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