Pushed in its opener, Stanford could be in for another test on Saturday at home against a Montana squad with two lopsided wins under its belt.
Cardinal coach Kyle Smith said he expects a spirited effort from the visiting Grizzlies.
“They’ll be motivated. They’re used to winning,” Smith said. “Their best player (Money Williams) is from the Bay Area.”
Stanford beat Portland State 89-79 on Tuesday night, winning its season opener for the 15th consecutive year.
The Cardinal got 26 points from Ebuka Okorie, the most by a true freshman in a Stanford debut in at least 29 years.
“The secret out that he’s pretty good,” Smith said. “There will be some rough patches, I’m sure, but let’s just see where this takes us.”
Chisom Okpara added 21 points for the Cardinal, with Jeremy Dent-Smith adding 14 and Benny Gealer 12.
Montana faces upgraded competition after comfortable triumphs against Northwest Indian College on Monday and Ottawa (Ariz.) on Wednesday. The Grizzlies are 2-0 for the first time in seven years.
“We’re still working kinks out and defensively we continue to grow,” Montana coach Travis DeCuire said. “I think our defense was a lot further along than it has been at this stage, but our offense isn’t necessarily clicking.”
Money Williams was the preseason MVP for the Big Sky Conference. He notched his first career double-double in the 73-39 romp over Ottawa with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
DeCuire continues evaluating what personnel will work best for the Grizzlies’ primary rotations. There are up to 13 players who could be in the mix.
“It makes it hard on me, and I just can’t play that many guys because it gets people out of rhythm trying to get more guys in the game,” DeCuire said.
Regardless of how that pans out, Williams will be at the forefront of those plans.
“I feel like he’s going to have to play big minutes in these next two games,” DeCuire said.
Smith said the Cardinal will be tasked with better perimeter defense after Portland State sank 13 of 27 3-pointers.
This is the second game in Stanford’s season-opening five-game homestand.
