ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 10 Power Rankings

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 19: Zylan Cheatham #45 of the Arizona State Sun Devils is fouled as he shoots against Aric Holman #35 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half of a semifinal game of the MGM Resorts Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 19, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 19: Zylan Cheatham #45 of the Arizona State Sun Devils is fouled as he shoots against Aric Holman #35 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half of a semifinal game of the MGM Resorts Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 19, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 12: Sterling Manley #21 of the North Carolina Tar Heels battles Josh Sharma #20 of the Stanford Cardinal for a rebound during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on November 12, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 12: Sterling Manley #21 of the North Carolina Tar Heels battles Josh Sharma #20 of the Stanford Cardinal for a rebound during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on November 12, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

9. Stanford Cardinal (7-7, 0-2 Pac-12) LW: 7

Just like cross-division rival California, Stanford dropped both of its first two conference games to the Los Angeles schools. And neither of the Cardinal’s losses were particularly close.

Their first game came against UCLA — the uglier of the two defeats.

Not only did the Cardinal lose by 22 points, they did so against an 8-6 squad with an interim head coach, Murry Bartow. In the loss, the Cardinal were crushed on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 46 to 34.

But that’s just a glimpse at their struggles in the loss.

Of its 11 players that entered the game, Stanford only had one player in double figures – KZ Okpala.

Even though the Cardinal lagged offensively over the course of the loss, Okpala was excellent, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

One game later, Stanford was once again doomed by a poor performance on the glass. USC controlled the rebounding margin 36 to 28, and in the entire 40 minutes of play, the Cardinal collected only seven offensive boards.

A positive from the 11-point loss, however, was three-point shooting. Stanford made 40 percent of its three-point shots compared to USC’s 26.7 percent. In particular, Cormac Ryan was electric from beyond the arc, draining six of his 11 attempts.

Following the opening losses in conference play, Stanford is now 7-7 with 18 regular season games remaining.

This week, Stanford will play host to Arizona and Arizona State. The Tucson-based Wildcats will be Stanford’s first opponent, and the opposing squads will face off Wednesday at 9 p.m.

– Field