Stanford Basketball 2013-14 May 2014, Issue 4.3 | Page 11

STANFORDBASKETBALL May 2014

Chasson Randle shows off his school pride after taking down
Kansas.

2013-14 in Review
Stanford goes dancing
Stanford concluded the 2013-14 campaign with a
special postseason run, reaching the Sweet 16 for just
the fifth time in school history. After earning the No. 10
seed in the South region, the Cardinal toppled No. 7 seed
New Mexico and then No. 2 seed Kansas in St. Louis to
earn the opportunity to play in the second weekend of the
NCAA Tournament. Although the Card lost its next game
to Dayton, Stanford’s postseason run marked a
transformative moment for the program and the
culmination of countless practices and games, early
morning lifts and late night pickup, chalky protein shakes
and missed school vacations.
Stanford’s first major milestone of the season
occurred in December, when the Cardinal upset the 10th
ranked (and eventual national champion) Connecticut on
the road. After a shaky start to Pac-12 play, Stanford
bounced back and knocked off No. 17/13 Oregon in
Eugene, the Cardinal’s second true road win over a
top-25 team.

After nearly toppling top-ranked Arizona, Stanford
notched another key victory in beating crosstown rival
Cal on the road. Later in conference play, the Cardinal
tallied its third win over a ranked team in an emphatic
83-74 victory over No. 23/25 UCLA.
Already with three wins over top-25 teams and
an impressive RPI, the Cardinal sealed its NCAA
Tournament berth by reaching the semifinals of the
Pac-12 Tournament, beating Washington State in the first
round and earning a decisive victory over Arizona State
the next day.
Two days later, the squad gathered on campus to
watch the selection show, the first moment of March
Madness, which is, for basketball fans, the most exciting,
heart-wrenching, sublime sporting event of the year. And
when Stanford was announced the room erupted -- the
Card was officially NCAA Tournament bound for the 17th
time in school history.