Bracketology 2021: Indiana, Florida and Oklahoma among biggest winners

Stanford Cardinal

The Pac-12 has been a very interesting conference this season, especially after how much of a disappointment it’s been in recent years. We’re not saying that the Pac-12 suddenly has a national title threat, but there are a number of competitive teams at the top of the league that has legitimate shots at making the NCAA Tournament. With one buzzer beating shot, Stanford solidified themselves in that group.

Oscar da Silva’s shot at the buzzer lifted the Cardinal to an impressive overtime win over #24 UCLA on Saturday. Stanford needed every bit of da Silva’s 26 point effort in snapping a two-game losing streak. Their game against USC was cancelled earlier in the week, but there’s still plenty to like for their resume based off this one win.

With some tough games on the horizon, the Cardinal get to 5-3 in the Pac-12 and put themselves back in position for contention. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but this is a bubble team that got a great win over the Bruins and got in a great position for a fierce Pac-12 battle down the stretch. They sit just 48th in KenPom and aren’t exactly a team on the radar, but their early-season win over Alabama looks better each week.

There’s no telling what will go down in the Pac-12 this season. In the past, programs like Oregon or Arizona took control, but it’s a very open race at this point. Stanford is a team that can win each game if da Silva puts up key performances like this again. The Cardinal aren’t going to be anyone’s pick to win this league or make a run in March, but they certainly strengthened their perch on the bubble this week.