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Palo Alto, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Stanford Cardinal will face their third Top-25 opponent of the season, as they play host to the 21st-ranked Washington Huskies in a Pac-12 matchup at Maples Pavilion on Sunday night. Johnny Dawkins Cardinal have split their two games against ranked foes this season, losing to Duke (70-59) in late November and then edging out Texas (74-71 OT) just before Christmas. The win over the Longhorns began the teams current three-game win streak, which includes opening up Pac-12 play on Friday with a 71-56 win over Washington State. Lorenzo Romars Huskies began the season with 11 straight victories to earn their way into the Top-25. That may not be for too much longer though, as Washington has dropped back-to-back games. It started with a shocking 62-57 loss to Stony Brook and carried into Pac-12 play with Fridays 81-75 loss at California. Stanford holds a narrow 71-69 lead in the all-time series with Washington, with the Huskies closing the gap with wins in eight of the last 10 meetings, including the last one, a 64-60 decision last February. The Huskies simply couldnt contain Cals Jordan Mathews, who erupted for 31 points in leading the Golden Bears to victory at home on Friday. Washington also had a tough time with Cals David Kravish, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in knocking off UW. The setback spoiled a terrific performance by Nigel Williams-Goss, who had a near triple-double with 19 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Three other Huskies joined Williams-Goss in scoring double digits, with Robert Upshaw putting up 16 points off the bench, followed by Jernard Jarreau and Andrew Andrews, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Williams-Goss is the key to Washingtons success this season. The sophomore guard is picking up right where he left off last year (All-Pac 12 freshman selection), as he is both a potent scorer and deft distributor, leading the team in both categories with 14.0 points and 6.8 assists per outing. Andrews (11.8 ppg) and Upshaw (11.2 ppg) are also sporting double-figure scoring totals, with Upshaw leading the team in rebounding (7.5 rpg). Shawn Kemp Jr. (9.8 ppg) is eager to join the group. The Cardinal possess a veteran nucleus, as the starting lineup features three seniors and two juniors. One of those seniors is star guard Chasson Randle, who is among the Pac-12s most explosive scorers at a hefty 18.4 ppg. Fifth- year seniors Stefan Nastic and Anthony Brown provide stability up front. The 6-11 Nastic is converting 50 percent of his shots and is averaging 14.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Brown, a 6-6 swingman, nets 13.9 ppg and is tops on the team in rebounding with 7.1 rpg. Stanford took a three-point lead into halftime (27-24) and distanced itself from Washington State by shooting a scorching .640 from the floor over the final 20 minutes to earn a 15-point victory in its Pac-12 opener. Randle poured in a game-high 18 points. Nastic added 16 to the cause, while Brown recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Rosco Allen completed the top scoring threats for Stanford, with 10 points off the bench. Wholesale Nike Basketball Shoes .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz. http://www.wholesalebasketballshoes.com/ . The 33-year-old Spaniard, who held the lead since the second round, turned in a solid final round that featured six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22-under 266. The victory is Garcias first this year with his last win coming at the Johor Open, an Asian Tour event in Malaysia last December. Cheap Chinese Basketball Shoes .com) - Jahlil Okafor had 21 points, Tyus Jones scored 16 with 10 assists and No. Cheap Basketball Shoes . I wondered how NHL coaches would feel about a playoff schedule that allowed them to open a best-of-seven series on the road, which many claim to favour, yet still gave them the precious home-ice edge for a seventh game.I think there’s a reasonable argument to be made that Gerard Gallant’s Florida Panthers are the ultimate X-Factor as it pertains to the Eastern Conference playoff race, primarily due to the fact that most prognosticators had this team suffering through another tough year as their young team develops. The fact that Florida has suddenly developed into a quality playoff hockey team has to be particularly disheartening to the couple of Eastern Conference teams who are hanging on for dear life right now. In particular, Toronto. One of the biggest – and really, only – endorsements one can give Randy Carlyle’s team right now is that there isn’t a whole lot of competition outside of the top eight with the ability to throw them from a potential playoff berth. Beyond that, the Maple Leafs once again stand on shaky ground. What makes Florida particularly fascinating as a contender is that it seems as though everything’s come together at the right time. Obviously, competition isn’t ripe right now in the East. But, they’ve benefited greatly from a combination of faster-than-expected player development and the venerable Roberto Luongo in net, who is able to bail the team out of trouble when things get dicey. As to this Panthers team as a whole – let’s first look at the team historically. It’s important to remember that this isn’t a team that’s really ever been ‘above average’ for a lengthy period of time, especially in the analytics era (2007-Present). The red vertical dotted line signifies the beginning of the 2014-2015 season. Notice two things – one, Florida has been able to control possession this season consistently above break-even, and two, it’s verging towards becoming the highest point of success for this team in the last eight years. The laundry list of young talent keying this run is something to behold: Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, and Aaron Ekblad are something of a ‘big five’, all at or under the age of 22. The amazing thing? Every one of these players is in the black as it pertains to Corsi%. In a league where being successful at an extremely young age is quite difficult, the Panthers are making it look relatively easy. The play of these youngsters is one of the big reasons why they’ve picked up 40 points in 33 games, and the team’s collective underlying numbers continue to spike.dddddddddddd To illustrate that climb, let’s look at the Eastern Conference by Score-Adjusted Corsi% over the last twenty games, to see how the Panthers stack up recently against other playoff hopefuls. Over the last twenty games, only three Eastern Conference teams – Tampa Bay, Detroit, and the New York Islanders, all of whom feel like playoff locks – control play better at 5-on-5 than Florida. And, perhaps more importantly, they sit significantly ahead of other teams fighting for those final playoff berths. But, as we know all too well, simply controlling play at 5-on-5 does not guarantee victory. Goaltending is a crucial part of hockey, and even quality possession teams – like, say, this year’s Minnesota Wild! – have extreme difficulty winning with ugly save percentages. Here’s where the acquisition of Roberto Luongo comes into play. We know, based on years and years of performance, that Roberto Luongo is a great goaltender. So, whereas a .927 EVSV% for one team may be a bit suspicious, it’s not for Florida – a team with a goaltender as established as any in the National Hockey League. Luongo, over the past few years, is just about as good as it gets in the crease. A quick comparison of his performance against other regular goaltenders in the Eastern Conference highlights just how awesome he has been. (Note: bubble size indicates ice-time; the larger the bubble, the more the goalie has played). Henrik Lundqvist is universally accepted as one of the league’s three best goaltenders. His performance since 2010 is virtually indiscernible from that of Roberto Luongo. So, here’s what we have in Florida: a team that generally out-shoots the competition, backstopped by one of the league’s better goaltenders. In a league where sixteen of thirty teams reach the post-season, and barring something drastically changing, that’s generally going to be enough to get beyond game eighty-two. Oh, and one more thing. The Cats currently have over $10-million in cap space, which makes them a team to watch both on and off of the ice over the next few months. ' ' '