Stanford NCAA Basketball Scores: Cardinal Roll DePaul In Overtime

Anahaeim, CA (Sports Network) – Jeremy Green scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures as the Stanford Cardinal bested the DePaul Blue Demons, 81-74, in overtime in the final round of the 76 Classic.

Anthony Brown scored 14 points for the Cardinal (4-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Dwight Powell provided 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Jack Trotter posted 11 points and seven boards. Josh Owen grabbed eight caroms. Jimmy Drew’s season-high 17 points paced the Blue Demons (1-4), who have lost four in a row. Brandon Young added 15 points and Mike Stovall 11. Tony Freeland provided 10 points, while Krys Farber finished with eight rebounds.

Stanford took a 36-34 halftime lead after shooting 52.2 percent from the floor in the first half. Stanford led by five early in the second half, but the game was tied nine times in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Freeland missed a jumper with :28 left in regulation that could have put the Blue Demons in front. The game was tied at 67 at the end of regulation.

Stanford scored the first four points in overtime before Young converted a traditional three-point play to make it a one-point game with 2:31 left. The Cardinal responded by scoring six straight points to extend their lead to seven with :59 left. Stanford enjoyed a 40-24 rebounding edge.

Stanford NCAA Basketball Update: Tulsa Hands Cardinals Second Straight Loss

Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) – Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points to lead the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to a 65-53 victory over the Stanford Cardinal in the consolation round of the 76 Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center. Justin Hurtt added 19 points for Tulsa (3-2), while Steven Idlet tallied a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Jeremy Green registered 20 points for Stanford (3-2), while Josh Owens chipped in 10 points in the loss. The Golden Hurricane limited Stanford to a woeful 25.9 percent shooting effort from the floor and went into the break with a 25-16 advantage. In the second stanza, Tulsa shot 44.4 percent from the floor and went on to win by a 12-point margin. The Golden Hurricane finished 20-of-26 from the foul line, while Stanford connected on 10-of-20 attempts from the charity stripe.

The entire field in the 76 Classic will get tomorrow off before the final four games are played on Sunday. Stanford will face DePaul in the consolation game of the consolation bracket, also known as the seventh place game for the eight team field. DePaul was routed 88-66 by Cal State-Northridge after a narrow 60-56 loss Oklahoma State.

Stanford NCAA Basketball Update: Stanford Struggles In First Half, Trails Tulsa 25-19

The Stanford Cardinal are struggling for the second straight night as they trail the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 25-19. Stanford got off to a slow start yesterday trailing Murray State 29-18 at the half. The Cardinal battled back but could never get closer than four. They’ll obviously be looking to do just a little bit better tonight.

Stanford was led in the first half by Josh Owens who scored six points, while five other players added two points apiece. The Golden Hurricane are being led by Jordan Clarkson’s ten points. Tulsa’s lack of depth is showing as only four players have scored for them. They’ll get some points elsewhere but I wouldn’t expect more than a handful of points from the rest of the team.

Stanford is leading the battle on the boards 17-15 but has struggled with nine turnovers. I’d imagine Stanford will expand their lead on the boards if they can keep this close. They’ll need to use their deeper bench to wear down the thin Golden Hurricane if they want to pull out the win in the second half.

76 Classic Consolation Semifinal Preview: Stanford Faces Tulsa Golden Hurricane

The Stanford Cardinal struggled in their first step up in competition last night, falling to the Murray State Racers 55-52. The layout of the 2010 76 Classic provides the Cardinal with a quick return game and shot at redemption as they face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the semifinal of the consolation bracket. Tulsa lost to UNLV 80-71 in their first round game last night.

Tulsa brings a different sort of challenge to the Cardinal tonight at 8:30pm pacific. Tulsa has a very strong 1-4 that includes a mix of experience and size. Tulsa has four players averaging 11 or more points per game. Justin Hurtt leads the team with 17.8 points per game, followed by Steven Idlet and Scottie Haralson at 15.0 per game, and Jordan Clarkson at 11.8 per game.

The problem for Tulsa is that they have almost no depth after that. Their next best scorer is at 4.5 points per game. More importantly, after those first four, the minutes also drop considerably. Those first four play between 24.5 and 32.8 minutes per game. They get 25 minutes from junior Joe Richard and he leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game, but he’s not a scoring threat. After those five they get 15 minutes from thee guys, but again none has developed into a strong scoring threat off the bench at this point in the season.

