Stanford Game Preview & How to Watch

How to Watch (and bet)

Date: Saturday, 1/15/22

Tip-Off Time: 3:00 pm PT

TV: Pac-12 Networks

Streaming: Pac-12.com/live

Radio: Huskies Gameday App

Location: Seattle, Washington

DraftKings Betting Line: Washington Huskies +3

Stanford Cardinal 2021-22 Statistics:

Record: 10-4 (3-1)

Points For per Game: 70.2 ppg (175th)

Points Against per Game: 68.8 ppg (158th)

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 108.0 (89th)

Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.4 (60th)

Strength of Schedule: 23rd

Stanford Key Players:

G- Michael O’Connell, So. 6’2, 190: 6.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, 36.7% FG, 22.6% 3pt, 54.2% FT

Last year O’Connell was a semi-revelation as a true freshman 47/33/79% shooting splits wresting control of the point guard position away from Daejon Davis. His scoring has really struggled this year though while also turning it over more than twice per game. Within Pac-12 play though he’s 2nd in the conference in assist rate so he can still set the table for others even if he’s struggling to score.

G- Spencer Jones, Jr. 6’7, 225: 10.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 49.5% FG, 32.8% 3pt, 76,2% FT

It has been a slow shooting start for Jones as well as he is at a career low in 3-pt% right now but has shot 41% in conference play so he might be heating back to his career 40% average. This year Jones has been much more willing to take the ball to the basket and it has paid off since he’s shooting over 70% on his 2-point attempts.

F- Brandon Angel, So. 6’8. 230: 8.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.4 apg, 53.4% FG, 43.8% 3pt, 74.1% FT

After barely getting on the floor last year, Angel has taken a major leap and become a super solid role player. His shooting percentages are great and while he doesn’t pass the ball very often that’s not something you need out of your 4th option small forward. Angel has scored at least 7 points in each of Stanford’s last 6 games including at least 16 in 3 of those contests.

F- Harrison Ingram, Fr. 6’8. 230: 12.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, 41.6% FG, 32.0% 3pt, 77.4% FT

Ingram is the most hyped member of this Stanford team as a 5-star recruit who is leading the team in minutes, points, and rebounds. Ingram is a toolsy player who is good at just about everything but not exactly exceptional at any one skill. His rebounding numbers are great for a 6’8 freshman and his assist and 3-pt rates are great for a power forward. But each individually aren’t good enough to be the best for a player on most teams.

F- Jaiden Delaire, Sr. 6'9, 215: 11.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 47.0% FG, 32.0% 3pt, 64.5% FT

Delaire was expected to take the Oscar da Silva leap but he just hasn’t quite gotten there. He’s still just a 28% career 3-pt shooter so he isn’t quite the outside shooting threat you’d like out of a stretch big. He also doesn’t rim protect all that well and has never managed to cut down on the turnovers. The one thing he absolutely can do though is get to the free throw line as he draws 6 fouls per 40 minutes played and knocks down a good percentage once he gets there.

The Outlook

The Cardinal enter this game on a 4-game winning streak although they haven’t exactly been dominant. Each of those wins came by 6 points or fewer but it was a fairly tough slate. 3 of the 4 games came away from home and all of them were against top-125 teams. That included a home win over USC who previously had been undefeated on the season. All 4 of Stanford’s losses this year came to top-85 teams away from home so there’s no question that a Husky win would represent their worst loss of the year.

Stanford has never been great in the Jerod Haase era but the one thing they’ve always been is big. Once again this is a gigantic Cardinal team that is 4th in the country in average height. No one in the rotation is shorter than 6’2 and they have either 3 or 4 players 6’7 or taller on the court at essentially all times. Unsurprisingly that has helped their rebounding as Stanford is 11th in defensive rebounding rate and 35th in offensive rebounding rate. The Huskies actually excelled against another good rebounding team in Cal on Wednesday night but it will take a herculean effort by Nate Roberts and company to not get killed on the boards against Stanford.

There are some areas though where this seems like an okay matchup. Washington’s one strength is that they have dominated the turnover battle in conference play. The Huskies are 1st on both offense and defense in turnover rate in Pac-12 games and are top-30 nationally on both ends of the court. Meanwhile, Stanford is 330th nationally in turnover rate on offense. They cough up the ball on 22.3% of their offensive possessions. Daejon Davis and the rest of Washington’s defense have to be salivating at the thought of playing Stanford and it wouldn’t be crazy for the Dawgs to end up with 15+ steals in this game.

In a best case scenario the rebounding and turnovers will cancel out and lead to a fairly even number of total shot attempts. That means the game will come down to the ability to make shots which isn’t something UW has excelled at this year. Surprisingly, Stanford is 286th in the country in 2-pt% on defense considering they play jumbo lineups. That size is mostly at the wing positions however. The Cardinal don’t have a true rim protector and Nate Roberts has a better block rate than any player on Stanford this year. There’s a good chance that Terrell Brown Jr. with his craftiness will still be able to get into the paint and score.

Other than the offensive rebounding this is a Stanford team whose identity on offense is simply balance. They rank between 145th and 191st in the % of their points coming on 2-pt, 3-pt, and FTs. Stanford shoots solidly from just about everywhere on the floor but don’t lean too heavily on any specific area of the court. One area that could hurt them if this ends up being a close game is the free throw percentage which is just 330th nationally. Another odd thing about Stanford is that they run a legitimate 10-man rotation with 12 players that are averaging at least 7 minutes per game while playing it at least 85% of Stanford’s games.

If the Huskies win this game it will be because they were able to consistently force turnovers and convert in transition to avoid playing a half court game. Stanford should get plenty of second chance opportunities but the Huskies at least have to make sure they don’t lead to easy putbacks and instead require Stanford to reset for a full half court possession. In the end I think Stanford’s size ends up being too much and Washington makes a late comeback attempt that comes up a little short. Although I would love for Daejon Davis to get the win in Seattle against his former team.

Prediction

Washington Huskies- 67, Stanford Cardinal- 72