[skip75]

Stanford favored by 6.5, O/U 148.5, implied score - 77.5-71.  Cal comes in with a 12-14 record, 5-10 in the ACC, 2-9 away from Haas Pavilion.  Mark Madsen is 1-3 vs Stanford.  Cal has lost 5 straight at Maples.  I'm not sure exactly what will be going on, but Stanford will be honoring Mike Montgomery.  I heard on Troy Clardy's TreeCast that Kyle Smith has talked about creating a Monty Cup that would go to the winner of Stanford-Cal basketball.

Here is my preview and the game thread for the game at Cal back on Dec. 7, which was won by Stanford 89-81.
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthread.php?tid=25337

Andrej Stojakovic will make his return to Maples.  He ranks 5th in the ACC in scoring - 17.7ppg.  He will likely be joined in the starting line-up by: Jeremiah Wilkinson (14.5ppg ranks 17th in the ACC & 2nd among freshmen; scoring 20.6ppg in most recent 8 games since becoming a starter); Mady Sissoko (9th in rebounding - 7.6rpg); Jovan Blacksher Jr. (11th in 3s with 2.0 per game); and Rytis Petraitis (not outstanding in any stats, but one of those players who always seems to be in the middle of the action doing all the little things that help a team win).

Other key players in the rotation at this point of the season are DJ Campbell, Lee Dort, & Joshua Ola-Joseph.

Cal does not stand out in many of the ACC team stats, but they are first in offensive rebounds with 13.2 per game and 2nd in offensive rebounding percentage at .353.

Hopefully Jaylen Blakes will be more back to normal after a tough homecoming last week at Duke.  I'm cautiously optimistic that Kyle Smith has the team ready to finish strong and avoid the "Haase fade" that we became accustomed to as past seasons came to an end.  A win tonight would help to solidify Stanford's spot in the top half of the ACC (and a 1st round ACC tourney bye), keep alive the hopes for 20 wins, and keep alive VERY dim NCAA tourney hopes & more realistic (but far from certain) NIT tourney hopes.

[skip75]

Stanford favored by 6.5, O/U 148.5, implied score - 77.5-71.  Cal comes in with a 12-14 record, 5-10 in the ACC, 2-9 away from Haas Pavilion.  Mark Madsen is 1-3 vs Stanford.  Cal has lost 5 straight at Maples.  I'm not sure exactly what will be going on, but Stanford will be honoring Mike Montgomery.  I heard on Troy Clardy's TreeCast that Kyle Smith has talked about creating a Monty Cup that would go to the winner of Stanford-Cal basketball.

Here is my preview and the game thread for the game at Cal back on Dec. 7, which was won by Stanford 89-81.
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthread.php?tid=25337

Andrej Stojakovic will make his return to Maples.  He ranks 5th in the ACC in scoring - 17.7ppg.  He will likely be joined in the starting line-up by: Jeremiah Wilkinson (14.5ppg ranks 17th in the ACC & 2nd among freshmen; scoring 20.6ppg in most recent 8 games since becoming a starter); Mady Sissoko (9th in rebounding - 7.6rpg); Jovan Blacksher Jr. (11th in 3s with 2.0 per game); and Rytis Petraitis (not outstanding in any stats, but one of those players who always seems to be in the middle of the action doing all the little things that help a team win).

Other key players in the rotation at this point of the season are DJ Campbell, Lee Dort, & Joshua Ola-Joseph.

Cal does not stand out in many of the ACC team stats, but they are first in offensive rebounds with 13.2 per game and 2nd in offensive rebounding percentage at .353.

Hopefully Jaylen Blakes will be more back to normal after a tough homecoming last week at Duke.  I'm cautiously optimistic that Kyle Smith has the team ready to finish strong and avoid the "Haase fade" that we became accustomed to as past seasons came to an end.  A win tonight would help to solidify Stanford's spot in the top half of the ACC (and a 1st round ACC tourney bye), keep alive the hopes for 20 wins, and keep alive VERY dim NCAA tourney hopes & more realistic (but far from certain) NIT tourney hopes.

[fullmetal]

ESPN gamecast: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...a-stanford
Stats broadcast: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=549745

[fullmetal]

ESPN gamecast: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...a-stanford
Stats broadcast: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=549745

[fullmetal]

kal took an early lead, but Stanford finally settled in and started making some shots.  It's been a very low scoring game.  Stanford's up 36-25 with 14:34 left in the *game*, and although Mike Montgomery is in attendance, both teams are shooting absymally from the stripe, lol.

