02-06-2018, 01:02 AM
As for the AP voters, well, they probably were at some other game and didn't bother setting their DVRs. That's the only excuse I can think of for their somnabulent voting. Stanford has played the last 4 games like a top-10 team. If that's the true capability of the team (and I think it is), we'll be in the top-16 in the ballot that matters.
As for our future games, I'm glad we don't play Cal this week as they will have a fire lit under them. I think they are nowhere as good as Stanford, but they have a player who could give any team trouble, and their coach is someone whose whole season may depend upon beating Stanford. This is the PAC-12 and any team could have a McAfee for a night, but only one team has Tara.
IMO, it is possible that the PAC-12 conference tournament will have three top-10 teams (but no top 5). I'd be surprised if we don't have three top-15 teams plus one or two more in the top-25.
As far as the PAC-12 goes, Cal & Stanford have had the hardest conference schedule so far, but certainly Stanford has the easiest upcoming schedule as opposed to Oregon, OSU, UCLA, and ASU, as they get to beat up on each other now. One of Oregon and UCLA has to lose a game. The key is Stanford winning out the regular season. If Stanford & UCLA win out, while Oregon loses only to UCLA, then I think Stanford is seeded first (1-0 against 3rd place vs 1-1). The #2 vs #3 game will be a much tougher game than the still-tough #1 vs #4.
But, the other side of the tough-first-half coin is that those 4 teams will be finely honed going into the tournament, even if their record has suffered. Stanford could lose its edge -- for instance, our passes could get sloppy. Or, knowing Tara, we will use the games to work on those skills most needed for a deep run. Will the players see that they have a chance to show their best abilities and so continue to be hungry and work as hard as they've been.
As for our future games, I'm glad we don't play Cal this week as they will have a fire lit under them. I think they are nowhere as good as Stanford, but they have a player who could give any team trouble, and their coach is someone whose whole season may depend upon beating Stanford. This is the PAC-12 and any team could have a McAfee for a night, but only one team has Tara.
IMO, it is possible that the PAC-12 conference tournament will have three top-10 teams (but no top 5). I'd be surprised if we don't have three top-15 teams plus one or two more in the top-25.
As far as the PAC-12 goes, Cal & Stanford have had the hardest conference schedule so far, but certainly Stanford has the easiest upcoming schedule as opposed to Oregon, OSU, UCLA, and ASU, as they get to beat up on each other now. One of Oregon and UCLA has to lose a game. The key is Stanford winning out the regular season. If Stanford & UCLA win out, while Oregon loses only to UCLA, then I think Stanford is seeded first (1-0 against 3rd place vs 1-1). The #2 vs #3 game will be a much tougher game than the still-tough #1 vs #4.
But, the other side of the tough-first-half coin is that those 4 teams will be finely honed going into the tournament, even if their record has suffered. Stanford could lose its edge -- for instance, our passes could get sloppy. Or, knowing Tara, we will use the games to work on those skills most needed for a deep run. Will the players see that they have a chance to show their best abilities and so continue to be hungry and work as hard as they've been.