By Austin Turner — Content Editor
After winning back-to-back meaningful games for the first time since the 2016-17 season, San Jose State is nearing the end of the non-conference schedule and has some of its biggest tests of the season coming up.
First up, the Spartans will be heading to The Farm to take on the Stanford Cardinal for the first time since 2006.
The Spartans have continued to pass the main scoring duties to a different player in each game, and on Saturday against Northern Arizona, it was Noah Baumann’s turn.
The sharpshooting 3-point specialist was 5-6 from three and finished with 23 points — the most scored in a game by any Spartan so far in the season. He’s now shooting 58 percent from three and is quickly establishing himself as one of the best shooters in the conference from range.
The team overall has improved defensively in the two games since being blown out by Indiana State.
They’ve done a nice job at defending the 3-point shot, not allowing either Bethune-Cookman or NAU to shoot over 30 percent from three. They do this while leaving their center, typically Oumar Barry who has been rebounding very well and has received a bump in playing time, to defend the paint.
They will travel to face a Stanford team that, while inconsistent, can hang with the best teams in the nation. On December 1, the Cardinal fell 90-84 in overtime on the road to then No. 2, now No. 1 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse, one of the toughest arenas to play at in the nation.
The Cardinal are a young, talented team led by sophomore KZ Okpala. The 6-foot-9 forward averages 15.9 points per game on 49 percent shooting.
His versatility with an ability to drive to the basket and a solid 3-point shot makes for a matchup nightmare for any defense. Okpala also makes a difference on the defensive side, as he uses his length to block shots and grab 6 rebounds per game.
He does have 26 turnovers to only 20 assists on the season, so if the Spartans can force him into making some poor passes, they’ll be able to slow down Stanford’s best scorer.
The game will be the first of two Pac-12 matchups for SJSU, who will take on the Cal Golden Bears on Friday. But first, the Spartans visit the Stanford Cardinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurnt