STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford looks to open the season 3-0 for sixth time under eighth-year head coach Johnny Dawkins when the Cardinal hosts SMU on Thursday, Nov. 19, to wrap up its season-opening three-game homestand at Maples Pavilion.
Thursday’s game will be televised nationally on the ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein, Doris Burke and Jeff Goodman on the call. The contest will also be carried live on KNBR 1050 AM as Stanford alums Scott Reiss (play-by-play) and John Platz (analyst) have the call courtside from Maples. KZSU 90.1 FM, Stanford’s student radio station will also provide live coverage of Thursday’s action.
OPENING 2-0
Stanford opened the season with victories in its first two games for the second straight season and sixth time under Johnny Dawkins. The Cardinal has won its first three games of the year five times in the past seven seasons. Dawkins won his first 10 games as head coach at Stanford to open the 2008-09 season.
DUNKS GALORE
Stanford’s first two games have produced 13 dunks by the Cardinal. Six of Michael Humphrey’s nine field goals this season have been dunks.
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
Stanford leads the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 93.0 points. The scoring average is 20.7 points per game more than the Cardinal averaged in 37 games last season. Stanford also leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage, shooting 54.8 percent from the field (63-of-115).
It’s the first time in the Johnny Dawkins era in which the Cardinal has scored at least 90 points in back-to-back games. Stanford last achieved the feat with 111 points in a victory over Harvard on Nov. 9, 2007 and 97 points the following game in a win over Northwestern State on Nov. 10, 2007.
MARGIN OF VICTORY
Stanford’s 34-point win (93-59) over Charleston Southern last time out was its largest margin of victory since it defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 35 (74-39) on Dec. 29, 2014.
NEW LOOK LINEUP
Rosco Allen was the lone Cardinal from Stanford’s starting lineup in the 2015 postseason NIT Championship game against Miami who has started either of the Cardinal’s first two games this season. Stanford’s starting lineup in its last game vs. Charleston Southern (Rosco Allen, Reid Travis, Michael Humphrey, Dorian Pickens and Christian Sanders) have started a combined 67 games individually.
HUMPHREY SEEING DOUBLE
Sophomore Michael Humphrey has posted double-doubles in each of the first two games with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Green Bay and 13 points and 12 rebounds against Charleston Southern. He has four career double-doubles in 32 career games.
SANDERS CONTROLS OFFENSE
Senior point guard Christian Sanders scored a career-best 23 points in 31 minutes of action in the season opener against Green Bay. He more than doubled his previous career-high of 12 vs. Belmont during the 2012-13 season. In Sunday’s win over Charleston Southern, he recorded a career-high eight assists. Sanders has scored 29 points in his first two games this year, after totaling 24 playing in 35 games last season.
RECORD VS. SMU AND THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Stanford and SMU have faced each other twice previously, with the Cardinal earning wins in both matchups. More recently, Stanford posted an 86-51 victory over SMU at home during the 1998-99 season. The Cardinal also recorded an 80-70 win over the Mustangs in Dallas during the 1963-64 season. Stanford is 18-13 all-time against current members of the American Athletic Conference, most recently earning a 72-59 victory over Connecticut on Jan. 17, 2015 at Maples Pavilion.