*Two plays Sunday:

 

Stanford at Washington (-13, play to -14) - 12:30pm Pacific - Game #747-748

I remain very high on the Huskies.  They did not play their best but still beat then undefeated and #9 ranked NC State by 4.  Since then they have beaten three opponents by an average margin of 40+ points.  They are off to their best start in 29 years.  Head coach Lorenzo Romar could not have been very happy with the way his team let Cal back into the game on Friday in their Pac-10 conference opener.  The Huskies led by 9 at half but saw Cal take a short lead in the second half.  The Huskies then quickly reestablished themselves the dominant team and drew away for a 14 point win.  Starting guard Brandon Roy sat out the game resting his knee and he is doubtful to play today.  As good as Roy is, the Huskies have played most of the season without him and their best games have been with him on the bench.

 

Stanford was beaten handily by Washington State on Friday.  The Cardinals are now 6-5 after losing only twice in all of last season.  The team just does not have any consistent scoring options.  Point guard Chris Hernandez is very dependable but just not the type of player who can beat teams by himself.  Freshman guard Tim Morris and sophomore G/F Fred Washington have shown potential but are still a ways from making a major impact.  What I like about this matchup the most is that Stanford is not an athletic team that can get up and down the court.  Washington meanwhile is very athletic and will have significant quickness advantages.  The Huskies love to push the ball up and down the court and should have success doing so.

 

The Huskies are 7-0 at home and 14-1 in their last 15 regular season Pac-10 games.  They are clearly a much better team than Stanford right now.  Considering Washington's home court advantage and superior quickness, 13 points is not enough to separate these teams.  Give the points.  

 

Official Play:  Washington -13  1 UNIT

 

California at Washington State (-3.5, play to -4.5) - 2:00pm Pacific - Game #755-756

The Cougars were very impressive beating Stanford on Friday.  They held a comfortable 6-12 point lead from early on in the second half until the end of the game.  A 6-12 point lead for Washington State is like a 10-15 point lead for most teams with their deliberate style of play.  I love what Dick Bennett is doing with this program.  I wrote about freshman point guard Derrick Low in last write up and he played very well on Friday scoring 10 points and dishing 4 assists in 38 minutes.  He definitely has a positive influence on the team.  Low is joined by 4 senior starters who are tough and experienced.  Not much is going to discourage this team.

 

Cal played about as well offensively as I have seen them this year on Friday vs Washington but they still only managed 67 points and that was against an up tempo team.  The Bears have been hurt badly by injuries.  Already without star forward Leon Powe for the season, Cal lost starting point guard Ayinde Ubaka for several weeks 8 games back to a foot injury.  The Bears are only averaging 64ppg without Ubaka (not counting wins over Hampton & Fairliegh Dickinson).  They are really going to have a hard time scoring on Washington State.

 

The Cougars led by 6 at half-time in last years meeting here and went on to win handily 70-58.  Washington State is playing well and with a lot of confidence right now.  Look for them to go to 2-0 in Pac-10 play with another nice home win.

 

Official Play:  Washington State -3.5  1 UNIT