NIT Season Tip-Off

BROOKLYN - Stanford is in New York City, for the Championship Round of the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. N.Y. Thursday and Friday. The Cardinal will face No. 8/9 Villanova in a 1:30 p.m. PT contest on Thanksgiving. Depending on the outcome of Thursday’s game, Stanford will either face Arkansas or Georgia Tech on Friday at either 9:30 a.m. or 12 p.m. PT. The Cardinal has already played two games in the NIT Season Tip-Off, posting victories over Green Bay and Charleston Southern at home earlier this month.

THE BIG APPLE FEELS LIKE HOME
New York City has become a second home to Stanford in recent years. This week marks the Cardinal’s 12th and 13th games in New York City since November of 2011. Between Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center, Stanford has visited New York City seven times during this span.

The NIT Season Tip-Off tournament is the program’s fourth visit in three years to the Barclays Center. Thursday and Friday will be Stanford’s sixth and seventh games in the arena since the building opened on Sept. 12, 2012. Marcus Allen has played in each of the previous five games.

Stanford at the Barclays Center

Nov. 21, 2013 Texas Southern Progressive Legends Classic W, 97-71Nov. 22, 2013 Houston Progressive Legends Classic W, 86-76Nov. 23, 2013 Pittsburgh Progressive Legends Classic W, 88-67Dec. 21, 2013 Michigan Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational L, 68-65Nov. 21, 2014 UNLV Coaches vs. Cancer Classic W, 89-06Nov. 22, 2014 #3/4 Duke Coaches vs. Cancer Classic L, 70-59Nov. 26, 2015 #8/9 Villanova NIT Season Tip-Off -Nov. 27, 2015 Arkansas/Georgia Tech NIT Season Tip-Off -

AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Thursday’s matchup with No. 8/9 Villanova marks the 22nd career game against a top-25 team for head coach Johnny Dawkins. The Cardinal owns an 11-20 record against top-25 teams in the Dawkins era. Stanford was 2-5 against ranked foes last season, notching a 74-71 overtime win at No. 9/9 Texas and outlasting No. 21/19 Washington 68-60 in overtime at Maples Pavilion.

RECORD VS. VILLANOVA, THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Stanford and Villanova will meet for just the second time on the hardwood on Thursday. The Wildcats won the only previous matchup, 96-76, on Dec. 23, 1970 in California.

Stanford is 12-16 against current members of the BIG EAST Conference. The Cardinal will play another BIG EAST foe later this season when it faces DePaul at Maples Pavilion on Dec. 15.

OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
Stanford is averaging 79.2 points per game in its first four contests. The scoring average is 7.3 points per game more than the Cardinal averaged in 37 games last season. Stanford leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage, shooting 50.2 percent from the field (110-of-219).

Stanford’s 93 points against Green Bay and Charleston Southern to open the season marked the first time in the Johnny Dawkins era in which the Cardinal 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 on Nov. 15 was its largest margin of victory since it defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 35 (74-39) on Dec. 29, 2014.

ROSCO ALLEN FROM DEEP
Senior Rosco Allen is averaging 12.5 ppg this season with eight of his 19 field goals on the season from three-point range. He leads the team in three-pointers made, shooting 50 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the arc this season. Allen recorded three, three-pointers against SMU. He ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in three-point field goals and percentage this year.

MARCUS ALLEN RETURNS
After missing the first two games of the season with a foot injury, junior Marcus Allen has played in each of the last two games, leading the team with a 16.0 ppg average. In 24 minutes against SMU, he recorded 18 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. At Saint Mary’s, Allen had 14 points in 28 minutes of action.

HUMPHREY SEEING DOUBLE
Sophomore Michael Humphrey posted double-doubles in the Cardinal’s 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 34 career games. Humphrey ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in rebounding, averaging 8.0 rpg this season.

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 nearly doubled his previous career-high of 11 vs. Belmont during the 2012-13 season. In the Nov. 15 win over Charleston Southern, he recorded a career-high eight assists. Sanders scored 34 points in his first three games this year, after totaling 24 playing in 35 games last year.

QUARTERBACKS TURNED POST PLAYERS
Sophomore forwards Reid Travis and Michael Humphrey were each the quarterback of their high school football team. Travis was the signal caller for three years at DeLaSalle HS in Minnesota, before deciding to focus on basketball his senior year. Humphrey was the starting quarterback at Sunnyslope HS in Phoenix.

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 all four games this season. Stanford’s starting lineup in its last game at Saint Mary’s (Rosco Allen, Reid Travis, Michael Humphrey, Dorian Pickens and Malcolm Allen) has started a combined 80 games individually.