ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 5 Power Rankings
By Trevor Booth
T-8: Stanford Cardinal (4-4) Last Week: 7
Stanford was one clutch three-point shot by Lagerald Vick away from this being a much different story.
The Cardinal fell just short of what would have been the best win in the Pac-12 so far this season. Behind the combined 87 minutes of KZ Okpala and Daejon Davis, Stanford was able to force OT. However No. 2 Kansas squeaked out a 90-84 victory.
Stanford has now lost all three games against ranked opponents this season, but the fight shown on the road against Kansas should be a beacon of hope.
Both Okpala and Davis, who scored 22 and 19, respectively, had tremendous games for the Cardinal and that is something that should continue moving forward.
With only Okpala and Cormac Ryan averaging over 10 points per game, it was good to see someone else step up and help carry the load offensively for Stanford. If Davis can continue to add consistent scoring like he did on Saturday, that would add a new level to this team.
After a pretty tough start to the season, Stanford will get a little bit of a breather coming up. They will face Eastern Washington this Saturday and San Jose State on Tuesday both at home.
If the Cardinal can string together a few more wins to build some momentum before Pac-12 play rolls around this is a team that could get hot.
With Reid Travis long gone, not many people expected much from this team. But as they showed in the matchup with Kansas, they have the talent to keep them in any game that they will play this year.
– Wilkinson