STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford hosts No. 6/7 Oregon in a Saturday showdown at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal and Ducks are set for a 1 p.m. PT tip-off in the regular-season home finale. The program will honor its three seniors - Marcus Allen, Christian Sanders and Grant Verhoeven - prior to the game and recognize former Cardinal head coach Mike Montgomery on his recent induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame during a special halftime ceremony.
SENIOR SALUTE
Stanford's three seniors - Marcus Allen, Christian Sanders and Grant Verhoeven - will be recognized for their contributions to the success of the program throughout their Cardinal careers in a special pregame ceremony. The group has collectively won 225 games in their careers on The Farm, highlighted by an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance during the 2013-14 season.
Marcus Allen • 6-3 • 190 • Las Vegas, Nev. • Psychology
• Majoring in Psychology
• Three-year starter who is among the Pac-12 leaders in steals each of the last two seasons
• Has played in 124 career games with 73 career starts
• Has scored nearly 800 career points and ranks 12th in school history with 116 career steals
Christian Sanders • 6-4 • 192 • Houston, Texas • Science, Technology & Society
• Science, Technology and Society major with a minor in economics
• Has played in 115 career games as Stanford's floor general
• One of Pac-12's assist leaders this year, career-best 10 assists in win over Oregon last year
• Ranks seventh in the conference with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio
Grant Verhoeven • 6-9 • 250 • Hanford, Calif. • Earth Systems
• Earth Systems major with focus on sustainable food and agriculture
• Has played in all but three games over the last two seasons with 113 career appearances
• Career-best 13-point performance in the win over Oregon last season
• One of the team leaders in floor burns, five charges drawn in win over Seton Hall
AGAINST OREGON
Stanford leads the all-time series, 92-51. The Ducks have won seven of the last 11 meetings, including a 69-52 win in Eugene, Oregon in January. Stanford has won two of the last three games between the two schools at Maples Pavilion, including a 76-62 victory over the No. 11 Ducks last season on The Farm.
STANFORD AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Stanford is 0-7 against nationally-ranked opponents in the Associated Press poll this season and 48-60 against ranked foes since 2000. The Cardinal has come up short against No. 12/13 Saint Mary's (66-51), No. 4/5 Kansas (89-74), No. 18/18 Arizona (91-52), No. 25/RV USC (72-56), No. 4/5 UCLA (89-75), No. 11/10 Oregon (69-52) and No. 9/10 Arizona (74-67). Stanford has played five road games against a top-25 opponents this season.
JEROD HAASE AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Head Coach Jerod Haase owns a 2-15 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, and a victory over No. 16/16 North Carolina (63-59) in Birmingham, on Dec. 1, 2013.
R2T2 IS ONE OF THE PAC-12'S BEST
Reid Travis "R2T2" is among the conference leaders in many categories. The Cardinal junior forward, who missed four games earlier this year with a right shoulder injury, returned to the court seven games ago. In those seven games, he is averaging 18.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg. He has posted double-doubles in two of the last four games (26 pts., 11 rebs. at Arizona, 17 pts., 11 rebs. at ASU) and nearly missed a third in the win over California (19 pts., 9 rebs.).
Travis and UCLA's TJ Leaf are the only two Pac-12 players to rank in the top-eight in the league in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Stanford has forced 111 turnovers over its last six games against Colorado (23), Utah (17), Arizona (13), Arizona State (17), California (20) and Oregon State (21). The 41 combined forced turnovers in its last two games against the Bears and Beavers was the most in a two-game stretch in conference play in more than 12 years, since Stanford also forced 41 combined miscues against USC (21 turnovers - Jan. 22, 2005) and UCLA (20 turnovers – Jan. 20, 2005). Led by Marcus Allen's 13 steals, the Cardinal has recorded 57 thefts in the six contests. Stanford ranks second in the Pac-12 in steals (6.9 spg).
