stanford game

[nan linds]

2:30 and found it on U Verse Alt 691 so that means it is on other providers somewhere, too.
Then again, after watching two blowout games with Baylor and Delaware, maybe it's time to go out and enjoy the nice day.

 

[Kibitzer]

I've got it on DirecTV in Norwalk at channel 635.

Blowout underway. 13-4 after 5 minutes.

 

[speedoo]

Cal is giving them a game, as I expected. Cal has size and athleticism up front.

 

[cardfan]

Cal is giving them a game, as I expected. Cal has size and athleticism up front.

Cal is in it because of making 5 threes, a rarity for them. We out rebounded them (radio said by one, but espn box has even). We need to shoot better, take care of the call. I think we will be fine in 2nd half and pull away when Chiney gets back into the game (sat for 4 min due to fouls). Plus, Stanford is in much better shape than Cal.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Fouls have been one of Chiney's few weak spots. In rounds 4 and later, she needs to stay on the floor. I expect to see the Cardinal pull away at some point and win by 15.

 

[cardfan]

Fouls have been one of Chiney's few weak spots. In rounds 4 and later, she needs to stay on the floor. I expect to see the Cardinal pull away at some point and win by 15.

only today, she has been very clean on fouls the 2nd half of season. Some strange calls today, but we prevailed.

Nneka 29 pts and three 3s! She made 2 her entire career!

 

[Replicant]

Congrats to Stanford. No knock on the Cardinal, as they certainly hold up their end of the bargain putting a quality team on the court year-in and year-out, but the PAC-12 is a joke.

Will Cal be the only other PAC-12 team besides Stanford that makes the NCAAs? Stanford is the only team in the conference in the Top 25 and Cal being the 2nd best team, has 9 losses and not a single victory over a ranked team this year!

 

[cardfan]

Congrats to Stanford. No knock on the Cardinal, as they certainly hold up their end of the bargain putting a quality team on the court year-in and year-out, but the PAC-12 is a joke.

Will Cal be the only other PAC-12 team besides Stanford that makes the NCAAs? Stanford is the only team in the conference in the Top 25 and Cal being the 2nd best team, has 9 losses and not a single victory over a ranked team this year!

You know, it gets old hearing that about the Pac 10/12. Tara knows how to prepare her team for the NCAAs as evident of 4 straight final fours and a contender this yr.

 

[DEK1234]

I wish the Pac-12 was better for the sole reason of getting Stanford on TV more often. Other than their games with UConn and TN, how many of their other games been nationally televised? I trust what everyone (and stats) say about Nneka and Chiney being star players, but I want to see their greatness for myself . It's a shame that they don't get the spotlight more often. I'd rather see Stanford play a good OOC opponent than see UConn beat UNC by 50 again.

 

[cardfan]

I wish the Pac-12 was better for the sole reason of getting Stanford on TV more often. Other than their games with UConn and TN, how many of their other games been nationally televised? I trust what everyone (and stats) say about Nneka and Chiney being star players, but I want to see their greatness for myself . It's a shame that they don't get the spotlight more often. I'd rather see Stanford play a good OOC opponent than see UConn beat UNC by 50 again.

they will be better next year. Many teams had new coaches and teams are young (UCLA and Cal), and many teams had key injuries to many players (USC and even us)

Pac 12 has a contract with Fox Sports vs. ESPN, and even though we had 7 games televised, the market for Fox Sports is much smaller than ESPN.

 

[triaddukefan]

It's a shame that they don't get . I'd rather see Stanford play a good OOC opponent than see UConn beat UNC by 50 again.

Trust me.... that never gets old. I just wish the series with UNC would have been renewed

 

[Replicant]

You know, it gets old hearing that about the Pac 10/12.

I'm sure it does. It also gets old watching the same predictable script play out every year...it's always Groundhog Day in the PAC-12.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Stanford has made the final 4 in the past four years and the championship game in two of those years. I often hear how facing tough competition prepares you for the tournament, yet Stanfords run through the Pac 10/12 each year seems to defy that logic.
Then again according to the NCAA raings the Pac12 is rated the 4th toughest conference behind Big 12, SEC, and Big East.
Go figure.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Nneka shot 3-4 from the arc today. I wonder what her shot selection will be going forward. If she is scoring from out there, she is doing everything that Elena does.

