Trip To The Evergreen State

STANFORD, Calif. - Coming off a 76-72 victory over No. 11/12 Oregon this past Saturday, Stanford hits the road this week with a trip to the Evergreen State. The Cardinal will face Washington State Thursday at 7 p.m. in Pullman and Washington Saturday at 5 p.m. in Seattle. Stanford will play four of its final six regular-season games on the road, closing the regular-season slate against Arizona State and Arizona in the Grand Canyon state.

ROSCO ALLEN'S LAST SIX GAMES
Senior Rosco Allen (15.4 ppg overall) is averaging 19.7 ppg in his last six contests. Allen has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in each of the last six games. Five of his six career 20-point games have come in the last 10 contests, including a career-high tying 25 points at Colorado and against No. 11 Oregon.

ALLEN'S SECOND-HALF PRODUCTION
Of Rosco Allen’s 118 total points in his last six games, 86 have come in the second half, including 20 points in the second period at Colorado on Jan. 27 and all 16 in the final period at California on Feb. 6.

SHEFFIELD IN PAC-12 PLAY
Freshman Marcus Sheffield is averaging 9.9 points in 25.4 minutes per game in 11 Pac-12 contests, after averaging 4.0 points in 11.2 minutes in the Cardinal’s 11 nonconference games. Sheffield was inserted into the starting lineup three games ago.

MOST STEALS IN 19 YEARS
Stanford’s 6.9 steals-per-game average is its highest since the 1996-97 season (6.9 spg). With 159 steals already this season, the Cardinal is on pace to record at least 200 steals for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The 6.9 spg average is fourth-best in the Pac-12.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Stanford has played the second-toughest schedule in the nation, according to ESPN’s Daily RPI on Feb. 16. The Cardinal has played four top-25 teams, with victories over No. 21/22 Utah on Jan. 1 and No. 11/12 Oregon last time out. Stanford has four RPI top-40 wins already with victories over Oregon (4), Utah (16), California (23) and Oregon State (38) in the RPI rankings on Feb. 16.

AGAINST WASHINGTON STATE
Stanford leads the all-time series, 74-60, and has won five of the last six meetings between the two teams. The Cardinal had its five-game winning streak against the Cougars snapped with an 89-88 setback in Pullman, Wash. on Jan. 31 of last season. Stanford is 2-4 against Washington State in Pullman in the Johnny Dawkins era.

LAST TIME OUT
Seniors Rosco Allen matched his career-high with 25 points, making four of five from long range to lead Stanford to a 76-72 upset over No. 11 Oregon. Dorian Pickens scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half and Grant Verhoeven finished with a career-high 13 for the Cardinal, who improved to 2-2 against ranked opponents. The game remained in doubt until Michael Humphrey blocked a shot with four seconds remaining and junior Marcus Allen hit two free throws with three seconds to seal the win for the Cardinal.

AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
The Cardinal is 2-2 against top-25 teams this season and 13-22 against ranked foes in the Johnny Dawkins era. Stanford defeated No. 11 Oregon (76-72) on Feb. 13 and No. 21 Utah (70-68) on Jan. 1, while dropping decisions to No. 8/9 Villanova (59-45) on Nov. 27 and No. 12/11 Arizona (71-57) on Jan. 21.

.@Coach_Dawkins' postgame speech inside the winning locker room #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/KAtBWO1KmH

— Stanford Men's Hoops (@stanfordbball) February 13, 2016

BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
Nearly five guys are averaging double figures in the scoring column for the Cardinal. Rosco Allen (15.4), Reid Travis (12.8), Marcus Allen (11.5) and Dorian Pickens (11.4) have averaged double figures throughout the season, while Michael Humphrey (9.`) dipped below his double-digit average after being limited with a thigh injury the last three contests. There has not been a Stanford team with five individuals averaging double figures, dating back to the 1948-49 season.

THE LINEUP
Stanford has presented a different starting lineup in each of its last three games after utilizing the same lineup the previous 12 contests. Freshman Marcus Sheffield has started the last three, while Grant Verhoeven earned the start at center at Cal and against Oregon. Senior Rosco Allen is the lone Cardinal to have started all 23 games this season. Marcus Allen came off the bench for the first time in 18 games and Dorian Pickens came off the bench for the first time in 13 contests last time out against Oregon. In all, Stanford has used nine different lineups in its 23 games.

