Preview: Stanford Men’s Basketball opens College Basketball Crown against West Virginia
This weekend, Stanford men’s basketball will play in the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. The Crown features Baylor, Colorado, Creighton, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rutgers, West Virginia, and Stanford. NIL money is on the line with a quarterfinal win guaranteeing $50K, a semifinal win guaranteeing $100K, and a championship win guaranteeing $300K:
Half of the quarterfinal games were played on Wednesday, April 1st with Colorado defeating Oklahoma 90-86 (OT) and Baylor defeating Minnesota 67-48. Stanford will face West Virginia on Thursday, April 2nd at 5:00 PM PT on FS1 while Rutgers will face Creighton on April 2nd at 7:30 PM PT on FS1.
READ: Stanford Men’s Basketball to compete in College Basketball Crown
READ: Stanford head coach Kyle Smith looks ahead to the College Basketball Crown
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Last time out: It feels like it’s been a while since Stanford last played a game. That was back on Tuesday, March 10th in which they fell to Pitt in the first round of the ACC tournament by a final score of 64-63. That loss sunk Stanford’s NCAA tournament hopes.
RECAP: Stanford falls to Pitt in ACC tourney opener
On West Virginia: The Mountaineers went 18-14 overall and 9-9 in the Big XII. Like Stanford, they lost their opening conference tourney game, losing to BYU in the Big XII tournament 68-48. They had an up and down season with some quality wins over Kansas and BYU at home. They were 15-3 at home but really struggled away from Morgantown with a 3-6 record on the road and an 0-5 record in neutral site games.
The Mountaineers have a talented senior guard in Honor Huff, who is averaging 15.8 points per game on 35.4% shooting from the field, 35.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 85.8% shooting from the foul line. The other two scorers in double figures on average are senior forward Brenen Lorient (11.6 points & 5.1 rebounds) and 5th year guard Chance Moore (10.3 points & 5.3 rebounds). The three of them form a quality trio that is capable of doing a lot of damage. Knocking on the door of scoring in double figures is senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, who is averaging 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. The presence of Eaglestaff gives the Mountaineers a lot more depth as he does a nice job of taking pressure off the top three scorers.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need is for Ebuka Okorie to play like the best player on the floor. He’s averaging 22.8 points per game on 46.0% shooting from the field, 36.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 83.4% shooting from the foul line. He’s been an electric scorer all season long and also been active on defense with 1.6 steals per game. If Okorie plays up to his max level, Stanford should be in a good spot to win.
Secondly, Stanford needs to be more physical in the paint. West Virginia averages a -0.9 rebound differential. Stanford in contrast averages a +0.5 rebound differential. Both teams are pretty even on the glass. Whichever team does better in this department should have an edge in this game.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the 3-point battle. Stanford is playing their best basketball when they are flowing and making their threes. They are 35.6% from 3-point range while West Virginia is 30.8%. If Stanford has that same kind of advantage from beyond the arc, I like their chances to win.
Prediction: Given West Virginia’s struggles away from home and Stanford being 5-5 on the road and 3-1 in neutral site games, I gotta give the edge to the Cardinal. Stanford 77 West Virginia 74 is how I see this one going.
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