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Stanford MBB looks to get back on track against Utah Valley

Stanford men’s basketball takes on Utah Valley at home on Tuesday at 7:00 pm PT on ACCNX. Stanford has a 6-2 record overall, while Utah Valley has a 4-3 record.

Last time: Stanford lost to Cal Poly at home on Saturday by a final score of 97-90. Stanford gave up 63 points in the second half, a defensive performance that benefited the head coach Kyle Smith rather annoyed.

REVIEW: Stanford MBB upset by Cal Poly

In Utah Valley: Located in Orem and in the shadow of BYU in nearby Provo, the Wolverines have victories against Western Colorado, UTEP, Murray State and West Georgia while losing to North Dakota, Samford and North Dakota State. They are 4-1 against non-North Dakota teams, so make of that stat what you will.

The Wolverines are led by a forward Carter Welling (14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds), guard Dominick Nelson (13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds) and guard Tanner Toolson (10.9 points). The three form a pretty solid scoring trio. Former Stanford guard Noah Taitz is also on the team and averaged 1.8 points per game in four games played.

As a team, the Wolverines are averaging 77.9 points per game on 49.4% shooting from the field, 31.9% shooting from 3-point range and 68.0% shooting from the foul line. They average 39.3 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 7.7 steals, 5.9 blocks and 14.7 turnovers per game. Their opponents are averaging 72.9 points per game on 43.1% shooting from the field, 36.7% from 3-point range and 75.2% from the foul line.

Key to the game: The first thing Stanford needs to do is get back to defending. Their defense against Cal Poly was terrible, especially in the second half. Goal number one has to be to get back on their feet defensively and prevent Utah Valley from getting easy balls.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is win the three-point battle. Stanford is shooting just 31.7% from 3-point range while their opponents are shooting 31.3%. If Stanford can win the three-point battle and hit their threes at a decent pace, they should be fine.

Ultimately, Stanford has to break the glass. Stanford has a rebound differential of +5.7 per game, while Utah Valley has an even better rebound differential of +10.7. If Utah Valley wins the rebounding battle, they might pull off the upset.

Forecast: Utah Valley’s rebounding abilities could keep them in this game and make things interesting. And besides, Stanford’s defense was terrible in the second half against Cal Poly. If Stanford wasn’t losing two games and desperately needed a win, I might choose Utah Valley to humiliate the Cardinal a little. But since I think Stanford will be particularly motivated to get back on the win list, I’ll be picking Stanford to bounce back in this category and win with a final score of 79-69.

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Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter) and Blue Sky: @slamdunk406

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