Stanford has been good for 20+ years, basically since Tara arrived. They had a long gap in Final Four appearances, though. They got upgraded talent with Wiggins, Appel, Pohlen, Pedersen, and the O sisters--certainly in quantity, if not quality. Their OOC schedule is usually good. Their conference schedule ranges from good to rather poor, depending on the year. There was not much competition this year. Will that hurt them in the NCAAs? If they lose, it will not be due to lack of talent or coaching.

 

[Wonkster]

... It also gets old watching the same predictable script play out every year...it's always Groundhog Day in the PAC-12.

.
LOL!
.

 

[alexrgct]

Stanford has made the final 4 in the past four years and the championship game in two of those years. I often hear how facing tough competition prepares you for the tournament, yet Stanfords run through the Pac 10/12 each year seems to defy that logic.
Then again according to the NCAA raings the Pac12 is rated the 4th toughest conference behind Big 12, SEC, and Big East.
Go figure.

The difference is that the PAC is especially weak this year, Stanford had to play more league games than previously, and their OOC slate was shorter as a result and not awe-inspiring. They haven't played a quality opponent since December. For a team with a lot of youth, that's not ideal.

 

[CompSci87]

Congrats to Stanford. No knock on the Cardinal, as they certainly hold up their end of the bargain putting a quality team on the court year-in and year-out, but the PAC-12 is a joke.

Will Cal be the only other PAC-12 team besides Stanford that makes the NCAAs? Stanford is the only team in the conference in the Top 25 and Cal being the 2nd best team, has 9 losses and not a single victory over a ranked team this year!

Scott Rueck (Oregon State coach) said it well: after Stanford and Cal, every team from #3-#12 in the Pac-12 can beat any other team this year. I don't think that makes the Pac-12 a joke -- those teams are definitely a couple of steps down, but none of them are awful.

p.s. The Pac-12 plays the same number of league games as the old Pac-10 -- it's no longer a full double round robin, just 18 games. Maybe that still is more league games than some conferences (?).

 

[cardfan]

The difference is that the PAC is especially weak this year, Stanford had to play more league games than previously, and their OOC slate was shorter as a result and not awe-inspiring. They haven't played a quality opponent since December. For a team with a lot of youth, that's not ideal.

and who's fault is that? We scheduled Texas, Gonzaga, Xaiver when they were better. It's not our fault they dropped off. And we have no control over all injuries in the Pac 12 (including our team). And, it's not like UConn beat us so badly the 3rd game of the season at UConn, when Nneka only played 23 min. Instead of looking at the negatives, how about giving Stanford and Tara some credit for their winning streaks, after losing 2 point guards and a wing.

 

[cardfan]

Scott Rueck (Oregon State coach) said it well: after Stanford and Cal, every team from #3-#12 in the Pac-12 can beat any other team this year. I don't think that makes the Pac-12 a joke -- those teams are definitely a couple of steps down, but none of them are awful.

p.s. The Pac-12 plays the same number of league games as the old Pac-10 -- it's no longer a full double round robin, just 18 games. Maybe that still is more league games than some conferences (?).

18 games plus 3 for conf. tourney games (for all Pac 12 teams) = 21 and is the most of any conference. Again, not Stanford's fault. Tara was against conf. tourney because it disallowed us more non conf games.

 

[Northeast86]

I don't think people are trying to criticize Tara. They are just pointing out that the Pac-12 is having a bit of a down year. Unfortunately when you are a power conference people expect a lot out of you. This year the Pac-12 may only have 2 teams in, the same amount as perhaps the CAA and perhaps fewer than the A-10 which could get three.

I agree the Pac-12 doesn't have an awful team, but unlike a conference like the Big East of the ACC they only have one elite team: Stanford. By elite I mean a team consistently in the top ten looking at either a 1-3 seed.

CAL was good this year and will be granted an at large bid. USC could have been without the injuries. Oregon State and Arizona State played really good basketball at times as well. It just seems they were not able to get over the hump from bubble teams to being sure of getting an at large bid.

The Pac-12 is going to be really good in the next few years. It will be an exciting time for west coast basketball as Stanford, UCLA, Cal, Oregon State, USC and maybe Washington should all be dancing soon and I would not be surprised to see all six ranked in the top 25 at one time.