THE PAC-12 STANDINGS
Stanford is in seventh place in the Pac-12 standings with three games remaining in the regular season. Two of those three contests are against teams ahead of them in the standings in Oregon (second) and Utah (fifth). The Cardinal (6-9) is a half-game ahead of Colorado and Arizona State. Stanford was picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 preseason media poll.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Stanford has played the 11th toughest schedule in the nation, according to ESPN's daily strength of schedule rankings as of Feb. 24. The Cardinal has played seven games against teams in the top-20 of the RPI as of Feb. 24. Stanford checks in at No. 73 in the NCAA's RPI. Look no further than a daunting nonconference slate that featured Miami, Seton Hall, No. 12/13 Saint Mary's, No. 4/5 Kansas and SMU. Earlier in conference play, Stanford faced No. 18/18 Arizona, No. 25/RV USC and No. 4/5 UCLA in succession, representing its first three-game stretch against top-25 foes since 2002.
ALLEN'S STANDOUT PERFORMANCE IN THE LAST 10 GAMES
Marcus Allen has been one of the Cardinal's leaders on both ends of the floor over the last 10 games. He is averaging 12.8 ppg (second on team), while leading the team in steals (20) and ranking third in assists (21) during this span. After averaging 4.4 ppg in his first 17 contests, Allen is averaging more than eight points better per game in his last 10 contests.
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON ALLEN'S RECENT PLAY
• The guard has made three three-pointers in Stanford's last five games,
after recording five in the first 22 contests.
• He has recorded 18 steals in the last eight games and ranks fourth in the
Pac-12 in steals per game (1.7) during conference play.
• His 116 career steals rank 12th on Stanford's career steals list.
TRAVIS, HUMPHREY ANCHORING POST
Junior forwards Reid Travis and Michael Humphrey have combined to average 38.2 percent (26.5 out of 69.3) of the team's scoring and 43.1 percent (14.9 out of 34.6) of the team's rebounding average. The duo ranks first and third, respectively, on the Cardinal roster in conference play, with Travis averaging 16.7 ppg and 7.2 rpg and Humphrey contributing 10.6 ppg and a team-best 8.0 ppg.
HUMPHREY CONTROLLING THE GLASS
Michael Humphrey has totaled 102 rebounds (8.5 rpg) over the last 12 games. He ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in rebounding at 8.0 rpg during league play. Humphrey has played more than 30 minutes in eight of the last 13 contests, after not reaching the 30-minute mark in the first 14 games. At UCLA, Humphrey set a career-high with 27 points and finished one shy of his career-best with 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. He was one rebound shy of a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds) at Cal. The junior finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds at Arizona State on Feb. 11.
PICKENS ON TARGET FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Junior Dorian Pickens has posted at least one three-pointer in 24 games, with multiple three-pointers in 16 contests (each of the last six). He has totaled 16 three-pointers in his last six games, shooting 39.0 percent from three-point range during that span. Pickens owns a team-best 52 three-pointers on the year, including a career-high seven (7-of-10) vs. Idaho earlier this season. Pickens connected on the game-winning trifecta against Indiana State with 2.0 seconds left.
THE JUNIOR CLASS
Stanford's four-member junior class - Reid Travis, Dorian Pickens, Michael Humphrey and Robert Cartwright - has accounted for 66.8 percent of the team's overall scoring. Travis (17.3 ppg), Pickens (12.6 ppg), Humphrey (9.2 ppg) and Cartwright (7.2 ppg) are four of Stanford's top five scoring leaders. Cartwright is listed as a sophomore after receiving a medical redshirt for the 2015-16 season.
CARTWRIGHT, SANDERS SHARE THE POINT
Senior Christian Sanders and junior Robert Cartwright have shared point guard responsibilities this season. Each has played in all 27 games, with Sanders starting 13 contests and Cartwright getting the starting nod in 12 games. Sanders has started at the point the last two games, while Cartwright started the previous nine contests. Cartwright ranks 11th in the Pac-12 in assists (3.5) and sixth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) during conference play.
