star player from last season Maxime Raynaud is now in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, so they’re going to have to find other sources of scoring and rebounding inside.
On Oregon: As for Oregon, they went 25-10 overall last season and 12-8 in the Big Ten, getting a (5) seed in the NCAA tournament. Oregon defeated (12) Liberty 81-52 in their first tournament game before losing to (4) Arizona 83-87. Oregon also defeated Stanford 76-61 in San Jose, so this exhibition is a rematch of last year’s meeting. Oregon already has played an exhibition game, defeating Utah 73-53 last Friday. With guard Jackson Shelstad out, center Nate Bittle led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Keys to the game: First off, let me just say Stanford should treat this like a real game even though it’s an exhibition. Oregon is a legit team and Stanford should use this opportunity as an early measuring stick for what kind of team they have. Stanford should make sure they play hard on both ends of the floor and not let up at all. They need to make sure they match Oregon’s energy.
Secondly, Stanford needs to find a way to contain Bittle. Bittle is going to look to get rolling inside and Stanford will need to do all they can to slow him down. One guy to watch for is grad transfer big man AJ Rohosy. Rohosy has been doing a great job of banging inside during practice this summer and fall. Stanford is going to need Rohosy to do his part and then Chisom Okpara, Tallis Toure, and the entire front court as well are going to need to be physical inside as well. Going up against a big man of Bittle’s caliber will be a good test for Stanford.
Finally, Stanford needs to make sure they take care of the ball. With a freshman point guard starting in Ebuka Okorie, Oregon is going to test him and see if they can speed him up. If Okorie remains poised and takes good care of the rock, Stanford will have a chance to win this game.
Prediction: It’s an exhibition. Stanford is at home. I’ll say they win 78-76. Okorie game-winner. Why not?
CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), & Bluesky: @StanfordRivals
Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), YouTube, & Bluesky: @slamdunk406
Email: [email protected]
