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Perhaps no team in the country made a bigger statement than the Arizona Wildcats, who absolutely dominated arguably the best all-around team in the country, the Utah Utes, 69 – 51. Arizona, who had struggled against some rather weak teams, needed this win for momentum’s sake and to keep it in contention for a No. 1 seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Likewise, the Stanford Cardinal are quickly becoming one of the best teams in the PAC 12. If it wasn’t for the overtime loss to the UCLA Bruins, Stanford would be a top 25 team in the country. However, the Cardinal have to focus moving forward, because for every good win they have, they have an equally bad loss.
These two top three PAC 12 programs face off on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 9 PM ET on ESPN2 at Stanford’s Maple Pavilion.
Arizona’s defense stifles opponents, and its offense is capable enough to get things done. Stanley Johnson gets the job done in the paint. It’s amazing to see different players step up on this team when needed and makes them legitimate national title contenders.
Stanford’s Chasson Randle is one of the best scorers in all of college basketball and, if the Cardinal are to pull off the upset, he must produce at his expected level. Other players have to step up around Randle, or this one could get ugly. Fortunately for Stanford, everyone on this team is more than capable of showing out on any given night.
Although you should expect Stanford to still make the 2015 NCAA Tournament, it shouldn’t pull off the upset over Arizona. Expect these two teams to potentially meet in the PAC 12 Championship game as well, which could be a different story as the Cardinal get more experienced.
Prediction: Arizona 70, Stanford 62
Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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