It will be interesting to see how the upswing of the Pac-12 will influence recruiting and if coaches are going to be able to lure players off the west coast.

 

[HuskyNan]

The Big East continually gets bashed in football so we know your pain and we understand your argument. But facts are facts, painful as they may be.

 

[Kibitzer]

Let me paraphrase the old adage about parity in the NFL:

"On any given day, any team in the PAC-12 is capable of will . . . lose to Stanford."

 

[cardfan]

The Big East continually gets bashed in football so we know your pain and we understand your argument. But facts are facts, painful as they may be.

not a good analogy Nan. It would be true if a Big East football team that regularly played for National Championship or was a top 4 team in the land like Stanford women's bball.

 

[jsloanjr]

Please, I take my hat off to the very difficult job Tara had to do playing in the Pac 12. They always seems to play well this time of year regardless of who they are playing........Barring a huge upset in Round 2, I expect to see the Cards in Denver for a little rematch with UCONN........Stay healthy Cards!!

 

[HuskyNan]

not a good analogy Nan. It would be true if a Big East football team that regularly played for National Championship or was a top 4 team in the land like Stanford women's bball.

No, it's a very good analogy. Big East teams win head-to-head matchups against other BCS conferences and often kick the you-know-what out of highly regarded teams in top conferences in the BCS bowls yet because of the perception that the BEast is weak, people are screaming for the conference to lose its BCS bid. WVU beat Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl but everyone pooh-poohs the win because WVU is [now, was] in the Big East. Why should WVU be judged by how bad Syracuse is?

 

[alexrgct]

and who's fault is that? We scheduled Texas, Gonzaga, Xaiver when they were better. It's not our fault they dropped off. And we have no control over all injuries in the Pac 12 (including our team). And, it's not like UConn beat us so badly the 3rd game of the season at UConn, when Nneka only played 23 min. Instead of looking at the negatives, how about giving Stanford and Tara some credit for their winning streaks, after losing 2 point guards and a wing.

To answer your initial question- the rest of the Pac-12's. Doesn't mean it's to Stanford's benefit.

No one's blaming Stanford. Doesn't mean their schedule hasn't been poor this season.

CFB-wise, I'd actually compare it to the ACC in the 1990s. Florida State was great, and the rest of the league couldn't wait for basketball season. Didn't keep FSU from winning two nattys that decade and playing for two more. With this relatively young Stanford team, however, I'm sure Tara would have preferred a tougher opponent or two later in the season.

BTW, in fairness, it's not like it was a shock that the OOC wasn't that strong. Texas hasn't been good in a while, Gonzaga was losing its best player by a country mile, and Xavier was losing its two best players. Neither Gonzaga nor Xavier has a talent pipeline that makes it likely to replace the kids they were losing. I'm sure Tara will push to schedule the best OOC opponents possible if the PAC stays down.

 

[speedoo]

The Pac-12 is going to be really good in the next few years. It will be an exciting time for west coast basketball as Stanford, UCLA, Cal, Oregon State, USC and maybe Washington should all be dancing soon and I would not be surprised to see all six ranked in the top 25 at one time.

It will be interesting to see how the upswing of the Pac-12 will influence recruiting and if coaches are going to be able to lure players off the west coast.

Would be good if this happens, but what makes you believe it actually will?

 

[easttexastrash]

18 games plus 3 for conf. tourney games (for all Pac 12 teams) = 21 and is the most of any conference. Again, not Stanford's fault. Tara was against conf. tourney because it disallowed us more non conf games.

Baylor also played 18 + 3 this year.

 

[cardfan]

No, it's a very good analogy. Big East teams win head-to-head matchups against other BCS conferences and often kick the you-know-what out of highly regarded teams in top conferences in the BCS bowls yet because of the perception that the BEast is weak, people are screaming for the conference to lose its BCS bid. WVU beat Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl but everyone pooh-poohs the win because WVU is [now, was] in the Big East. Why should WVU be judged by how bad Syracuse is?

It's not a good analogy at all given the Big East football has never played for the national championship.

 

[Icebear]

I would love to see a chart of teams making at least the Elite 8 or better yet round by round over the last 20 years identified/gathered by time zone. It might be interesting in demonstrating relative strength of regional basketball.