SEATTLE – Coming off wins over No. 11/12 Oregon and Washington State in its last two contests, Stanford heads to Seattle to face Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena Saturday at 5 p.m. PT. The Cardinal, which recorded a 16-point win - its largest in Pac-12 play this season - Thursday night in Pullman, closes the regular season with three of its five games on the road. Stanford also travels to Arizona State and Arizona.
HUMPHREY’S CAREER DAY AGAINST WASHINGTON STATE
Sophomore Michael Humphrey scored a career-high 26 points - the most by a Stanford player this season - in Thursday’s win at WSU. He also collected 10 rebounds, a career-best four steals, and three blocks in a career-long 37 minutes. The performance comes after he had been limited to 34 total minutes over the previous three games with a thigh injury sustained at Utah Jan. 30.
ROSCO ALLEN’S LAST SEVEN GAMES
Senior Rosco Allen (15.4 ppg overall) is averaging 18.9 ppg in his last seven contests. Allen has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in six of the last seven games. Five of his six career 20-point games have come in the last 11 contests, including a career-high tying 25 points at Colorado and against No. 11 Oregon.
ALLEN’S SECOND-HALF PRODUCTION
Of Rosco Allen’s 132 total points in his last seven games, 92 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.
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 165 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 third-toughest schedule in the nation, according to ESPN’s Daily RPI on Feb. 19. The Cardinal has played four top-25 teams, with wins over No. 21/22 Utah and No. 11/12 Oregon. Stanford has four RPI top-40 wins already with victories over Oregon (3), Utah (16), California (28) and Oregon State (38) in the RPI rankings on Feb. 19.
AGAINST WASHINGTON
Stanford leads the all-time series, 74-69. The Cardinal has won the last three games in the series. After dropping nine of his first 10 games against Washington, Johnny Dawkins has won four of his last five against the Huskies. The Cardinal won all three games against UW last year, including a 71-69 victory in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. Chasson Randle connected on a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining to lift the Cardinal to the win over UW in the tournament tilt.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Michael Humphrey poured in a career-high 26 points, adding 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocks to lift Stanford to a 72-56 victory over Washington State in Pullman, Wash. Humphrey, who sank 10 of 15 shots overall, buried both his three-point tries. Rosco Allen and Dorian Pickens and WSU’s Que Johnson scored 14 points apiece. Allen also had nine rebounds.
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 (11.5) have averaged double figures throughout the season, while Michael Humphrey is averaging 9.8 ppg. 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 four games after utilizing the same lineup the previous 12 contests. Senior Grant Verhoeven has started two of the last three contests. Senior Rosco Allen is the lone Cardinal to have started all 24 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 against Oregon. Marcus Allen was back in the lineup at WSU. In all, Stanford has used nine different lineups in its 24 games.
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 19 games and has posted multiple three-pointers in eight of the last 11 games. The senior ranks sixth in scoring in the Pac-12 (16.6 ppg) during conference games and 12th (15.4 ppg) overall.
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 48.2 points in 118.8 (29.7 per player) minutes this year.
VERHOEVEN A FORCE INSIDE THE PAINT AND FROM DOWNTOWN
Senior Grant Verhoeven has scored 56 of his 70 points on the season in the last eight games. The senior (averaging 3.3 ppg overall) is averaging 8.7 ppg in his last three games. He posted a career-best 13 in a career-long 32 minutes 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 eight games. After not attempting a three-pointer in his first 74 career games, he is 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in his last seven contests.
HUMPHREY STEPPING UP WITH TRAVIS OUT
Sophomore Michael Humphrey is averaging 10.6 ppg in his last 16 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 (1.4 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 three double-doubles on the season, including a career-best 26 points and 10 rebounds last time out at WSU.
MARCUS ALLEN EXCELLING ON BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT
Junior Marcus Allen ranks third on the team in scoring among the Cardinal’s regular contributors, averaging 11.5 ppg. He also ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in steals (1.6). 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 39 this season. He is shooting 35.5 percent from beyond the arc. The guard also ranks second on the roster in scoring among regular starters at 11.5 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 28.8 minutes this year, averaged 2.1 points in 9.8 minutes last season.
SANDERS WITH THE ASSIST
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. The 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 2.8 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 six games. Sharma, averaging 6.5 minutes overall, has averaged 8.0 minutes in his last six games. Walker, averaging 9.4 minutes overall, has averaged 11.7 minutes in the last six. Sheffield, averaging 17.9 minutes overall, has averaged 23.2 minutes in his last six. He has started three of the Cardinal’s last four games.