NCAA Basketball Recap For 1/13/11 and Preview For 1/14/11- Cardinal Upset U-Dub

Game of the Night

Stanford 58, Washington 56

Josh Owen's tip-in with 29 seconds left proved to be the game-winner for Stanford as they upset the Huskies.

With the loss of forward Landry Fields, Stanford was overlooked heading into the season with third-year coach Johnny Dawkins at the helm. 

In Dawkins' first two years, the Cardinal finished eighth and ninth in the Pac-10.

This is a win that got Stanford into the bubble discussion.  It's a great home win for them against a quality opponent early on in Pac-10 play.  They've put themselves in a good position early on in conference play after some tough losses in non-conference play.  Now they have to go out and win some more games in the Pac-10.  A 12-6 mark in conference play could lead to an NCAA tournament appearance.

Junior guard Jeremy Green is Stanford's top scoring option and arguably the best shooter in the Pac-10.  He scored 12 last night.

The main culprit of Stanford's turnaround has been the play of freshman Dwight Powell, Aaron Bright, Anthony Brown and Andy Brown.

Josh Owens took a medical redshirt last season due to an undisclosed illness.  His return this season has been huge.  He had 14 points last night including the game-winner.

Fastbreak Points

• Minnesota got a huge home win over Purdue.  Fellow Bleacher Report writer Mark Miller did a great job breaking down the Gophers win. 
• Virginia Tech led North Carolina 40-31 at the 15:20 mark of the second half.  The Tar Heels outscored the Hokies 33-21 the rest of the way to win it 64-61.
• There were many key lower mid-major games last night,
• Drexel got a huge resume-building win at home against Old Dominion in CAA play. 
• Belmont is looking like a possible giant killer in the NCAA tournament if they can win the Atlantic Sun.  They throttled Lipscomb 88-52.
• Coastal Carolina is 6-0 in the Big South after a 74-69 win over Winthrop, a team that's dominated the conference the last decade.
• Utah State beat Boise State 68-59 to move to 4-0 in the WAC.
• Portland won a 79-78 double-overtime thriller against Loyola-Marymount in WCC play.
• Richmond has been a bit of a head-scratcher so far this year.  They lost to Rhode Island 78-74 at home in A-10 play last night.

Top Three Performances

1. Blake Hoffarber (Min): 26 PTS, four AST in win over Purdue.
2. Klay Thompson (WSU): 36 PTS, five AST in loss to Cal.
3. JaJuan Johnson (Pur): 29 PTS, 11 REB in loss to Minnesota.

Preview for Jan. 14, 2011

There are only seven games on the slate tonight:

Hor: Butler 12-5 (4-1) at Detroit 10-7 (4-1)

Tough road game for Butler, but I think they find a way to win.

But: 71-64

MAAC: Iona 10-6 (4-1) at Rider 12-5 (4-1)

The MAAC crown is wide open this year with Siena having a down season.  Rider and Iona are tied for second in the conference.

I'll take the Broncs at home.

Rider: 75-71

MAAC: Fairfield 12-3 (6-0) at Loyola (MD) 6-9 (2-3)

Derek Needham and the Stags look to stay undefeated in the MAAC on the road.

Fair: 74-64