Stanford, Saint Mary’s face key tests to keep momentum going
The significance of this week for Saint Mary’s College has been clear since its basketball schedule was revealed months ago.
But for Stanford, even two weeks ago, there was no hint that big things loomed this week.
The Gaels are making their annual preparations for the first of what probably will be three showdowns against West Coast Conference rival Gonzaga. Unbeaten and tied atop the conference standings, the programs that have won or shared the past 16 WCC regular-season titles will meet Thursday in Spokane, Washington.
The Cardinal, meanwhile, braces for something it hasn’t
Haase “We’re trying to build a program where the guys can learn how to win.”
recently experienced: Pac12 games of consequence. Winner of four in a row and tied for first place with Arizona, Stanford (10-8, 4-1) takes on No. 16 Arizona State (14-3, 2-3) tonight, then the No. 14 Wildcats (14-4, 4-1) on Saturday, both at Maples Pavilion.
Second-year Cardinal coach Jerod Haase likes how his team is progressing after pulling off the program’s first Pac-12 road sweep in eight years last weekend in Washington.
“We still have room
for improvement — free throws and turnovers. More importantly, we did a lot of positive things,” Haase said of the weekend’s performance. “Program-wide is the big thing I’m focusing on. We’re trying to build a program where the guys can learn how to win and then get to the point where we expect to.”
The Cardinal showed little of that confidence on the opening weekend of the Pac-12 schedule, blowing a 17-point lead at home in a loss to a Cal team that has not won since. Stanford was 6-8 at that point and too dependent on star junior Reid Travis, but also was just becoming whole.
Senior shooting guard Dorian Pickens, who missed 11 games because of a foot injury, returned to score 26 points in a double-overtime win over UCLA and a career-best 28 in the victory at Washington State. He shot 13 for 21 from the 3-point arc in those two games, addressing the team’s biggest weakness.
Mostly, freshmen have changed the landscape. Point guard Daejon Davis — the reigning Pac12 Player of the Week — turns the ball over too frequently, but he has become an assertive playmaker, averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 assists during the fourgame win streak.
Forward Kezie Okpala, not eligible the first semester, has scored at a 13.2-point clip in Pac-12 play and is effective in the open court. Fellow rookies Oscar da Silva and Isaac White also are making a difference.
Still, this will be a challenging week for Stanford. Haase knows better than anyone his team is an unfinished product. The Cardinal’s record vs. Top-25 opponents under his watch is a stark reminder: 0-11.
Saint Mary’s (17-2, 6-0) hasn’t fared much better against 13th-ranked Gonzaga (16-3, 6-0), only 6-20 against the Bulldogs the past nine seasons. But the Gaels have won twice
in Spokane during that stretch, including two years ago.
Three senior returnees are the core of the Gaels, including center Jock Landale, who leads the WCC and is top-20 nationally in scoring (21.7) and rebounding (10.3), and point guard Emmett Naar, second nationally in assists (9.4).
The difference in the Gaels the past two months is an improving defense. Since allowing 80 points in back-to-back November losses at the Wooden Legacy, they are 12-0 and have surrendered only 62.1 points per game.
But has that defense improved enough? The newlook
Zags feature six double-digit scorers and rank among the top-5 nationally in scoring and rebounding margin, despite losing three starters from last year’s Final Four runner-up.
Saint Mary’s still often flies below the radar outside the WCC. Until this week, the Gaels hadn’t received a single Top-25 vote since November. But the players never got caught up in being picked by the coaches to win the WCC.
“Just because they voted us, doesn’t mean we won the league,” senior Calvin Hermanson said early this season. “In our minds, Gonzaga’s still the team to beat.”