The Stanford Cardinal will host the Utah Utes on New Years Day as each team opens up their Pac-12 schedule. Stanford comes into this game with a 7-4 record and they are unranked while Utah comes in at 10-2 and they are ranked 21st in the nation.
Utah returns a lot of their talent from last years Sweet Sixteen team. Both of their losses so far this season have come in blowout fashion but they have recovered nicely in each instance. They have responded to their most recent loss against Wichita State with four straight wins including an impressive overtime victory over Duke at Madison Square Garden. The Utes enter Pac-12 play with a lot of momentum.
Utah is led by sophomore center Jakob Poeltl who continues to fly up NBA draft boards with his play this season. Poeltl is a seven footer that has averaged 17.8 points on 71 percent shooting from the field and he has also added 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Poeltl had a particularly big game against Duke before fouling out as he had 19 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
Poeltl isn't the only reason why this Utah team is very good though as they have gotten a great contribution from sophomore forward Kyle Kuzma among others. Kuzma is third on the team with his 12.0 points per game but he has played extremely well recently. Kuzma has scored at least 15 points in Utah's last four games and they have all been wins.
Stanford will certainly be the underdog in this game despite being at home as this team may not be quite as good as last years team that made the NIT finals. This Stanford team had a three game losing streak earlier in the season and all of the losses were by double-digits, albeit to three very good teams. Since then the Cardinal have lost just one of their next six games and that was a nail-biter against a very good Texas team so they are coming in with some momentum as well.
This Stanford team is all about balance this year as they don't really have one standout but senior forward Rosco Allen leads them in scoring with 13.9 points per game. Almost half of Allen's field goals this season have come from the three point line as he is shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc and he has had double-digit scoring efforts in every game during Stanford's nice six game run.
Another player to watch for the Cardinal is junior gaurd Marcus Allen. Allen missed the first two games of the season with a foot injury but since he has come back he has scored in double figures in seven of his nine games. Allen is third on the team with his 13.0 points per game and he has also added 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.
Utah defeated Stanford in both meetings between the two schools a season ago and the same is expected to happen this year. Stanford though, did not get a home game against the Utes last year so they are hopeful that their home court advantage could lead to an upset.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 9 P.M. Eastern time and to watch the live broadcast go here. For the Utah radio broadcast go here and for the Stanford radio broadcast go here.
