Stanford is 13-10 on the year and 6-6 in conference, most recently having beat WSU on the road. UW lost a nail biter in a terribly played game by the Huskies.
Stanford runs a 9 to 10 man rotation with 6 players getting 20+ minutes a game.
Stanford is led by Jeremy Green, a solid 6-4 guard who took the backseat last season to Landry Fields. He is currently leading the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game. Green is a good shooter with a nice outside shot, currently 61 of 145 (42.1%) on the year. Green averages 32 minutes per outing. He also averages 1.2 assist per game and 2.0 turnovers per game.
Aaron Bright, 5-11, is putting up 2.1 assists and 1.1 turnovers, while Jarrett Mann is sitting at 3.7 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game.
Josh Owens is a solid 6-8 forward/center who is second in scoring at 11.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game, 1st on the team.
Dwight Powell is the last starter for the Cardinals. At 6-9 and 227lbs he is a fairly big forward and is third on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game and second in rebounding at 4.9 boards per game. As a team the Cardinals grab 35 rebounds per game.
Perhaps the most telling stat is that Stanford averages 2 more turnovers than they do assists. They also shoot free throws as terribly as us with both Stanford and UW shooting 66.7% on the year.
Starting Line Up Predictions
Stanford
Aaron Bright 5-11 175lb G
Jarrett Mann 6-4 190lb G
Jeremy Green 6-4 198lb G
Josh Owens 6-8 230lb F/C
Dwight Powell 6-9 227lb F
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
UW did a great job against Cal cleaning the glass. MBA has been a monster in the post all conference season and Aziz is shaping up pretty well. Terrence Ross, Holiday, and I.T. have been great supporting members and Darnell Gant has done a great job stepping his game up.
Passing
UW plays its best game when they are dishing the ball out and finding the open shot instead of forcing it. With Isaiah averaging nearly 5.9 assists per game its easy to see why our team has been so solid. Overton is also performing quite well with 3.6 per game and an assist/turnover ratio of 3.2. These two begin the attack, but without the support of our wings the ball doesn't move as well. This is where Holiday, Ross, Wilcox, Suggs, and even Gant and MBA come in. They don't necessarily need to get the assist, but the better they pass around and use their field vision to find open shots, the better we are.
Ross had 6 assists in the last game. Very nice.
Perimeter Defense
Jeremy Green is a good shooter. Powell shows potential. Anthony Brown and Aaron Bright both have legit shots. UW cannot afford to let them get hot. With 3 or 4 good outside shooters it is important to move our feet well, transition off of screens, and get a hand in their face. Prevent the outside shot and prevent Green from lighting us up. That's where our defensive game plan should start. Man to Man all the way.
Free Throws
Stanford is a terrible free throw shooting team like us. Bright and Green are their best FT shooters. Keep them off the line and make our shots and the game will have one less way for Stanford to stay in it. We have had problems getting to the line this year, something the Dawgs thrived on in '08-'09. Each one is big and that makes them extremely important whether we are up a bunch or in a close game. In our last game we only attempted 7 free throws to Cal's 37, absurd. How 'bout some home cooking refs?
Work the Post
With MBA riding a hot streak and Aziz drawing all sorts of pressure, an inside out game plan is a great basis for our starting attack. MBA and Aziz don't need to take the shot, but if they at least get a look or two and are able to move the defense about our perimeter shooters will have an easier time of getting into open space. Also look for I.T. and Overton to drive the lane and create space that way.
Final Thoughts
UW has some vengeance to exact after the 2 point loss on the road. After crushing Cal so solidly it looks like UW has returned to its winning ways, but anything could happen. With the home crowd behind them the Dawgs are unstoppable. Sadly, we have to play places other than Hec Ed so the real question answerer will not be this game, it'll be on the road at Arizona. Win that and get respect and seeding. Lose and show weakness. This game is huge because a loss at home will kill all title hopes and makes us a bubble team, no doubt.
Final Score Prediction
UW-95 Stanford-70
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