[skip75]

Stanford takes a brobdingnagian step up in level of competition in their final non-conference game.  Oregon is 10-1 and ranked #10 in both polls.  In the polls, Massey, KenPom, and anything else I could find, the Ducks are the highest rated team on the schedule other than Duke.  They have already faced 4 top-25 teams, with wins over Texas A&M, San Diego State, & Alabama (all in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week) and a home loss vs. UCLA.  Oregon is favored by 5.5 with an over/under of 149.5, implying a score of about 78-72. (Oregon favored by 7.5 per a different source.)

The Ducks are big, athletic, deep & experienced.  Their 9-player rotation includes 7 seniors & 2 sophomores - both who were full-time starters lest year and one (Jackson Shelstad) who was on the Pac-12 All Freshman team.  Lots of familiar faces, none more so than Brandon Angel (6'9", 10.3 ppg).  No surprise to Stanford fans that he is connecting on 61.3% of his shots (38/62) and 41.7% of his 3s (10/24).  TJ Bamba (6'5",10.5 ppg) played at WSU coached by Kyle Smith for 3 seasons, then spent a season at Villanova.  Nate Bittle (7'0") is in his 4th year at Oregon and leads the Ducks in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounds (8.5 rpg).  He will pose a challenge for Maxime.  Angel, Bamba, & Bitttle have all started every game along with Shelstad (6'0"), who scores 10.4 ppg and leads in assists with 5.2 per game.

The 5th starter will likely be Jadrian Tracey (6'5", 9.1 ppg).  Keeshawn Barthelemy (6'1", began his career at Colorado) provides instant offense off the bench, scoring 10.5 ppg and leading the Ducks in 3s (22/46, 47.8%).  In their 78-65 win over Stanford at Maples last season, Tracey scored 20 pts, including 4/5 3s.  Shelstad added 19, with 3/6 3s.  Bittle & Barthelemy were both injured.

I have been impressed so far by the work of Kyle Smith, his staff, and the team.  I am still a bit of a skeptic, due in part to the soft schedule so far.  Also due to too many memories in recent years of gaining enthusiasm, only to have it crushed.  I don't think this is a make or break game, but it certainly feels like a milestone.  Heading into the holiday break and then a tough ACC road trip, going toe-to-toe in a competitive game with the Ducks today would bode well for some success in conference play.

I'll be watching for continued development of the rotation beyond the Big 3.  Agarwal, Okpara, Cammann, Stinson (plus Toure and maybe more?) will need to step up, especially on the defensive end to deal with Oregon's balanced offense.

[skip75]

Stanford takes a brobdingnagian step up in level of competition in their final non-conference game.  Oregon is 10-1 and ranked #10 in both polls.  In the polls, Massey, KenPom, and anything else I could find, the Ducks are the highest rated team on the schedule other than Duke.  They have already faced 4 top-25 teams, with wins over Texas A&M, San Diego State, & Alabama (all in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week) and a home loss vs. UCLA.  Oregon is favored by 5.5 with an over/under of 149.5, implying a score of about 78-72. (Oregon favored by 7.5 per a different source.)

The Ducks are big, athletic, deep & experienced.  Their 9-player rotation includes 7 seniors & 2 sophomores - both who were full-time starters lest year and one (Jackson Shelstad) who was on the Pac-12 All Freshman team.  Lots of familiar faces, none more so than Brandon Angel (6'9", 10.3 ppg).  No surprise to Stanford fans that he is connecting on 61.3% of his shots (38/62) and 41.7% of his 3s (10/24).  TJ Bamba (6'5",10.5 ppg) played at WSU coached by Kyle Smith for 3 seasons, then spent a season at Villanova.  Nate Bittle (7'0") is in his 4th year at Oregon and leads the Ducks in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounds (8.5 rpg).  He will pose a challenge for Maxime.  Angel, Bamba, & Bitttle have all started every game along with Shelstad (6'0"), who scores 10.4 ppg and leads in assists with 5.2 per game.

The 5th starter will likely be Jadrian Tracey (6'5", 9.1 ppg).  Keeshawn Barthelemy (6'1", began his career at Colorado) provides instant offense off the bench, scoring 10.5 ppg and leading the Ducks in 3s (22/46, 47.8%).  In their 78-65 win over Stanford at Maples last season, Tracey scored 20 pts, including 4/5 3s.  Shelstad added 19, with 3/6 3s.  Bittle & Barthelemy were both injured.

