Demolition Derby

I'm pretty sure that's what last night's game felt like if you were an Oregon Duck.

Stanford 72, Oregon 43

In a stark contrast to the first meeting between the two, where the tempo and run of play were largely controlled by Oregon, Stanford utterly dominated this game from the start-- and did it with the "big lineup" that (not to toot my own horn excessively here) I advocated before that game. It's unfortunate, because I think if Trent Johnson had used it more extensively there, the team would now be 9-1 in conference play-- but he should also get credit for recognizing that the strategy of going small to try to play with Oregon on the perimeter was ineffectual and changing course.

Last night's game wasn't televised, so other than the running Opposition Assist Count (Oregon had six last night-- rather incredible when you consider how good their offense actually is) I don't have a lot to analyze here. I did, however, see most of the Wazoo-UCLA game.

UCLA is clearly the best team in the league at this point. Washington State really doesn't turn the ball over very much-- Stanford only forced four in an overtime WIN-- but for a stretch of about 5 minutes in the second half, they might as well have dipped their hands in a vat of lard. That's how easily UCLA was getting steals. I think you have to chalk it up to UCLA's defense-- it's not particularly great at field goal percentage, but they are unquestionably exceptional at forcing turnovers and the complete package is a national top 10 unit.

Their offense is also excellent, although it has odd weaknesses for a college offense-- particularly an inability (and unwillingness) to shoot the 3-pointer. Still, they generate enormous numbers of easy shots and can hit from midrange, with the result that on a per-possession basis UCLA is a bare fraction worse than Kansas for the top unit in the country. A lot of this is because of Kevin Love, who keeps impressing me more every time I see him. He's the interior scoring threat last year's Bruins needed so badly.

It's kind of odd to watch, because Love looks like a football player-- squat, kind of flabby, no discernible neck. Yet the guy is an absolute powerhouse. He was routinely scoring through double teams, and not just by tossing shots over them (as Brook Lopez is somewhat prone to). He would simply force his way out of them. He's a vacuum on the rebounding glass, he can hit from outside if you play off of him, and his oft-remarked-upon passing strength probably generates 4-6 free points a game on fast-breaks appearing out of nowhere.

It's going to be interesting to see where things shake out with regard to him and the NBA. He's a true center, but he's very short for the position at the NBA level. Can pure strength overcome the inevitable prejudices of scouts against his height? Or will someone take him and attempt to convert him to a power forward? If it's the latter, his draft stock will probably slip a bit.

It would certainly be interesting to see what he could do with four years at the college level. One hesitates to say he would rewrite the school record books (this is, after all UCLA) but he could win Conference Player of the Year multiple times. Not that I, as a fan of two other Pac-10 teams, would be particularly thrilled to see them play against him twice each. Regardless, I don't think it'll happen. He might stay one more year; I can't see him hanging around any longer. At some point, there's just nothing left to prove.

Cal notes: the Bears have some kind of issue with Oregon State. It just never seems to go well when those two match up. The Bears did pull it out but it was a damned near run thing, to paraphrase Wellington.

One must-win down, two more to go. The game against Oregon tomorrow should be a fun and high-scoring affair. Win that, steal one on the road in Arizona and maybe we're talking an NCAA bid in a few more weeks.

Stanford obviously isn't in that situation right now, but seeding-wise they would be strongly advised to not mess around with OSU tomorrow. I hate these "gimme" games-- nothing good can happen even if you win, and a loss is a disaster. At least in this case it wasn't brought on voluntarily through scheduling.