No rest for the Covid weary, to paraphrase John Calvin. The Stanford men take on NET #50 Washington State in Pullman at 2 pm on Thursday (ESPNU). In the varying veridicality of the NET rankings, Stanford, up to NET #85, is currently 2-2 versus Quad 1 opponents but 0-2 versus Quad 2. WSU is 0-1 versus Quad 1 opponents and 1-2 versus Quad 2. Because Thursday's game is away versus a top 75 team, a win versus WSU would, at least for now, give Stanford another Quad 1 win. However, Stanford would be a Quad 3 opponent for WSU.
WSU is 9-6 (2-2) with wins versus Alcorn State, Seattle, UC Santa Barbara, Winthrop, Weber State, Northern Colorado and at Idaho, ASU and Utah. The ASU game was 18-10 at halftime, which must have been unbearable to watch. WSU also blew a 19-point lead at home versus Eastern Washington. Other losses were to USC (by 2 points), South Dakota State (by 3 points), New Mexico State (by 3 points), Boise State (by 6 points) and Colorado (by 5 points).
WSU averages 9 made 3-pt FGs per game and shoots free throws pretty well. They have out-rebounded their opponents by 5.9 pg and have forced an average of 14.2 turnovers pg. Their leading scorer is guard Michael Flowers, who is averaging 13.2 ppg. Junior foward DJ Rodman--son of Dennis Rodman--averages 19 minutes pg and 5.9 ppg. Noah Williams and Tyrell Roberts are other notable players for the Cougars. Williams scored 40 pts when WSU defeated Stanford in Pullman in triple overtime last year. Prior to that, Stanford had won 4 in a row at WSU.
I'm assuming that the 2 pm tipoff is an accommodation for Stanford's compressed schedule, but I have no idea whether or not WSU will have fans in the stands.
For those who are looking at the slightly bigger picture, Stanford last swept the WA schools on the road in February 2020.
WSU is 9-6 (2-2) with wins versus Alcorn State, Seattle, UC Santa Barbara, Winthrop, Weber State, Northern Colorado and at Idaho, ASU and Utah. The ASU game was 18-10 at halftime, which must have been unbearable to watch. WSU also blew a 19-point lead at home versus Eastern Washington. Other losses were to USC (by 2 points), South Dakota State (by 3 points), New Mexico State (by 3 points), Boise State (by 6 points) and Colorado (by 5 points).
WSU averages 9 made 3-pt FGs per game and shoots free throws pretty well. They have out-rebounded their opponents by 5.9 pg and have forced an average of 14.2 turnovers pg. Their leading scorer is guard Michael Flowers, who is averaging 13.2 ppg. Junior foward DJ Rodman--son of Dennis Rodman--averages 19 minutes pg and 5.9 ppg. Noah Williams and Tyrell Roberts are other notable players for the Cougars. Williams scored 40 pts when WSU defeated Stanford in Pullman in triple overtime last year. Prior to that, Stanford had won 4 in a row at WSU.
I'm assuming that the 2 pm tipoff is an accommodation for Stanford's compressed schedule, but I have no idea whether or not WSU will have fans in the stands.
For those who are looking at the slightly bigger picture, Stanford last swept the WA schools on the road in February 2020.
If there's one thing people have learned in Berkeley, it's that you can't put "Cal football" and "Rose Bowl" in the same sentence. The words just don't fit. You'd be better off linking "covered wagons" with "Mars travel." (Bruce Jenkins, Cal '70, SF Chronicle, Nov. 11, 2017)
