STANFORD, Calif. - Following three games in Orlando in the Advocare Invitational at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex, Stanford returns home, where the Cardinal will host No. 12/13 Saint Mary's Wednesday (Nov. 30) at 8 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
No. 12/13 Saint Mary's is the first nationally-ranked opponent on Stanford's schedule this season. The Cardinal owned a 2-3 record against ranked foes last season, defeating No. 21 Utah and No. 11 Oregon at home.
BACK-TO-BACK RANKED FOES
Stanford will play back-to-back nationally-ranked opponents this week, traveling to No. 4/5 Kansas on Saturday. The last time the Cardinal faced consecutive nationally-ranked foes came during its 2014 NCAA Tournament run. Stanford defeated No. 17/17 New Mexico (58-53) in the second round on March 21, and No. 10/10 Kansas (60-57) in the third round on March 23. Both games took place in St. Louis.
JEROD HAASE AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Head Coach Jerod Haase owns a 2-8 all-time record against nationally-ranked teams. He played 10 ranked foes as the head coach at UAB, leading the Blazers to a win over No. 9/10 Iowa State (60-59) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky, and a victory over No. 16/16 North Carolina (63-59) in Birmingham, Alabama on Dec. 1, 2013.
BEST START IN FIVE SEASONS
Stanford's 6-1 record is its best start since the 2011-12 season, when the Cardinal also opened the year 6-1. That 2011-12 squad won 10 of its first 11 games. This is just the third time in the past nine seasons the Cardinal has opened the season with wins in six of its first seven games.
TRAVIS DOMINANT IN RETURN TO THE COURT
After missing the final 22 games last season, Reid Travis has made a strong impact in his return to the court. He leads the team in scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.1 rpg), ranks first in the Pac-12 in offensive rebounding (3.6), third in overall rebounding and sixth in scoring. Travis is one of only four players in the Pac-12 averaging a double-double for the season. He ranks 27th nationally in rebounding and is ninth in the nation in free throw attempts (59). Travis has posted four of his five career double-doubles in the first seven games of this season.
ADVOCARE INVITATIONAL RECAP
Stanford won two of its three games to place fifth in the Advocare Invitational, rebounding from a Thursday loss to Miami with wins over Indiana State (Friday) and Seton Hall (Sunday).
On Sunday, Dorian Pickens scored a season-high 21 points to lead Stanford to a 66-52 victory over Seton Hall. Pickens, who was named to the Advocare Invitational All-Tournament Team, added five rebounds, two assists and three steals against the Pirates. Stanford erased an early deficit with the final eight points of the first half to tie the game at 26 at the break. The Cardinal continued its surge in the second half, outscoring the Pirates 40-26 over the final 20 minutes. The Cardinal used a 15-1 run early in the second half to take the lead for good, stretching the advantage to 43-31 with 12:21 to play. Reid Travis finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
In Friday's win over Indiana State, Pickens connected on a three-pointer with 2.0 seconds left to break a 62-62 tie to send Stanford to victory. Pickens and Reid Travis led all scorers with 19 points apiece to guide the Cardinal. Pickens' game-winning three-pointer came after Indiana State's Brenton Scott tied the contest with a three-pointer of his own with six seconds left. Pickens' game winner capped a wild back-and-forth second half that included nine lead changes and four ties. Travis collected 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the tournament.
Stanford led for the majority of the game Thursday against Miami, but a late surge by the Hurricanes handed the Cardinal its first loss of the season, 67-53. Travis finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Pickens led Stanford with 15 points against the Hurricanes. The Cardinal cut Miami's lead to four (56-52) with 3:41 remaining, but the Hurricanes scored 11 of the final 12 points of the game to take the victory.
AGAINST SAINT MARY'S
Stanford hosts Saint Mary's in the 57th all-time meeting between the Bay Area schools. The Cardinal owns a 40-16 advantage in the series. Stanford owns a 30-8 record at home against SMC. The Gaels defeated Stanford last season in Moraga (78-61), for the first time in four meetings. Last season's win for SMC snapped a three-game winning streak by the Cardinal in the series. Prior to last year, the teams had not met since the 2002-03 season.
AGAINST THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Stanford owns a 183-80 all-time record against current members of the West Coast Conference. The Cardinal has played fellow Bay Area schools Santa Clara (50-26) and San Francisco (45-21) the most. Stanford's last game against a member of the WCC was last season at Saint Mary's, a 78-61 setback in Moraga. The last WCC team to face Stanford at Maples Pavilion was Loyola Marymount on Dec. 17, 2014. The Cardinal defeated the Lions, 67-58.
PICKENS ON TARGET BEYOND THE ARC
After going 0-of-2 from three-point range in the first game of the season vs. Harvard, junior Dorian Pickens has posted at least one three-pointer in each of the last six contests, with multiple trifectas in five games. He is shooting 45.2 percent from three-point range (ninth in Pac-12), with a team-best 14 three-pointers on the year. He registered a season-high four (4-of-6) vs. Colorado State. Pickens connected on three trifectas in the win over Indiana State, including the game-winner with 2.0 seconds left.
PICKENS NAMED TO ADVOCARE INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
After averaging 18.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals in three games in the Advocare Invitational, Dorian Pickens was named to the five-member all-tournament team at the conclusion of the event.
BIGS PROVIDE BOOST
Stanford's group of Reid Travis, Michael Humphrey and Grant Verhoeven have provided a strong presence in the paint for the Cardinal through the season's first seven games. The trio has combined to score 215 points (30.7 ppg) and collect 132 rebounds (18.9 rpg) this season.
The Harvard game was the first time all three recorded double digits in the scoring column in the same game. Travis and Humphrey each scored in double figures in four of the first eight games of last season, before Travis was sidelined with a leg injury for the remainder of the season.
VETERAN GROUP
Boasting one of the most experienced rosters in the Pac-12, four starters - Reid Travis, Michael Humphrey, Marcus Allen, and Christian Sanders - and 10 of the top 11 scorers from last season are back. Including the first six games of this season, Stanford's roster has combined for 671 appearances.
VERHOEVEN AN IMPACT IN THE PAINT
Senior Grant Verhoeven is averaging 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game this season. Along with his stats, Verhoeven has become a force in the paint for each of Stanford's opponents, drawing several charges throughout the year. In the Cardinal's win over Seton Hall on Sunday, he drew five charges and caused six turnovers by the Pirates overall. While his minutes average is relatively the same, he is averaging 2.1 more points and rebounds this season.
CARTWRIGHT AND SANDERS RUNNING POINT FOR THE CARDINAL
The duo of sophomore Robert Cartwright and senior Christian Sanders run the point for the Cardinal. Sanders, who has started all seven games, is averaging 3.7 assists in 20.1 minutes per game. Cartwright, who is back on the court after missing all of last season with an arm injury, is averaging 3.0 assists in 23.7 minutes per contest.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
Stanford's 2016-17 schedule features 15 home games, 17 contests against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams, along with the Pac-12 China game, the Advocare Invitational and trips to Kansas and SMU.