[fullmetal]

kal took an early lead, but Stanford finally settled in and started making some shots.  It's been a very low scoring game.  Stanford's up 36-25 with 14:34 left in the *game*, and although Mike Montgomery is in attendance, both teams are shooting absymally from the stripe, lol.

[TheFarm07]

I am surprised this thread hasn't been updated in a while.

After taking a 17-pt lead, we let Cal back in the game as we settled for long-range shots (and missed them) and wilted against their pressure allowing Cal to tie the game.

Blakes fouling out did not help either

The refs spent a few minutes trying to figure out possession and clock late, but we were able to edge out Cal thanks to Maxime's rebounding prowess.

[TheFarm07]

I am surprised this thread hasn't been updated in a while.

After taking a 17-pt lead, we let Cal back in the game as we settled for long-range shots (and missed them) and wilted against their pressure allowing Cal to tie the game.

Blakes fouling out did not help either

The refs spent a few minutes trying to figure out possession and clock late, but we were able to edge out Cal thanks to Maxime's rebounding prowess.

[SkiBum80]

A street brawl smash mouth game
I’m just so glad our guys came out on top
Really inconsistent reffing didn’t help matters

---

I’m feeling more and more confident that the Ghost of Haase has been permanently exorcised from Maples

[SkiBum80]

A street brawl smash mouth game
I’m just so glad our guys came out on top
Really inconsistent reffing didn’t help matters

---

I’m feeling more and more confident that the Ghost of Haase has been permanently exorcised from Maples

[needle]

Missed this one, but looking at the ACC standings it's clear that outside of the top three (Duke, Clemson and L'ville), all the teams are vulnerable against each other. 

Only two teams in the bottom 15 (yes, that's how I'm framing it) have an actual, multi-game winning streak: UNC (won three straight) and Stanford's next opponent, Boston College (won two in a row).

[needle]

Missed this one, but looking at the ACC standings it's clear that outside of the top three (Duke, Clemson and L'ville), all the teams are vulnerable against each other. 

Only two teams in the bottom 15 (yes, that's how I'm framing it) have an actual, multi-game winning streak: UNC (won three straight) and Stanford's next opponent, Boston College (won two in a row).

[Leftcoast]

Tough physical games are ugly and slow; this one was made even slower by frequent use of overly long video reviews by the refs.

Good thing crowd watching was so rewarding!  Tara and Amy Tucker, Mike Montgomery and Andrew Luck, Reynaud’s mom just arrived from Paris and cheering on her son underneath the Stanford basket.  Of course there was also Madsen and Stojakovic’s return wearing blue (Booo!)

[Leftcoast]

Tough physical games are ugly and slow; this one was made even slower by frequent use of overly long video reviews by the refs.

Good thing crowd watching was so rewarding!  Tara and Amy Tucker, Mike Montgomery and Andrew Luck, Reynaud’s mom just arrived from Paris and cheering on her son underneath the Stanford basket.  Of course there was also Madsen and Stojakovic’s return wearing blue (Booo!)

[Sam Leopold]

131 teams lost a basketball game today and we weren't one of them.  At this point in the season, that counts for a good night in my book.

[Sam Leopold]

131 teams lost a basketball game today and we weren't one of them.  At this point in the season, that counts for a good night in my book.

[Nobadeer]

Biggest and loudest crowd of the season at Maples by far (6,510)! The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players, and called 46 fouls, 25 of which (season-high?) were on LSJU. 

Blakes fouled out (in just 16 minutes played!) for the first time of his (1-year) LSJU career, and Gealer also fouled out, a few minutes later, only the second DQ of his LSJU career. Partial credit to Madsen for double teaming Reynaud often and then sensing the overzealous refs and sending Stoyakovic and Wilkinson right at Blakes and Gealer again and again in the second half, for a combined 7 fouls. Luckily Stoyakovic and Wilkinson missed six FTs.

Cal fans were mostly quiet until the Bears rallied from the 17-point deficit, and then Cal fans got loud - and in response the LSJU students couldn't help themselves, chanting Stanford Rejects . . .

[Nobadeer]

Biggest and loudest crowd of the season at Maples by far (6,510)! The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players, and called 46 fouls, 25 of which (season-high?) were on LSJU. 

