3 Keys to beating Stanford and how to watch tonight’s game

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Palm Springs

8:30

CBS Sports Network

Stanford

Minnesota Golden GophersRecord: 4-2KenPom Rank: 107

Stanford CardinalRecord: 4-1KenPom Rank: 97

Some late Thanksgiving action and a chance for the Gophers to get a win over a team from a Power 5 conference. Can the Gophers take down the Cardinal?

Stanford is coming off a home loss to Seattle where they blew a 13-point lead in the second half. Prior to that, they have put together four wins over teams that are not very good. Here are the keys to getting a win and advancing in the Acrisure Series.

Defend Ebuka Okorie without fouling – This freshman for Stanford is averaging nearly 24 points per game. He is making threes but also is making a living by getting to the free throw line. And when he gets to the line, he makes his free throws, which feels like cheating. Keeping him off the line is important.

MAKE YOUR FREAKING FREE THROWS – Sticking with this stat…we have to start making free throws. Ranking 320th out of 365 in free throw percentage is really bad. In a game that projects to be close, we have to start making them.

Take care of the ball – Stanford is very good at forcing turnovers. This where I love the fact that we have multiple ball handlers and ideally breaking some of their pressure leads to points. But most importantly, take care of the ball.

I’m still not very confident in this team, making a win prediction very hard. In this game, I love the fact that we have been challenged a little bit with teams like Missouri and San Francisco. And I love the fact that we have played away from home a couple of times. The Cardinal has not played anybody and have played all five games at home.

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict a Gopher win. I think Isaac Asuma has his best game of the season to create a scoring punch opposite Cade Tyson and Minnesota pulls away late.

Minnesota – 76Stanford – 67