Bama has their hands full with PAC 12 Stanfod

Alabama prepares for Stanford

Another small “crowd” expected...

   

     Alabama will face the Stanford Cardinal his Saturday morning at 11 CST, and will try to add win number 22 for the year.  The PAC 12 is considered one of the best five conferences in the NCAA.  The UCLA Bruins are the premiere team of the conference.  This season the PAC 12 sent 5 teams to the Big Dance. Oregon, UCLA, Colorado, Arizona, and Cal all made the field. Add Arizona State, Stanford, and Washington into the mix and it means that 8 of the 12 conference made the post season. What that indicates to me is that there were no pit stops for upper tier teams in the PAC 12. Competition was the rule and not the exception. In that regard, the SEC and PAC 12 had a bunch of closely packed teams. The margin of talent between the top and bottom teams was very slight.   

       Here’s and interesting stat – Alabama is 20-3 when they shot at least as many free throws as their opponents. The officiating in the Northeastern game was interesting to say the least.  The Stanford team can get to the line.   The Cardinal has one truly great player – Dwight Powell is one of the best players in the PAC 12.  He is a true big man. He’s 6-10, 235lbs., and is very athletic. He is averaging 15+ points per game, almost 9 rebounds, and is an 80% free throw shooter. He’s made it to the line 167 times this season. That gives you an idea of how active he is underneath. He shoots 48% from the floor and has pulled down 277 rebounds this season. Powell will be a test for Alabama’s two post players.  The big Stanford center  may be the centerpiece of the Cardinal team but he has three other teammates who are scorers. Most team struggle to find a third option, but Stanford has the luxury of having four players who are in double digit numbers in scoring.

 

     I’m really impressed with the Pac 12 in the NCAA, and that makes me worry about Stanford even more.  Cal knocked off UNLV which was a big upset, but Rebels were forced to play the game in San Jose. That meant a sell out crowd of Golden Bear fans.  Oregon knocked out Oklahoma State in a mild upset. The 12-5 seed is considered upset central. The truth is that the 12 seed is very frequently seeded incorrectly.  Oregon was better than a 12 seed.  In the regular season Stanford beat Oregon, Cal two times, played UCLA down to the wire twice, beat Denver, and lost by only eight to Missouri on the road.  The Crimson Tide has their hands full.  One thing that Stanford didn’t do is win close gamers. Like Alabama, Stanford was only a few bounces here and there from winning 26 games. Alabama may be a slight favorite, but Stanford can win the game.  Stanford comes into the Alabama game as the defending NIT champion.