Blakes fouled out (in just 16 minutes played!) for the first time of his (1-year) LSJU career, and Gealer also fouled out, a few minutes later, only the second DQ of his LSJU career. Partial credit to Madsen for double teaming Reynaud often and then sensing the overzealous refs and sending Stoyakovic and Wilkinson right at Blakes and Gealer again and again in the second half, for a combined 7 fouls. Luckily Stoyakovic and Wilkinson missed six FTs.

Cal fans were mostly quiet until the Bears rallied from the 17-point deficit, and then Cal fans got loud - and in response the LSJU students couldn't help themselves, chanting Stanford Rejects . . .

[M T]

Poor game management by the refs. They started out calling nothing in a rivalry game. and then when it was getting too rough, they started calling nothing as fouls. Bad call after bad call. 

I bet they’ve never even seen a Cal-Stanford game before. Maybe they didn’t even know it was a rivalry game.

[M T]

Poor game management by the refs. They started out calling nothing in a rivalry game. and then when it was getting too rough, they started calling nothing as fouls. Bad call after bad call. 

I bet they’ve never even seen a Cal-Stanford game before. Maybe they didn’t even know it was a rivalry game.

[fullmetal]

I wasn't spending much time on my laptop once kal went on their 10-0 run.  It became a typical cardiac Cardinal game where we nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and I was alternating between relief at Stanford's ability to finally make a few baskets versus despair at kal's Wilkinson just going nuts and drawing every conceivable foul from flopping (Blakes, Gealer).  The refs should be busted down to middle school games.  I can't remember if Kyle Smith called any timeouts during kal's comeback run, but I wish that would have been stopped much sooner.

The guys won a game where the shooting wasn't always there, and that's to their credit.  Would have loved to see more Princeton-style offense when the shots weren't falling.  Against legit teams, trying to shoot yourself out of a slump can sometimes just lose you the game.

[fullmetal]

I wasn't spending much time on my laptop once kal went on their 10-0 run.  It became a typical cardiac Cardinal game where we nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and I was alternating between relief at Stanford's ability to finally make a few baskets versus despair at kal's Wilkinson just going nuts and drawing every conceivable foul from flopping (Blakes, Gealer).  The refs should be busted down to middle school games.  I can't remember if Kyle Smith called any timeouts during kal's comeback run, but I wish that would have been stopped much sooner.

The guys won a game where the shooting wasn't always there, and that's to their credit.  Would have loved to see more Princeton-style offense when the shots weren't falling.  Against legit teams, trying to shoot yourself out of a slump can sometimes just lose you the game.

[skip75]

The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players

Loved this comment!

I sometimes laugh about the hand-wringing on this (and other) fan boards about referees.  I saw the game live, so without the benefit of replays and commentary, but last night seemed to be way beyond just an "off night" for the crew in stripes IMO.  On the Bear Insider, there were many similar comments - and not complaining just about calls against Cal.  Even their complaints noted inconsistencies both ways.  And the delays in the game were really annoying - not sure they helped correct anything either.  I kept thinking, just get it wrong & move on.

One minor milestone from this game - Stanford has now clinched a spot in the ACC tournament, something that has been a foregone conclusion for awhile now, but was not at the beginning of the season.  Next step - clinching a first round bye.

[skip75]

The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players

Loved this comment!

I sometimes laugh about the hand-wringing on this (and other) fan boards about referees.  I saw the game live, so without the benefit of replays and commentary, but last night seemed to be way beyond just an "off night" for the crew in stripes IMO.  On the Bear Insider, there were many similar comments - and not complaining just about calls against Cal.  Even their complaints noted inconsistencies both ways.  And the delays in the game were really annoying - not sure they helped correct anything either.  I kept thinking, just get it wrong & move on.

One minor milestone from this game - Stanford has now clinched a spot in the ACC tournament, something that has been a foregone conclusion for awhile now, but was not at the beginning of the season.  Next step - clinching a first round bye.

[Mick]

The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players

Loved this comment!

I sometimes laugh about the hand-wringing on this (and other) fan boards about referees.  I saw the game live, so without the benefit of replays and commentary, but last night seemed to be way beyond just an "off night" for the crew in stripes IMO.  On the Bear Insider, there were many similar comments - and not complaining just about calls against Cal.  Even their complaints noted inconsistencies both ways.  And the delays in the game were really annoying - not sure they helped correct anything either.  I kept thinking, just get it wrong & move on.