I have been impressed so far by the work of Kyle Smith, his staff, and the team.  I am still a bit of a skeptic, due in part to the soft schedule so far.  Also due to too many memories in recent years of gaining enthusiasm, only to have it crushed.  I don't think this is a make or break game, but it certainly feels like a milestone.  Heading into the holiday break and then a tough ACC road trip, going toe-to-toe in a competitive game with the Ducks today would bode well for some success in conference play.

I'll be watching for continued development of the rotation beyond the Big 3.  Agarwal, Okpara, Cammann, Stinson (plus Toure and maybe more?) will need to step up, especially on the defensive end to deal with Oregon's balanced offense.

[Sam Leopold]

Dick Vitale came out with a mini-article about six "veteran" coaches "making magic" in their first year in new programs last Friday during our exams break.  I wasn't expecting to see our own on the list on account of the Cal Poly loss, but lo and behold:

"Nerdball" is alive and well in Palo Alto! Kyle Smith has the Cardinal off to a good start in their first season in the ACC. Smith's analytical approach is working. Stanford is playing smart basketball, averaging nearly 80 points per game. Don't sleep on this team -- they're building something special!

Others on the list were Dusty May (Michigan), Ben McCollum (Drake), Mark Pope (Kentucky), Mark Byington (Vanderbilt) and John Calipari (Arkansas).  Six coaches impressing in new programs, according to Dickie V - ESPN

[Sam Leopold]

Dick Vitale came out with a mini-article about six "veteran" coaches "making magic" in their first year in new programs last Friday during our exams break.  I wasn't expecting to see our own on the list on account of the Cal Poly loss, but lo and behold:

"Nerdball" is alive and well in Palo Alto! Kyle Smith has the Cardinal off to a good start in their first season in the ACC. Smith's analytical approach is working. Stanford is playing smart basketball, averaging nearly 80 points per game. Don't sleep on this team -- they're building something special!

Others on the list were Dusty May (Michigan), Ben McCollum (Drake), Mark Pope (Kentucky), Mark Byington (Vanderbilt) and John Calipari (Arkansas).  Six coaches impressing in new programs, according to Dickie V - ESPN

[chrisk]

Game is on the Big Ten Network.

[chrisk]

Game is on the Big Ten Network.

[JJJ]

They have a guy named Supreme Cook. That’s all I’m going to say about the game so far.
(Except I don’t get why they chose to do shootaround at Maples instead of at SAP.)

[JJJ]

They have a guy named Supreme Cook. That’s all I’m going to say about the game so far.
(Except I don’t get why they chose to do shootaround at Maples instead of at SAP.)

[chrisk]

Hard to believe Stanford’s NET ranking is 8th out of 18 in the ACC.

4 of the 18 Big 10 teams are ranked below Stanford.

[chrisk]

Hard to believe Stanford’s NET ranking is 8th out of 18 in the ACC.

4 of the 18 Big 10 teams are ranked below Stanford.

[Sam Leopold]

Our second-leading scorer after you know who was Benny Gealer with 10 points.  I'd like to see him become good enough to bestow upon him the nickname "BFG-05."  Our third-leading scorer was Evan Stinson with 7 points.  So........ yeah.  Nobody on the Ducks had more than 13 points, but they had eight players with at least 7 points.  In short, they were able to chaingun us from every position on the floor.

We are not bereft of good company though, #4 Kentucky lost 85-65 to unranked Ohio State earlier today.

Pick up the pieces, regroup over the last ten days of 2024, and seek a way forward through the wilderness

[Sam Leopold]

Our second-leading scorer after you know who was Benny Gealer with 10 points.  I'd like to see him become good enough to bestow upon him the nickname "BFG-05."  Our third-leading scorer was Evan Stinson with 7 points.  So........ yeah.  Nobody on the Ducks had more than 13 points, but they had eight players with at least 7 points.  In short, they were able to chaingun us from every position on the floor.

We are not bereft of good company though, #4 Kentucky lost 85-65 to unranked Ohio State earlier today.

