March 18, 2009
STANFORD, Calif.- Jeremy Green scored 19 points to lead three players in double-figures, helping lift Stanford past Boise State 96-76 in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) on Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion.
Making its 16th straight appearance in the postseason, Stanford (19-13, 6-12 Pac-10) was playing for the first time in the second-year CBI, a single-elimination, 16-team field that features a best-of-three championship series. The Cardinal looked every bit like a postseason regular, as evidenced by the program's 28-19 record in 21 previous postseason appearances (16 NCAA Tournament, 5 NIT).
Next up for the Cardinal is a quarterfinal matchup at Wichita State on Monday, Mar. 23. The Shockers defeated Buffalo 84-73 on Monday night and will host for the second straight round.
Lawrence Hill added 18 points on 8-12 shooting while Landry Fields contributed 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Hill and Fields, along with Green, paced a solid offensive attack that resulted in 53.5 percent shooting and 20 assists on 38 buckets.
Sticking with a season trend, Stanford was able to use the three-point basket to its advantage on offense and defense. The Cardinal made 8-21 attempts while the Broncos were just 5-22. Boise State held a 34-33 edge in the rebounding department but Stanford racked up 13 steals.
Boise State (19-13, 9-7 WAC) was led by Kurt Cunningham's 25 points on 11-16 shooting.
This one was in control by halftime, as Stanford raced out to a 51-31 lead at intermission. Stanford's lead hit double-digits at 18-7 just five minutes into the game following a lay-up from Fields. The Cardinal closed out the first half on 22-9 run.
Stanford continued to pour it on in the second half, taking its largest lead of 27 points at the 5:29 mark following a two-handed jam by Anthony Goods.
NOTES
Stanford will travel to Wichita State for a quarterfinal matchup in the Midwest Regional on Monday, Mar. 23. The time of that game has yet to be determined. The winner advances to face the winner of UTEP-Northeastern in the semifinals.
Stanford improves to 14-4 at home and is now 30-5 in its last 35 games at Maples Pavilion dating back to the start of last year.
Stanford's 96 points represented the program's best-ever point total in a postseason game. The Cardinal's top output in an NCAA Tournament game was a 90-83 win over St. Joseph's on Mar. 17, 2001, while the highest scoring total in an NIT game came during a 93-86 victory over Houston on Mar. 13, 1991.
Stanford is now 12-0 this year against non-conference opponents and remains one of seven teams in NCAA Division I competition that carries an unbeaten record against non-league foes.
Stanford has scored 90 points on three different occasions this year and is 3-0 in those games.
Jeremy Green led the Cardinal with 19 points, scoring in double-figures for the seventh time this year.
Stanford dished out 20 assists while committing only 12 turnovers while Boise State handed out 18 assists and was forced into 22 turnovers.
The Cardinal racked up 13 assists and has now totaled 23 over the last two games combined.
Drew Shiller added a season-best eight points off the bench, knocking down a pair of three-pointers in the process.
Stanford poured in 51 first-half points, marking the sixth time this year the Cardinal has reached the half-century mark in scoring over the first 20 minutes.
QUOTES
Boise State Head Coach Greg Graham
Opening Statement
"Stanford came out on fire tonight, right from the beginning. They started hot, and had us on our heels, and playing catch-up all game. Stanford is a good team, especially here at home - when they shoot the ball as well as they did tonight, they are a tough team to beat."
On the College Basketball Invitational
"I think it's great - it's great for the program, it's great for the players. It's good for seniors to continue their careers, it's good for freshmen to play and get better - it's good for the entire roster. Really, it is a good thing for college basketball."
Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
Opening Statement
"I thought it was a well-played game by our guys, from start to finish - we had a lot of good contributions from guys, and it made for a good experience for them. We have a lot of respect for Boise State, and their tradition; I think that was reflected in how prepared our guys were to start this game off. To their credit, they made some good runs and shot the ball well; they were able to cut into our lead at times. I thought we played loose, and it was exciting to see. We moved the ball well, our pace was very good. At times we were very good defensively, we got the lead through stops, and it took a team effort defensively to accomplish that."
On How His Team Responded
"I was not surprised on how we responded. Having gotten to know these guys over the season, they are class acts. They have a lot of pride in our university, and in themselves. I know that when they put the uniform on, they are going to give 110% - as they did tonight."
On The Influence of the Home Crowd
"This game came up on short notice, quick turnaround for a lot of people - but the fans that did come out were loud, were boisterous, they brought a lot of passion to what they were doing. I thought the Sixth Man was terrific, and the band was terrific also. They really gave us a boost at times when things weren't going as well."
On Playing in the College Basketball Invitational
"Our approach is to win a championship. You wouldn't enter a tournament of any kind without trying to be the champion. For us, we have to take it one game and a time, and that's our goal. There are only going to be four champions at the end of this month, and our goal is to be one of those teams. We are very fortunate - there are a lot of teams that don't have any more games or any more practices, and we can continue to play and practice, which is a great thing. We still have the opportunity to win something big - which is a championship. I'm still hungry to play, and the players are still hungry to play. We are thankful they gave us an opportunity to participate in the tournament, and we are going to do our best every time we step on the floor."
Stanford Senior Forward Lawrence Hill
On the Opportunity to Play Another Home Game
"We talked about it a bit in the locker room - just the simple question of would it be weird or not. I felt it was going to be fun because of how we played the last time at home (a 75-63 victory over USC on Feb. 28). It was a little different than the NIT game my freshman year (2006, vs. Virginia), because we had lost on Senior Day. Today, we knew we just had to keep doing what we had been doing. We know what we are capable of."
On Playing in the Postseason
"We have an opportunity to win a championship in something. Coach had us raise our hands if anyone had won a championship at the collegiate level, and nobody did - that is what we are trying to do, game by game."
On Wichita State
"It's another game. I don't know too much about them. We will prepare the same as we did (for Boise State) - which is pretty hard, because our coaching staff works their tails off - they are probably already watching film."
Stanford Freshman Guard Jeremy Green
On How the Team Played Tonight
"I think we played great. It was fun out there - we had a chance to go up and down the floor a little bit. Everyone was out there having fun, but at the same time, we were winning. There wasn't any additional pressure - we felt that we had to go out there with something to prove."