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.
After finishing seventh in the Pac-12 during the regular season, Stanford found itself in the postseason for the first time since 2009, competing in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). The Cardinal would end up cruising through the bracket and securing the second NIT title in school history, finishing a once-disappointing season with an impressive 26-11 record.
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.
Just a few months ago, I was ready to see the day that Johnny Dawkins got fired.
The NBA lockout may still be dragging on, but college basketball is here, and the men’s team takes to the hardwood for its season opener tonight at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal will take on Central Arkansas, looking to get off to a fast start this season after finishing last year at the bottom half of the conference.
Twelve months later, the same Stanford team returns to Maples Pavilion with an added year of maturity, team chemistry and international experience thanks to a team trip to Spain and hopes of taking the newly created Pac-12 by storm.