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In a must-win game against the University of Colorado Buffaloes, the Stanford Cardinal lost all hope in getting into the tournament. Junior guard Chasson Randle did his best effort, putting up 24 points against the Buffaloes, but Randle was the only Cardinal in double figures.
The Buffaloes could not stop Randle, but they held the Cardinal at home to 37 percent shooting including just 59 percent from the foul line—a bad performance offensively from a talented Stanford squad.
Losing three in a row in Pac-12 play, the Cardinal had the chance to be the sixth team in the tournament, but the loss to Colorado does not help their case. Certainly the losses to the BYU Cougars, the Pitt Panthers and the Oregon State Beavers did not aid the cause earlier in the season, but the back-to-back-to-back losses against the Arizona State Sun Devils, Arizona Wildcats and the Buffaloes, respectively, have officially popped the Cardinal’s bubble.
It’s still a close call that they get into the tournament, but with the win against the UCONN Huskies in non-conference play and the win against the UCLA Bruins in conference play, they have a puncher’s chance of getting in. If they dominate the Utah Utes on Saturday, they can boost their resume with a win against a middle-tier Pac-12 team.
As of right now, Randle’s Cardinal are on the outside-looking-in when it comes to the tournament, and their only chance to make it is by winning the conference tournament in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
If the Cardinal can get any sort of offense from someone other than Randle, they will be in good shape, but until then, they are NIT-bound.
John Lloyd is a Pac-12 Basketball Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JohnHLloydIII
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