HOME SWEET HOME
Stanford has won at least 10 home games for 23 straight seasons, dating back to 1992-93. The Cardinal has won 13 of its last 17 home games and owns a 102-35 record at Maples Pavilion under Johnny Dawkins.

ROSCO ALLEN FROM DEEP
Rosco Allen ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in three-point field goals made (2.0). He has recorded at least one three-point field goal in each of the last 18 games and has posted multiple three-pointers in seven of the last 10 games. The senior ranks sixth in scoring in the Pac-12 (16.8 ppg) during conference games and 10th (15.4 ppg) overall.

.@roscoallen is sixth in the @pac12conference in scoring in conference games, averaging nearly 17 points per game

A video posted by Stanford Men's Hoops (@stanfordbball) on Feb 16, 2016 at 10:11am PST

PRODUCING IN INCREASED ROLES
The group of Rosco Allen, Marcus Allen, Michael Humphrey and Dorian Pickens combined to average 23.7 points in 69.1 (17.3 per player) minutes per game last season. That same group is averaging a combined 47.4 points in 118.1 (23.6 per player) minutes this year.

VERHOEVEN A FORCE INSIDE THE PAINT AND FROM DOWNTOWN
Senior Grant Verhoeven has scored 53 of his 67 points on the season in the last seven games. The senior (averaging 3.4 ppg overall) is averaging 11.5 ppg in his last two games. He posted a career-best 13 in a career-long 32 minutes last time out against No. 11 Oregon. He had 10 points against Oregon State two days prior. Verhoeven increased his career-best point total in four of the last seven games. After not attempting a three-pointer in his first 74 career games, he is 2-for-2 from beyond the arc in his last six contests.

Center @gverhoeven30 First 74 Games: 0️⃣ three-point attempts Last 4 Games: 2️⃣-for-2️⃣ from downtown

A video posted by Stanford Men's Hoops (@stanfordbball) on Feb 9, 2016 at 7:57pm PST

HUMPHREY STEPPING UP WITH TRAVIS OUT
Sophomore Michael Humphrey is averaging 9.5 ppg in his last 15 contests, playing without fellow starting forward Reid Travis (out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his leg). He ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in blocks (1.3 bpg), including a key block of Oregon’s Dillon Brooks in the final seconds to seal the win over the Ducks Feb. 13. Humphrey has two double-doubles (13 pts., 11 rebs. vs. Green Bay, 13 pts., 12 rebs. vs. Charleston Southern) on the season.

MARCUS ALLEN AXCELLING ON BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT
Junior Marcus Allen ranks second in scoring among the Cardinal’s regular starters, averaging 11.5 ppg. He is also ranks third in the Pac-12 in steals (1.7). The guard recorded his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over California on Jan. 14.

PICKENS PROVIDES SCORING PUNCH
Sophomore Dorian Pickens ranks second on the Cardinal in three-pointers with 34 this season. He is shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc. The guard also ranks sixth on the roster in scoring among regular starters at 11.2 ppg. Pickens had a career-best 24 points (on six three-pointers) against Texas. He posted his first career double-double, with 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds vs. No. 8 Villanova. The sophomore, who is averaging 29.1 minutes this year, averaged 2.1 points in 9.8 minutes last season.

SANDERS WITH THE ASSISTS
Senior Christian Sanders did what no Cardinal had done in nearly four years. The point guard recorded 10 assists in Stanford’s victory over No. 11 Oregon last Saturday. Saturday’s assist total (a career-best for Sanders) was the first time a Cardinal posted double digit assists in a game since Jarrett Mann had 10 at Oregon State on Feb. 24, 2011. He leads the Cardinal, averaging 2.7 apg.

FRESHMAN TRIO SEEING MORE TIME ON THE COURT
Stanford’s three freshmen - Josh Sharma, Marcus Sheffield and Cameron Walker - have each seen their minutes increase in the last five games. Sharma, averaging 6.6 minutes overall, has averaged nearly nine in his last five games. Walker, averaging 9.2 minutes overall, has averaged 11.6 minutes in the last five. Sheffield, averaging 18.6 minutes overall, has averaged 27.4 minutes in his last five. He has started the Cardinal’s last three games.