Beyda: Young stars on the Farm
In my two years as a Stanford student, I’ve witnessed two remarkably different seasons of Cardinal athletics.
In my two years as a Stanford student, I’ve witnessed two remarkably different seasons of Cardinal athletics.
Fresh off a rejuvenating victory over Bay Area rival California, the men’s basketball team heads out onto the road to face another Pac-12 foe: Colorado.
The last game the Stanford men’s basketball team played that counted was during NIT Finals in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Seven months after winning that tournament, the Cardinal will open its 2012-13 campaign with another matchup in an NBA venue when it meets San Francisco tonight at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and for the Stanford men’s basketball team–your 2012 NIT champions–finishing the season as the 69th best team in the nation never felt so sweet.
Andrew Zimmermann was not going to end his Stanford career quietly. The senior forward, who averaged less than four points and 13 minutes per game during the regular season, played the game of his life in Thursday night’s quarterfinals matchup against the California Golden Bears, but ultimately it wasn’t enough, as the Cardinal fell to the Bears 77-71 to end its rollercoaster season in a disappointing fashion.
In Stanford’s biggest game of the season, the Cardinal was able to beat rival Cal and deny the Golden Bears a share of the Pac-12 regular season title. The victory secured Stanford’s first 20-win season since 2007-08 and gave the squad plenty of momentum going into the season-ending conference tournament.
For the first time in several years, Maples Pavilion on Sunday resembled the Maples Pavilion of old as the Stanford men’s basketball team held off archrival Cal on Senior Day.
It’s the start of February, which, in the world of college basketball, only means one thing. One more month until March.