The Cardinal are a young team that will make plenty of mistakes, but the benefit they do have is that they could potentially wear down the Golden Hurricane. In their loss last night against UNLV, Tulsa hung close early but the Rebels tenacious defense and depth wore down the thing Tulsa squad. Having to play a second straight game certainly won’t benefit the thin Golden Hurricane. If Stanford wants to get a quality win early in the season, they need to use their youth and deep rotation to wear down Tulsa and force them to make mistakes.

NCAA Basketball Scores: Stanford Comes Up Short Against Murray State 55-52

The Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team faced their first challenge of the 2010-2011 NCAA basketball season and came up just short, falling 55-52 to the Murray State Racers. Stanford started out the season 3-0 against some fairly weak competition and they were unable to match the Racers in their first step up. Murray State led by 11 at the half and as much as 14 throughout the first half. The Cardinal cut the lead to as little as four in the second half but could never get any closer, as they fall to 3-1.

The Cardinal were led by 16 points from Dwight Powell, but the only other significant contribution came from Josh Owens, who put in 10 points. Murray State actually received an incredibly balanced effort as they only had one player score in double digits. B.J. Jenkins led the Racers with 15 points and no other player scored more than 8 points. As was the case in the first two games of the 76 Classic, this one was a pretty rough and tumble affair.

Although Stanford loss, they will face the winner of the UNLV-Tulsa matchup. UNLV went into the half up nine points and appears to have superior depth to wear down the Golden Hurricane. Whatever the matchup, we’ll be back with updates tomorrow.

76 Classic Preview: Stanford vs. Murray State As Cardinal Step Up Competition

After three wins that don't tell us a whole lot about the young team, the Stanford Cardinal head on the road (or at least to a neutral site) this Thanksgiving week to get a better sense of where they stand. The Cardinal kick off the 2010 76 Classic in Anaheim, California, where they will take a serious step up in competition over the next few days. Although this is a tournament, they'll play three games in four days no matter how many they lose.

This year's 76 Classic features a strong field of under the radar teams. The lineup includes the Cardinal, Murray State Racers (their opponent today), Virginia Tech, Cal-State Northridge, Oklahoma State, DePaul, Tulsa, and UNLV. While none of the teams are ranked entering this week, Virginia Tech and UNLV are both near the top of teams receiving votes. The field includes recent NCAA tournament appearances by UNLV, Oklahoma State, and Murray State, as well as NIT appearances by Virginia Tech. It might not be quite the field that we're seeing at the Maui Invitational, but these are some teams you'll be hearing from in March.

Stanford's first opponent, Murray State, has a habit of taking down some big dogs during March Madness. Last season they won 21 out of 22 games at one point, which included a buzzer-beating upset of the No. 4 seeded Vanderbilt Commodores. They followed that up by narrowly missed upsetting the eventual national runner-up Butler Bulldogs.

Although they have lost some talent from that team, Murray State remains an incredibly dangerous team this season. In fact, the odds open with them as -2 1/2 point favorites over Stanford in this first round matchup. The defending Ohio Valley conference champions are the prohibitive favorite to win the conference this season. The Racers are 2-1 with their loss coming at Mississippi.

Murray State is shooting 41.2 percent from three-point territory and 40.9 overall. Isaiah Canaan (11.7 ppg) and Donte Poole (11.3 ppg) are the two players averaging double-figure scoring for Murray State. Stanford could have a size advantage over them as the Racers seem to stick with a fairly small lineup, generally not going with no more than 6-6 or 6-7 of height. Stanford averages nine more rebounds per game than the Racers so this will be an area of the game to keep an eye on.

Of course, the Racers are a veteran team with solid tournament experience last year. They have one sophomore with extensive time in their rotation, with much of the rest filled by juniors and seniors. Even if Murray State is outsized, they certainly have a huge edge in experience. Much will be made this season of the youth up and down Stanford's roster. However, youth also means that we can't really make any predictions, good OR bad about the team. They're 3-0 against less than stellar competition. Starting today they get to see how legit they really are before Pac-10 play gets underway.

We'll have coverage through the weekend as Stanford looks to show they're for real. Make sure and check out Rule of Tree as well for more on the nitty-gritty of Stanford basketball.