Game Time: Noon ET, Sunday, December 19th, 2021

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas NV

Where to Watch:  ABC

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  NL

Caesars:  Spread: NL

VegasInsider:  Spread: NL

BetOnline: Spread: Texas -11; O/U 130.5  

 

Texas: 0-0 conf, 7-2 overall (Big 12)

Stanford: 1-1 conf, 6-3 overall (Pac-12)

The Texas Longhorns won their last game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff 63-31, but failed to cover the -35 point spread.  They also delivered an Under as the point total was set at 135.5.  Their 2 losses on the season have been against #1 Gonzaga and perennial powerhouse Seton Hall that has only lost 1 game themselves.  The Longhorns defense is the real deal… forcing turnovers, guarding the perimeter, winning the battle in the front court. It’s the offensive end that needs a boost.  At 6 Unders on the season Texas tends to turn each contest into a low scoring affair.

The Stanford Cardinal are worthy opponents.  Las Vegas will mark Stanford as the underdog, but they will supply much more offense than Arkansas-Pine Bluff could muster. The Cardinal is just coming off an overtime win over Dartmouth 89-78.  The matchup was a win, but a loss ATS as Stanford was favored by 14 points.  Stanford’s 3 losses this season have come against the surprisingly good Santa Clara, last year’s NCAA champs the Baylor Bears, and a Colorado Buffaloes team that sits at 8-3 on the season.

 

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Texas is 7-2 on the season, but 4-5 ATS.  They have logged 3 Overs and 6 Unders. They are 0-0 in neutral site play.

Stanford is 6-3 on the season, but 2-6-1 ATS.  They have notched 6 Overs and 3 Unders.  They have the opposite problem of the Longhorns.  They get offensive production and can run and gun with the best of em,,, but the defense is as porous as swiss cheese.

Texas is 151st in ppg with 73.2 per, 283rd in rebounds with 30.8 per, and 45th in AST/TO ratio with 1.4.  They play a plodding deliberate style of ball that slows the pace and tries to take advantage of a glut of big centers and power forwards on the Texas roster.

Stanford is 187th in the NCAA in ppg with 72 per, 92nd in rebounds with 35.3, and 201st in AST/TO ratio with 1.0.  They are shooting 45.3 FG% and 34.4 3PT%... they desperately need to improve their number from the foul line as they are 319th in the NCAA with a lousy 64.8%.  They won a close game against Oregon and lost a close game against Colorado… not to mention the overtime win over Dartmouth.  Solid free throw shooting could have helped in all three of those games.

Texas ranks #2 in the NCAA in defense.  They only allow a stingy 53.6 ppg while being 12th in defensive rebound numbers.  The numbers may be inflated a bit considering Arkansas-Pine Bluff doesn’t really belong on the same court as a program like Texas…. But that is the nature of the early part of any college basketball season.  Not only do we compare apples to oranges… we make them play each other.

Stanford is 246th in defense… they allow a generous 70.9 ppg.  Teams get their shot off easily against the Cardinal who put up an atrocious 317th in FG defense by allowing 45.7%.  That’s right they are 6-3 on the season and basically allowing a slightly better FG% then they make themselves… No case is more obvious for making Free Throws being the water in the Sahara.

Our prediction for Sunday, December 19th, is… Texas 79 - Stanford 71

Texas will be able to hold Stanford down on defense.. And they should have some very nice looks from the field.  They will however be forced to pick up the pace.

 

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Texas is 2-3 ATS in their last 5 games. They were favored in all.

The Total has gone Under in 5 of Texas’ last 7 games.

Stanford is 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 games.

The total has gone Over in 5 of Stanford’s last 6 games.

Texas: G Andrew Jones, G Courtney Ramey, G Devin Askew, F Timmy Allen, C Tre Mitchell

Stanford: G Michael O’Connell, F Max Murrell, F Jaiden Delaire, F James Keefe, F Harrison Ingram

Texas

Points: Timmy Allen 13.1

Assists: Marcus Carr 3.4

Rebounds: Timmy Allen 6.4

Steals: Andrew Jones 1.9

Blocks: Dylan Disu 1.0

Stanford

Points: Jaiden Delaire 12.6

Assists: Michael O’Connell 3.6

Rebounds: Harrison Ingram 6.9

Steals: Michael O’Connell 1.3

Blocks: Jaiden Delaire 0.6

Texas:  Chris Beard.  Coach Beard is a new head coach for Texas, starting this season in 2021.  Longhorn faithful are expecting immediate results as they are paying him $5.2 million a year.  Coach Beard spent 2016-2021 as the head coach of Texas Tech.  In 2019 he took Texas Tech to the Final Four and was named AP National Coach of the Year and the CBS Sports Coach of the Year.  Coach Beard has had success at every level of college basketball going back to 1999 at small Fort Scott Community College.

Stanford: Jerod Haase.  Coach Haase has been the head coach of the Cardinal men’s basketball team since 2016 after having spent 2012-2016 as the head coach of UAB.  His Stanford record stands at 86-76… that is definitely not getting the job done.  Stanford has a built in recruiting difficulty as the Student Athletes must have the academic chops to gain admittance to Stanford.  That drastically limits the numbers of kids that can be recruited ( I know I didn’t have a prayer of going to Stanford after high school).  However, Stanford spent the late 90’s and early 2000’s as a mainstay in the NCAA tournament… so it can be done.