Round of 32 preview: Stanford v. Florida Gulf Coast

STANFORD, Calif. — Fresh off an upset for 5-seed Missouri, 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast will look to finish their California experience 2-for-2 when the Eagles face 4-seed Stanford on the Cardinal’s home floor at 9 p.m. ET on Monday night.

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As has been usually been the case for the Atlantic Sun Conference champions, it was a balanced diet of steady defense, minimal turnovers and a wide variety of scoring options that led the Eagles to an 80-70 win over the Tigers on Saturday.

While Florida Gulf Coast is most well-known for their proficient 3-point shooting, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer says it’s just one part of what impresses her about the Eagles.

“I think one of the things that is under the radar for their team is they take care of the basketball,” VanDerveer said. “They take care of the ball and they take real high percentage shots: a layup and an open three. They don’t take bad shots. And they have a lot different people taking those shots. Just even the threat of the three, brings the defense out. If three or four or five people have above 50 3’s, you’ve got to guard them.”

VanDerveer also notes that the Eagles did an excellent job getting to the free throw line, doing so 37 times against Missouri on Saturday. Stanford’s faced them once before, in 2013, and had a chance to see them play during a nonconference tournament this season in Las Vegas, developing a fondness for the versatility and tenacity of Florida Gulf Coast.

“They’re not a one-dimensional team. Karl takes great advantage of the talent that they have,” VanDerveer said. “They’re not big, but who would have known that? They’re a pit bull. They’re aggressive. It was a gritty game yesterday. They’re not just a three-point shooting team, although I know their shirt says, ‘Raining 3’s.’ They get to the rim, they get to the free throw line, they force turnovers. They wouldn’t have won 30 games just by doing one thing.”

The Eagles were led by senior China Dow, their star off the bench, who dropped 21 points against Missouri. But Florida Gulf Coast had six other players score at least seven points to contribute, fitting for a team that doesn’t have a single player averaging more than 13.5 points but still scores 78.4 points per game.

While VanDerveer calls the heavy dose of 3-point shooting “unique,” Stanford sophomore guard DiJonai Carrington feels like the Cardinal have the capability to stick with the Eagles and they look to drive and kick.

“I think our intellectual ability really helps us in that arena,” Carrington said. “We are able to switch and do a lot of different things on defense that I think a lot of teams in the country aren’t able to do. We really use that to our advantage and it helps us to guard any type of offense.”

And, as Florida Gulf Coast head coach Karl Smesko joked, there is one thing that Stanford has that the Eagles just can’t compete with.

“They’re really big. For an overall roster, this is one of the biggest teams in the country,” Smesko said. Then, with a smirk, he quipped, “We’re going to have other advantages. We’re not going to try to be taller than them.”

The Cardinal enter after a clinical 82-68 defeat over 13-seed Gonzaga, led by 21 points from freshman guard Kiana Williams in her first NCAA Tournament game.

“I’m so proud of her. It’s just so awesome to see her blossoming from the beginning of the season to now,” Carrington said of Williams. “I actually was watching some of our games from the Thanksgiving tournament last night, I just saw how different she is playing right now. It’s just so awesome to see her confidence and leadership excelling right now.”

Stanford also got a big game from junior forward Alanna Smith, who made 8-of-13 shots, including three 3-pointers, to add 20 points. Overall, the Cardinal made 30-of-59 shots from the field, including 11-of-22 from beyond the arc. But Carrington was more focused on the defensive effort.

“I think we shot the ball well, we moved the ball well, and for the most part, we stuck to the scouting report on defense and followed our rules,” Carrington said. “We were very aggressive and I think it paid off for us, limiting them to one shot and not allowing them to do what they like to do.”

The 68 points allowed come in just under Stanford’s magic number on the season: 70 points allowed. Stanford is 1-9 on the season when allowing their opponent to score 70 or more and is 22-1 when it keeps teams under that total.

Stanford had a lackluster nonconference record, compared to their standard, but a major reason it took a while for them to jell was some injuries to key players. Smesko remembers watching the Cardinal play in Las Vegas in November, when senior guard Brittany McPhee was injured, and notices a big difference between the Stanford team he saw then and the one he watched on film against Gonzaga.

“They have improved tremendously throughout the season,” Smesko said. “McPhee makes a huge difference, [but] just all around, they are much better defensively and in transition. They are doing a better job taking care of the ball and are taking better shots. It was a tremendous coaching job and probably should have received some consideration for National Coach of the Year.”

At this point, VanDerveer is more concerned with getting the Cardinal back to Lexington for their third-straight Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.

“I thought our team worked really hard yesterday to be in this position,” VanDerveer said. “We’re going to have to continue that great effort and focus against our next opponent, which will be a really good challenge for us. It’s great to be playing in the tournament and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

And while the task of facing the Cardinal on their home floor is “a little intimidating,” as Florida Gulf Coast senior Taylor Gradinjan put it, the Eagles feel they are more than capable of feeding off the road environment themselves.

“It’s a great opportunity — they are a great school with respectable players and a respectable coach. The environment is going to be tough to play in,” Dow said. “At the same time, we have fans down here who can be loud, too, whenever we score.

“I think it’s the hype against playing against those fans. I have never been in an environment like Stanford, so if it works out, it will be fun.”