No. 11 Utah plays host to Stanford
Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) – Tied atop the Pac-12 standings, the 11th-ranked Utah Utes attempt to keep pace, as they play host to the Stanford Cardinal in conference action from the Huntsman Center on Thursday evening.
Larry Krystkowiak’s Utes are running neck and neck with the Arizona Wildcats at the top of the Pac-12 standings at 8-2. Utah returns to Salt Lake City following a pair of rather easy road wins over USC (67-39) and most recently, Colorado (79-51).
Johnny Dawkins’ Cardinal are very much in the hunt for the conference crown, sporting a 7-4 league ledger. Stanford halted a brief two-game slide with Sunday’s 70-62 win over USC. The Cardinal have split eight true road games this season.
Utah holds a 15-11 series edge over Stanford, including a 9-3 mark at home. However, the Cardinal have closed the gap overall with wins in each of the last three meetings with the Utes.
Stanford didn’t shoot the ball particularly well at USC (.367), but held the Trojans to just .391 shooting, while holding a huge edge in rebounding (50-35). With a whopping 17 offensive boards, the Cardinal were able to post 20 second-chance points in the win. All five starters notched double figures in the victory, led by Chasson Randle’s 17 points. Stefan Nastic added 15 points to the cause, followed by Anthony Brown (11 pts), Rosco Allen (11 pts) and Marcus Allen (10 pts), who recorded a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Cardinal are a dangerous team no matter the venue because of the play of Randle. The senior guard leads the Pac-12 in scoring this season with a hefty 20.3 ppg. Brown can fill up the basket as well at 15.8 ppg, good for sixth in the conference. The pair have combined for 111 of the team’s 168 3-pointers to date. Nastic provides a presence in the paint, averaging 13.8 ppg. Brown and Nastic are a solid rebounding duo, grabbing 7.3 and 6.9 rpg, respectively.
Stanford’s strong scoring threats will be tested early and often by the Utes, who are yielding just 56.0 ppg (first in the Pac-12, ninth nationally). Foes are shooting just .375 overall against Utah, including .319 from behind the arc. Offensively. the Utes are netting 74.2 ppg, with three starters currently averaging double figures. Delon Wright is the straw that stirs the drink, pacing Utah in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and assists (5.6 apg). Brandon Taylor (11.1 ppg) and Jordan Loveridge (10.5 ppg) round out the productive trio. Freshman 7-footer Jakob Poeltl (9.0 ppg) is a force at the defensive end, with team-highs in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and blocked shots (40).
In the rout of Colorado last time out, the Utes led for just under 39 minutes of the possible 40, running away from the Buffaloes for the 28-point victory. Utah shot an impressive .578 from the floor, including a sizzling .682 effort in the second half. Overall, the team went 13-of-22 from behind the arc in the win. Taylor led the way with 18 points and six assists. Loveridge recorded a double-double in the win, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball