Pac-12 Play Continues at OSU

THURSDAY MATCHUP IN GILL
Stanford travels to Oregon State at 8 p.m. PT Thursday to face the Beavers in Gill Coliseum. It is the first of two meetings between the squads this season. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Network with Rich Burk (play-by-play) and Mary Murphy (analyst) on the call.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
In 18 games, Stanford played eight teams projected to be in the 2017 NCAA Tournament field, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. All eight teams - UCLA (3), Kansas (5), USC (20) Saint Mary's (22), Arizona (27), Miami (31), Seton Hall (35) and SMU (47) - also rank among ESPN analyst Jay Bilas' list of "Top 68 Teams In The Land." The Cardinal played only two of these teams (Arizona and Saint Mary's) at home. Stanford's strength of schedule as of Jan. 17 ranks sixth nationally.

AGAINST OREGON STATE
Oregon State holds a 75-68 edge in the all-time series with Stanford. The teams split the season series in 2015-16, each winning on the other's home court. The Cardinal has won six of the previous eight meetings against the Beavers, including a 78-72 decision in Corvallis on Jan. 6, 2016. Oregon State's most recent win came on Feb. 11, 2016 (62-50). The Beavers' last win over the Cardinal in Corvallis was 81-72 on Jan. 9, 2014.

THE RETURN OF R2T2
After missing two games with a right shoulder injury, Reid Travis returned to the court against Washington State on Jan. 12 with 17 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes. The junior has been among the Pac-12 leaders in scoring (7th, 16.6) and rebounding (6th, 8.9) all season. In his 16 games, Travis has accounted for 21.1 percent (266-of-1258) of the Cardinal's scoring and 22.0 percent (143-of-649) of Stanford's rebounding total.
 
CARTWRIGHT RUNNING THE POINT
Sophomore Robert Cartwright has taken over the starting point guard role recently producing three of his best games of the season. Cartwright is averaging 17.3 points, 6.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 33.0 minutes over Stanford's last three games against UCLA, Washington State and Washington. He is coming off a career-high 21-point performance against the Cougars on Jan. 12.  

TRACKING TRAVIS
A look at where junior forward Reid Travis ranks both in the Pac-12 and nationally as of Jan. 17.
 

HUMPHREY CONTROLLING THE GLASS
Michael Humphrey returned to the starting lineup four games ago, where he has impacted the paint on both ends. Since his return to the lineup, he has totaled 40 rebounds in the last four games. Humphrey has played more than 30 minutes in each of the past four contests, after not reaching the 30-minute mark in any of the first 14 games. At UCLA, Humphrey set a career-high with 27 points and finished one shy of his career-high with 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. He followed that up with 18 points and a 10-rebound performance in 34 minutes against Washington on Saturday.  

PICKENS ON TARGET FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Junior Dorian Pickens has posted at least one three-pointer in 16 games, with multiple three-pointers in nine contests. He is shooting 38.4 percent from three-point range, with a team-best 33 three-pointers (13th in the Pac-12). He registered a career-high seven (7-of-10) vs. Idaho. Pickens connected on the game-winning trifecta against Indiana State with 2.0 seconds left. 

MARCUS ALLEN WITH BEST OFFENSIVE PERFOMANCE IN RETURN TO LINEUP
Senior Marcus Allen made the most of his return to the starting lineup at USC on Jan. 5. The Cardinal poured in 13 points, matched his season-high with five rebounds and added two steals in a season-long 37 minutes of action against the Trojans. Allen, averaging 4.9 ppg on the year, has totaled 41 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals in his last five games against Arizona, USC, UCLA, Washington State and Washington.