The Utah Utes play host to the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday night in an interesting PAC 12 showdown from the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah has turned some heads and finds itself in the top half of the league, while Stanford has limped out of the gates, sitting near the bottom of the conference standings. Utah won the first meeting between these two this season and has won three of the last four overall, including each of the last four meetings when they were at home. With the Utes eyeing a run to the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinals would love nothing more than put a notch in their resume in this one.
Stanford has become one of the biggest disappointments in basketball this season and with a 9-12 record, has at least turned it on of late. The Cardinal has won four in a row, all at home, coming into this one. With two of those wins coming against teams at the bottom of the PAC 12 standings and a third coming against one of the worst teams in D1 basketball, it's tough to put a lot of stock into their current round of success. It doesn't help that the Cardinal are winless in true road games this season and are 2-8 in road/neutral games. The first meeting between these two saw Stanford hang in touch until the end, though that one was at home. Momentum and confidence might be building from their current winning streak but with this being their first road game in almost three weeks, rust could set in early.
Stanford has one injury that they'll continue to monitor into the leadup to Thursday's tip. James K eefe (hand) is questionable and hasn't appeared in any of the last four games. Having been a steady contributor from a depth perspective up until his injury, the Cardinal will want him back on the court as they hit the road.
We're taking a trip to the mountains, first with a stop in Salt Lake City tomorrow.#GoStanford
— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) February 1, 2023
There's no doubt that Stanford has been playing better over the last few weeks, though hitting the road is likely going to force them into adjusting. Being at home, they've been able to slow down the pace and grind out victories, especially on the back of the nation's 66th-ranked scoring defense. On the offensive side of thing of things, Stanford only has one double-figure scorer in Spencer Jones (12.9 ppg) but without steady help, they'll have trouble keeping pace on the road. Jones is also their best defender as well, so with so much falling on his shoulders, expect the Utes to try to take him out of his rhythm. With little frontcourt presence as well, Stanford will need to find a way to generate second-chance opportunities to spring the upset on Thursday.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!