What are Stanford's Next Steps Following Loss to Cal?

Saturday night's home loss to Cal showcased many flaws with Stanford’s roster. Defensively they couldn’t stop the three, they haven’t really addressed the clear hole with Chisom Okpara out for the season, and when their star Ebuka Okorie isn’t playing well, their offense is in shambles.

With seemingly everything going wrong against the Bears, it raises a genuine question that all Stanford fans are wondering: What changes does Stanford need to make, and where do they go from here?

Let’s start with the offense. Throughout the season, Stanford’s offense has been much improved over recent years. However, as of recently, the Cardinal have had many poor offensive performances. Seemingly, a good offensive night is dictated by whether Okorie is scoring 30+ or not. Fortunately, Okorie plays well almost every night which has masked some of their shortcomings.

Unfortunately, almost every night isn’t always. In the game against Cal, Stanford recorded just 66 points as a team in his off night. The game prior when Okorie also was down? Just 50 points. The offense simply just doesn’t work without Okorie playing well, and that’s going to have to change midweek before their tough road tests at Miami and Florida State.

To add, ever since Chisom Okpara fell victim to a lower extremity injury that has him out the rest of the season, Stanford just hasn’t looked the same. When a teams’ second-best player is out for the year, adjustments need to be made in that position to fill the void.

Players such as Aidan Cammann and Donavin Young need to step into that role, and they haven’t been able to do so. It’s a tough task, but one that has to be achieved if Stanford wants any chance of making the NCAA tournament.

Third, Stanford’s home inconsistency is starting to become real. After an incredible 17-3 home record last season, the Cardinal were looking to mimic a similar record the following year. However, Stanford is just 9-5 at home, and is on pace to lose two more at home this year, more than doubling last year's total.

If the Cardinal want any success in the long term in the ACC, they are going to have to build a fortress at home. While it seemed to work in year one, it’s taking a turn in the wrong direction in year two.

While Stanford looked to be on the right side of the bubble entering the game against Cal, they now look like they may be on the outside looking in. However, they do have many opportunities to make it up throughout the year.

Stanford has 11 games left this season. They begin by going on the road to playing Miami and Florida State next week, before returning home to take on Clemson and Georgia Tech. They will then play at Boston College and Wake Forest, before returning close to home, playing Cal on the road a week later.

Stanford finishes off with two home games against Pitt and SMU, and finally ends their season on the road against Notre Dame and NC State.

Stanford is going to have to end up with about 21 wins, winning 7 of their final 11 if they want to be in deep consideration for the NCAA Tournament.

It’s clear that Stanford stocks aren’t necessarily on the rise currently, but not all hope is lost. With a few tweaks here and there, the Cardinal should be ready to go and continue their quest at the postseason.

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