On Sunday at 1:00 PM PST on ESPNU, Cal men’s basketball will take on their rival Stanford at Haas Pavilion. Cal comes into this game at 5-15 overall and 0-8 in the Pac-12 while Stanford comes in at 10-10 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: Cal lost to Utah on Saturday, January 26th by a final score of 82-64. Sedrick Barefield led the way for Utah with 21 points and 5 rebounds. Justice Sueing was the top performer for Cal with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
RECAP: Cal gets overpowered by Utah
STAT PACK: The Mountain Schools
On Stanford: Stanford is led by sophomore small forward KZ Okpala, who is averaging 17.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. After having a solid freshman year, Okpala has really blossomed into one of the best players in the Pac-12, putting himself in the conversation to be a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Around Okpala is a solid core consisting of sophomore point guard Daejon Davis (12.6 points & 4.4 assists), freshman shooting guard Cormac Ryan (10.0 points & 3.5 rebounds), sophomore power forward Oscar da Silva (9.4 points & 5.7 rebounds), and senior center Josh Sharma (8.5 points & 5.5 rebounds). Collectively, these guys play off each other really well. Davis is a solid distributor that can push it in transition, Ryan is a really good 3-point shooter (33.7%), da Silva is sort of a swiss-army knife, and Sharma is a sound presence in the paint.
As a team, Stanford doesn’t really stand out in one particular area, but they’re also not really bad in any area either. They average 72.65 points per game on 46.1% shooting from the field, 32.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.2% shooting from the foul line while their opponents average 72.8 points per game on 43.8% shooting from the field and 33.7% shooting from 3-point range. They also have a rebounding differential of 0. They average 35.3 rebounds per game while their opponents also grab 35.3 rebounds per game. Like Jerry Seinfeld, they break even.
Keys to the game: If Cal is to pick up their first win of Pac-12 play against Stanford, the first thing they need to do is defend KZ Okpala well. He’s the best player on this Stanford team and the one who makes them go. If they allow him to have a big night, they’re not going to win this game. Okpala is dangerous both on the perimeter and when he’s attacking the rim, so it’s going to take a true team effort to defend him.
The second thing Cal needs to do is attack the rim. As good as Okpala is, he’s not that great of a defender. He only averages .9 steals and .7 blocks per game, so he’s not much of a defensive force. He’s not all that physical when he’s defending, so Cal should look to go at him all game. The rest of Stanford’s team is similar. They don’t really have a hard-nosed defender, so Cal needs to do all they can to attack the basket, get to the foul line, and force Stanford to play more physical than they’re used to. Matt Bradley, Justice Sueing, and Juhwan Harris-Dyson in particular should be throwing themselves at the rim every time they get the chance.
Lastly, Cal needs to win the free throw battle. I bring this up a lot, but this is a game where foul shooting could make a huge difference. Cal shoots 73.9% from the foul line while Stanford shoots 67.2%. If Cal can win the free throw battle decisively, they’ll give themselves a chance to win this game.
Quotes: Earlier this week, Cal head coach Wyking Jones addressed the media in advance of Sunday’s game. Below are quotes pertaining to the game.
Q: What are your impressions of Stanford? Are they a different team from what you saw last year?
Wyking Jones: “Yeah, they are. They’re a different team because Davis is matured, I feel like he’s more consistent that he was last year; he’s gotten better. And Okpala, KZ Okpala has taken his game to a whole other level. He’s got 10 times better than what he was last year. You gotta look at him and think that he’s one of the best prospects in our conference. He’s playing some really good basketball. He’s improved his shot. Last year he was more of just a driver. This year, he’s still great at attacking the rim, but at the same time he can knock down a three and Josh Sharma has gotten better. He’s gotten a lot better than he was last year. He’s improved greatly. So, I think obviously Reid Travis was a force. Reid Travis, Mike Humphries, Pickens, obviously losing those guys hurts, but I think those young guys have stepped up and they’re playing good basketball.”
Q: Just glancing at their game against Colorado, it looks like they play a lot of zone. Are they primarily a zone team?
Wyking Jones: “Yeah, they go between 1-3-1 zone to try to bother you and use their length and then they play a lot of 2-3 zone as well. So, they kinda go between the 1-3-1 and the 2-3. They play a little bit of man, but not a lot. As of late they haven’t been playing a lot of man.”
Q: How’s the health of the team? Will everyone will be available?
Wyking Jones: “Roman Davis is having some back issues, so he’s a game-time decision for now. But, Jacobi Gordon practiced yesterday. Everyone else was in practice yesterday, no problems.”
Q: What do you guys need to do to slow down KZ Okpala and Daejon Davis and make those guys uncomfortable?
Wyking Jones: “Keep them out of the lane, number one. They’re very good at attacking the rim. Both of those guys. Both are athletic. They’re both above the rim finishers. And so, it starts with keeping them out of the lane. Staying in front, making them come through your body, squaring them up, I think that it starts with that. Just keep them out of the lane, because they’re very dangerous once they get in the lane because they’re great finishers.”
