Preview: Stanford Men’s Basketball welcomes Seattle to The Farm
On Friday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the Seattle Redhawks. Stanford comes in at 4-0 overall while Seattle comes in at 3-1.
Last time out: On Tuesday, Stanford defeated Louisiana 93-66. Ebuka Okorie (26 point) and Chisom Okpara (22 points) led the way for the Cardinal.
RECAP: Stanford MBB cruises past Louisiana
On Seattle: The Redhawks are off to a strong start with wins over Denver, Eastern Washington, and Idaho State. They lost a nail-biter to Cal Poly 73-71 at home. This will be their first road game of the regular season, though they played an exhibition at Utah State, which they lost 88-76.
The Redhawks are led by senior guard Brayden Maldonado, who after averaging 9.0 points per game last season is playing like a borderline NBA prospect, averaging 23.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game on 62.7% shooting from the field, 58.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 1.000% shooting from the foul line. Sophomore forward Will Heimbrodt is also balling out, averaging 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game after averaging 2.0 points per game last year. Both guys have taken massive jumps from last year.
The number three option for the Redhawks is a senior forward that hails from Seoul, South Korea: Jun Seok Yeo. He was at Gonzaga before and played his high school ball at the NBA Global Academy in Australia. Yeo is averaging 11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
As a team, the Redhawks average 83.0 points per game on 54.1% shooting from the field, 43.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 63.0% shooting from the foul line. They also average 31.0 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 8.0 steals, and 5.5 blocks per game as well as a +3.0 turnover differential and a +1.0 rebound differential. Their opponents average 71.8 points per game on 41.7% shooting from the field, 33.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 74.7% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Maldonado. He’s the engine that makes this Redhawks team rev up. If they can contain him and hold him under 20 points, that would be huge. He’s obviously top of the scouting report for a reason.
Secondly, Stanford needs to get their own guy going. Freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie. He is averaging 25.5 points per game, which leads the ACC. If he has the better night over Maldonado, that more than anything could make the difference.
Finally, Stanford needs to get to the foul line and win the free throw battle. In games like this that could get close, free throws decide it and typically, the home team gets more foul shots than the away team. If Stanford shoots more foul shots than Seattle and they make their shots, they should be fine.
Prediction: I got Stanford by 10 in this one. 80-70. Should be a fun one at Maples.
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