Stanford will be looking to pick up where it left off before focusing on finals the past two weeks when the Cardinal host Idaho on Sunday afternoon in a nonconference game.
Stanford (4-4) has just two games remaining before the start of the Pacific-12 season on Dec. 29 at home against Arizona State.
Home court has been kind to the Cardinal, whose four wins have all come in front of the home fans.
One player Stanford fans have come to enjoy in the early going has been point guard Jared Bynum, a graduate transfer from Providence. He leads the team in assists with 7.3 per game while also finding time for 9.5 points.
The transition has been a smooth one, Bynum said.
“There are like five or six guys that can shoot percent from three,” the senior said. “That’s like a point guard’s dream.”
When last seen, the Cardinal rolled past visiting San Diego 88-64. They made 11 3-pointers in the win, with Brandon Angel getting two among his career-high 25 points.
The last time Idaho (6-4) visited Stanford, the Vandals put up quite a fight, losing 86-80 in Dec. 22, 2016.
Seven years later, the club seems to have found its best form of the season, rebounding from a 3-4 start with consecutive wins over Cal Poly, Pacific and Utah Tech.
“We continue to make strides,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “I’ve been talking about it from Day 1 that it’s about us getting better every time out.”
Quinn Denker had 18 points and a key late hoop in the Vandals’ most recent action, a 63-62 win at Utah Tech last Saturday.
Idaho kept its winning streak alive by scoring 15 of the game’s final 19 points after falling behind by 10. Denker’s layup with 3:01 remaining gave the visitors the lead for good, after which D’Angelo Minnis’ two free throws with 2:26 to go provided the eventual margin of victory.
Denker (12.1 points per game) and Minnis (10.7) are the Vandals’ leading scorers.
–Field Level Media