Pick up the pieces, regroup over the last ten days of 2024, and seek a way forward through the wilderness

[MV72018]

Our second-leading scorer after you know who was Benny Gealer with 10 points.  I'd like to see him become good enough to bestow upon him the nickname "BFG-05."  Our third-leading scorer was Evan Stinson with 7 points.  So........ yeah.  Nobody on the Ducks had more than 13 points, but they had eight players with at least 7 points.  In short, they were able to chaingun us from every position on the floor.

We are not bereft of good company though, #4 Kentucky lost 85-65 to unranked Ohio State earlier today.

Pick up the pieces, regroup over the last ten days of 2024, and seek a way forward through the wilderness

Yes, Maxime shot 8 for 14 and scored 20. But, this is what the other starters did:

Camman: 2 for 7  (5 pts)
Sellers: 1 for 6 (3 pts)
Agarwal: 2 for 8 (6 pts)
Blakes: 2 for 9 (5 pts)

So, other than Raynaud, the Cardinal starters were a grim 7 for 30 [23%] for 19 pts -- for the whole game! Enough said! Kyle Smith has a long way to go before his crew can be plausibly said to be a good team.

P.S. IMO, the win the Cardinal eked out against a weak Merrimack squad and this exposure by UO (36-19 at half) are not nearly as disturbing as the drubbings the women's team has taken from Cal and OSU in its last two games. Indeed, Kyle's squad outscored Oregon in H2, 42-40. That was at least somewhat encouraging.

[MV72018]

Our second-leading scorer after you know who was Benny Gealer with 10 points.  I'd like to see him become good enough to bestow upon him the nickname "BFG-05."  Our third-leading scorer was Evan Stinson with 7 points.  So........ yeah.  Nobody on the Ducks had more than 13 points, but they had eight players with at least 7 points.  In short, they were able to chaingun us from every position on the floor.

We are not bereft of good company though, #4 Kentucky lost 85-65 to unranked Ohio State earlier today.

Pick up the pieces, regroup over the last ten days of 2024, and seek a way forward through the wilderness

Yes, Maxime shot 8 for 14 and scored 20. But, this is what the other starters did:

Camman: 2 for 7  (5 pts)
Sellers: 1 for 6 (3 pts)
Agarwal: 2 for 8 (6 pts)
Blakes: 2 for 9 (5 pts)

So, other than Raynaud, the Cardinal starters were a grim 7 for 30 [23%] for 19 pts -- for the whole game! Enough said! Kyle Smith has a long way to go before his crew can be plausibly said to be a good team.

P.S. IMO, the win the Cardinal eked out against a weak Merrimack squad and this exposure by UO (36-19 at half) are not nearly as disturbing as the drubbings the women's team has taken from Cal and OSU in its last two games. Indeed, Kyle's squad outscored Oregon in H2, 42-40. That was at least somewhat encouraging.

[JohnR34231]

Our second-leading scorer after you know who was Benny Gealer with 10 points.  I'd like to see him become good enough to bestow upon him the nickname "BFG-05."  Our third-leading scorer was Evan Stinson with 7 points.  So........ yeah.  Nobody on the Ducks had more than 13 points, but they had eight players with at least 7 points.  In short, they were able to chaingun us from every position on the floor.

We are not bereft of good company though, #4 Kentucky lost 85-65 to unranked Ohio State earlier today.

Pick up the pieces, regroup over the last ten days of 2024, and seek a way forward through the wilderness

Yeah, I guess we got our first taste of why we shouldn't have got too excited about starting off the season 9-2.
Hopefully we will win our share as the season progresses.
In the past, if the men's team was not doing well, one could always take solace from how the women's team was doing. This no longer appears to be the case.

[JohnR34231]

Our second-leading scorer after you know who was Benny Gealer with 10 points.  I'd like to see him become good enough to bestow upon him the nickname "BFG-05."  Our third-leading scorer was Evan Stinson with 7 points.  So........ yeah.  Nobody on the Ducks had more than 13 points, but they had eight players with at least 7 points.  In short, they were able to chaingun us from every position on the floor.

We are not bereft of good company though, #4 Kentucky lost 85-65 to unranked Ohio State earlier today.

Pick up the pieces, regroup over the last ten days of 2024, and seek a way forward through the wilderness

Yeah, I guess we got our first taste of why we shouldn't have got too excited about starting off the season 9-2.
Hopefully we will win our share as the season progresses.
In the past, if the men's team was not doing well, one could always take solace from how the women's team was doing. This no longer appears to be the case.