WSU-Stanford: Preview

As the Washington State Cougars prepare to host the Stanford Cardinal tomorrow, the snow continues to fall.

Classes and non-essential services were canceled on campus for the second day in a row.

Welcome to the Palouse, Stanford!

The Cardinal are trudging their way to the Pullman campus with plenty of confidence. They dealt the Huskies their worst home loss in about five years.

If you want to make a friend west of the Cascades, ask them to clarify just how long it’s been since they have lost by 14 at home. Husky fans love such inquiries. No, they really do!

Thursday night was the Brook Lopez show. He poured in 31 points on 11-17 from the field, nearly half of the team’s 65, and grabbed 13 rebounds. Oh, just for good measure, he dished off three assists to go with three blocked shots. If you have a question about how to tell which Lopez twin is which, Brook is the guy with short hair and outstanding shooting touch. Robin Lopez specializes in sporting a retro-Afro and bangs with the big boys in the paint.

It wasn’t all about scoring for the Cardinal. They held the Huskies to a paltry 51 points. Yes, they know how to play defense.

Make no mistake, Stanford has quietly earned their #14 ranking in the nation. They have a terrific 6-2 record in the PAC-10 and 17-3 overall. Their success comes through the best of both worlds. Coach Trent Johnson has his team putting up solid points, 71 a game and playing aggressive defense, holding their opponents to just 57 points per game. Since their game with the Cougs Saturday finishes up the first time around in conference play, Stanford has some very impressive stats.

What to look for? Stanford has come out firing this season, basically winning games in the first half. Washington State has tended to do things the other way around. Most of their games have been pretty close at halftime, and won in the second half.

What else? Stanford has been playing great as a team recently. All of their starters are getting the job done on both ends of the court. WSU has yet to have a complete team performance in conference play. Considering they have been winning despite inconsistency says a lot about the Cougs and their leader, Coach Tony Bennett.

Final thoughts. The loss to Cal on Thursday shouldn’t linger on the minds of Cougar seniors. They will be well prepared for what Stanford is going to bring. This should be another nail biter. Wow! That’s really going out on a limb. Hah! All kidding aside, Zzu Crew, band, cheerleaders, and a house packed by Cougar Nation whether there’s a ton of snow or not.

Prediction: 59-56 Cougs

GO COUGS!!!