One minor milestone from this game - Stanford has now clinched a spot in the ACC tournament, something that has been a foregone conclusion for awhile now, but was not at the beginning of the season.  Next step - clinching a first round bye.

Rough game. Good win, though, and glad we're in the ACC tournament, hopefully getting the first-round bye.

Just for fun, the current College RPI rankings for ACC teams:

5 Duke
16 Clemson
21 Louisville
29 North Carolina
48 Wake Forest
55 SMU
70 Pitt
73 Stanford
113 Florida State
117 Virginia
171 Syracuse
187 California
193 Notre Dame
199 Va Tech
202 Georgia Tech
223 NC State
250 Boston College
287 Miami

[Mick]

The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players

Loved this comment!

I sometimes laugh about the hand-wringing on this (and other) fan boards about referees.  I saw the game live, so without the benefit of replays and commentary, but last night seemed to be way beyond just an "off night" for the crew in stripes IMO.  On the Bear Insider, there were many similar comments - and not complaining just about calls against Cal.  Even their complaints noted inconsistencies both ways.  And the delays in the game were really annoying - not sure they helped correct anything either.  I kept thinking, just get it wrong & move on.

One minor milestone from this game - Stanford has now clinched a spot in the ACC tournament, something that has been a foregone conclusion for awhile now, but was not at the beginning of the season.  Next step - clinching a first round bye.

Rough game. Good win, though, and glad we're in the ACC tournament, hopefully getting the first-round bye.

Just for fun, the current College RPI rankings for ACC teams:

5 Duke
16 Clemson
21 Louisville
29 North Carolina
48 Wake Forest
55 SMU
70 Pitt
73 Stanford
113 Florida State
117 Virginia
171 Syracuse
187 California
193 Notre Dame
199 Va Tech
202 Georgia Tech
223 NC State
250 Boston College
287 Miami

[troyc]

The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players

One minor milestone from this game - Stanford has now clinched a spot in the ACC tournament, something that has been a foregone conclusion for awhile now, but was not at the beginning of the season.  Next step - clinching a first round bye.

That result also clinched a winning season for Stanford, its first in five years. That's a big item for this year's team to check off the list.

In lieu of a "Monty's Cup", during our courtside postgame interview with Kyle it was my honor to present him with the bottle of water he inadvertently left on the scorer's table in front of us during the handshake line. Kyle signed it, commemorated it with the date & the final score, and took it with him. Fun moment.

Troy C

[troyc]

The refs mistakenly thought everyone turned out to watch them and not the basketball players

One minor milestone from this game - Stanford has now clinched a spot in the ACC tournament, something that has been a foregone conclusion for awhile now, but was not at the beginning of the season.  Next step - clinching a first round bye.

That result also clinched a winning season for Stanford, its first in five years. That's a big item for this year's team to check off the list.

In lieu of a "Monty's Cup", during our courtside postgame interview with Kyle it was my honor to present him with the bottle of water he inadvertently left on the scorer's table in front of us during the handshake line. Kyle signed it, commemorated it with the date & the final score, and took it with him. Fun moment.

Troy C

[Treebound]

I was at the game last night and it was UGLY!   Per the correct comments of others, the ACC refs were horrible and very inconsistent.   They made the game drag on for way too long and destroyed the tempo.   Not a fan of Madsen in Blue or his coaching/whining.   He told his team and especially his bigs to play ugly and really try to push Maxime around.  It worked reasonably well given the poor refs.  Stoyokovic was also a piece of work, trying to stare down Maxime multiple times.  No class from him as a former teammate and frankly, an immature underclassmen move.   With that kind of BS, I'm glad he's not on our team.  

Great to see the team grit out the win and the sweep of the weenies.  Maxime jumping into the crowd with his fraternity brothers after the game made it even better.  He's a class act and I was happy to see Maples rocking last night for a Parents Weekend win over the lowly bears!  That's the best crowd I've seen for a hoops game in awhile.  I hope Kyle keeps on building with this team!

[Treebound]

I was at the game last night and it was UGLY!   Per the correct comments of others, the ACC refs were horrible and very inconsistent.   They made the game drag on for way too long and destroyed the tempo.   Not a fan of Madsen in Blue or his coaching/whining.   He told his team and especially his bigs to play ugly and really try to push Maxime around.  It worked reasonably well given the poor refs.  Stoyokovic was also a piece of work, trying to stare down Maxime multiple times.  No class from him as a former teammate and frankly, an immature underclassmen move.   With that kind of BS, I'm glad he's not on our team.  

