STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford will play its only Monday contest of the regular season when the Cardinal welcomes Sacramento State to Maples Pavilion on Dec. 21. It is the fourth game in season-long seven-game homestand for Stanford. Monday’s contest will air live on Pac-12 Bay Area, with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton on the call courtside. Stanford alums John Platz and Scott Reiss will have the call on KNBR 1050 AM.
AGAINST SACRAMENTO STATE
Monday marks the fifth all-time meeting between Stanford and Sacramento State. The Cardinal has won all four previous meetings. The two teams last met during the 2007-08 season with Stanford earning an 84-58 victory over the Hornets. All four previous meetings were at Stanford.
HOME SWEET HOME
Stanford has won four of its first six home games of the 2015-16 season and has won seven of its last nine at home overall. The Cardinal owns a 96-32 record at Maples Pavilion under head coach Johnny Dawkins. Stanford has won at least 10 home games for 22 straight seasons dating back to 1992-93.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Stanford’s first nine opponents have totaled 54 victories already this season. The four teams - SMU, Villanova, Saint Mary’s and Texas - the Cardinal has suffered setbacks to this season own a combined record of 33-6 this season.
FROM DOWNTOWN
Stanford ranks third in the Pac-12 with a .391 three-point field goal percentage. The duo of Rosco Allen and Dorian Pickens has combined to shoot 36-of-83 .434 this season. Allen leads the Cardinal with 20 three-pointers, while Pickens has 16. Pickens registered a career-high six three-pointers (6-of-7) in Stanford’s game against Texas.
SOPHOMORE IMPACT
Stanford’s sophomore class has played a major role in the Cardinal’s success this season. Despite playing without injured point guard Robert Cartwright, the unit that includes Reid Travis (12.8 ppg), Michael Humphrey (8.6 ppg) and Dorian Pickens (12.2 ppg) has accounted for 44.7 percent of Stanford’s points this season. Starting forwards Travis (7.1 rpg) and Humphrey (6.4 rpg) have accounted for 36.9 percent of the Cardinal’s rebounds this season. Travis is out indefinitely with a leg injury
ROSCO ALLEN FROM DEEP
Rosco Allen is averaging 14.1 ppg this season. More than half of his field goals (20-of-39) have come from three-point range. The senior ranks sixth in the Pac-12, shooting 45.5 percent (20-of-44) from beyond the arc. He has recorded multiple three-pointers in seven of Stanford’s nine games with at least three in a contest five times. He has totaled 12 three-pointers in his last four games.
PRODUCING IN INCREASED ROLES
With the graduation of starters Chasson Randle, Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic following last season, several members of the Cardinal have stepped in to increased roles this year. Stanford’s current starting lineup - Rosco Allen, Marcus Allen, Michael Humphrey, Reid Travis and Christian Sanders - combined to average 23.7 points in 91.4 (18.3 per player) minutes per game last season. That same group is averaging a combined 55.0 in 143.9 (28.8 per player) minutes this year. In addition, Dorian Pickens has increased his scoring average (12.2 ppg this season from 2.0 ppg last season) with more time on the floor (27.2 mpg this year from 8.6 mpg last year).
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 nine games this season. The Cardinal has used five different starting lineups in its first nine games. Most recently, Stanford debuted a lineup of Rosco Allen, Marcus Allen, Michael Humphrey, Christian Sanders and Grant Verhoeven.
STRONG START FOR MARCUS ALLEN
Junior Marcus Allen scored 18 points in 24 minutes in his season debut against SMU after missing the first two games with a foot injury. Allen was inserted into the starting lineup the next game against Saint Mary’s, where he finished with 14 points in 28 minutes. The shooting guard has scored in double figures in six of the seven games he has played in this season. He ranks second on the Cardinal in scoring, averaging 13.3 ppg.
HUMPHREY FILLING UP THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore Michael Humphrey is averaging 8.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game this season. He ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in blocks per game. Humphrey has started seven of Stanford’s nine games, including each of the last five contests. The forward has two double-doubles with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Green Bay and 13 points and 12 rebounds vs. Charleston Southern. He has four career double-doubles in 38 career games.
PICKENS PROVIDES SCORING PUNCH
Sophomore Dorian Pickens is second on the team in three-pointers with 16. He connected on a career-high six on 6-of-7 shooting en route to a career-best 24 points against Texas. Pickens has registered nine, three-pointers and totaled 40 points in his last two games, also scoring 16 against DePaul. The sophomore posted his first career double-double, recording 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds against No. 8 Villanova. After averaging 2.1 points in 9.8 minutes per game last season, he ranks fourth on the team in scoring this season with 12.2 points in 27.2 minutes per contest.
TRAVIS A FORCE IN THE PAINT
Sophomore forward Reid Travis leads the team in rebounds (7.1 rpg) and ranks third on the team in points (12.8 ppg). His team-leading 55.7 field goal percentage ranks 13th in the Pac-12. The sophomore scored a career-best 18 points at Saint Mary’s and collected a season-high 12 rebounds against Villanova. He is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his left leg.
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.
SANDERS, THE FLOOR GENERAL
After totaling 81 points in 61 games over his first three seasons at Stanford, senior point guard Christian Sanders has combined to record 56 points in nine contests this year. He scored a career-high 23 points in a career-long 31 minutes in the season-opening win over Green Bay, more than doubling his previous career-high of 11 against Belmont during the 2012-13 season. The senior is also averaging 3.2 assists per game with a career-best eight in the win over Charleston Southern on Nov. 15.
FRESHMEN MAKING IMMEDIATE CONTRIBUTIONS
The Cardinal’s three-member freshman class of Josh Sharma, Marcus Sheffield and Cameron Walker have each seen action this season. Sheffield is the lone newcomer to see time in all nine contests, earning the start in the season opener against Green Bay. Walker, who missed the first four games of the year with a calf injury, has totaled 51 minutes in five games. Sharma has registered seven blocks in 43 minutes over seven games.