Great to see the team grit out the win and the sweep of the weenies.  Maxime jumping into the crowd with his fraternity brothers after the game made it even better.  He's a class act and I was happy to see Maples rocking last night for a Parents Weekend win over the lowly bears!  That's the best crowd I've seen for a hoops game in awhile.  I hope Kyle keeps on building with this team!

[Sam Leopold]

Ken Pomeroy on video reviews:

The game times, they are increasing - by Ken Pomeroy

. . . . . . . . . Game times are up nearly six minutes since 2021.

. . . . . . . .

Before I get into a rant about reviews, I have to concede that the additional six minutes is probably not entirely due to reviews. Delays from reviews seem to be getting worse, but they’ve been bad for a while. There may also be a contribution from more subtle things like the new tradition of free throw huddles towards the end of games occurring on the sideline with the coach instead of in the lane.

My data also indicates that ESPN broadcasts in particular have ballooned (an average of 2:08 this season) and it’s possible the network has bloated game length in some way. However, manually timing commercial breaks is where I draw the line for research.

Clearly, though, reviews are the main culprit. More gets added to the list of reviewable plays with every rules update. For instance, it’s absolutely insane to retroactively review goaltending calls. The offensive team rebounds about half of all blocked shots, but when a goaltending call is overturned, it’s assumed the defensive team would have gained possession in all cases. It’s an example of how trying to get every call right is actually impossible. It sounds noble to strive for, but it’s not something you can legislate into existence due to the free-flowing nature of the game.

The single easiest fix to fight the increase in game length is to adopt the NBA system where out of bounds reviews can only be initiated by a coach’s challenge. Currently, coaches and players effectively have unlimited challenges. Any of them can twirl their finger in the last two minutes and officials are obligated to go to the monitor. Even the most obvious calls can trigger a lengthy viewing party for the officials.

Unfortunately, there’s a custom among the college hoops’ vanguard that adopting an idea from the NBA is a sign of weakness. Therefore, we must wait years (three-point line, charge circle) or decades (shot clock) or possibly generations (quarters) to implement useful ideas. Not all NBA innovations are great but a coach’s challenge system for out of bounds calls would make the end-game quite a bit more watchable. If you think a call is obviously wrong, then risk a timeout to challenge it. Otherwise, keep playing.

[Sam Leopold]

Ken Pomeroy on video reviews:

The game times, they are increasing - by Ken Pomeroy

. . . . . . . . . Game times are up nearly six minutes since 2021.

. . . . . . . .

Before I get into a rant about reviews, I have to concede that the additional six minutes is probably not entirely due to reviews. Delays from reviews seem to be getting worse, but they’ve been bad for a while. There may also be a contribution from more subtle things like the new tradition of free throw huddles towards the end of games occurring on the sideline with the coach instead of in the lane.

My data also indicates that ESPN broadcasts in particular have ballooned (an average of 2:08 this season) and it’s possible the network has bloated game length in some way. However, manually timing commercial breaks is where I draw the line for research.

Clearly, though, reviews are the main culprit. More gets added to the list of reviewable plays with every rules update. For instance, it’s absolutely insane to retroactively review goaltending calls. The offensive team rebounds about half of all blocked shots, but when a goaltending call is overturned, it’s assumed the defensive team would have gained possession in all cases. It’s an example of how trying to get every call right is actually impossible. It sounds noble to strive for, but it’s not something you can legislate into existence due to the free-flowing nature of the game.

The single easiest fix to fight the increase in game length is to adopt the NBA system where out of bounds reviews can only be initiated by a coach’s challenge. Currently, coaches and players effectively have unlimited challenges. Any of them can twirl their finger in the last two minutes and officials are obligated to go to the monitor. Even the most obvious calls can trigger a lengthy viewing party for the officials.

Unfortunately, there’s a custom among the college hoops’ vanguard that adopting an idea from the NBA is a sign of weakness. Therefore, we must wait years (three-point line, charge circle) or decades (shot clock) or possibly generations (quarters) to implement useful ideas. Not all NBA innovations are great but a coach’s challenge system for out of bounds calls would make the end-game quite a bit more watchable. If you think a call is obviously wrong, then risk a timeout to challenge it. Otherwise, keep playing.