TUCSON, Ariz. - Stanford will leave the Bay Area for the first time in 18 days, heading to Tucson for a Wednesday matchup with No. 9/10 Arizona at 8 p.m. PT at McKale Center. As the Cardinal is in the midst of the second half of its conference slate, the Wildcats will be the first repeat opponent of the year. Stanford opened Pac-12 play with a 91-52 setback to Arizona on New Year's Day.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Stanford has forced 40 turnovers combined in back-to-back games, with Utah totaling 17 last Saturday after Colorado committed 23 miscues last Thursday. It's the stingiest two-game defensive stretch in conference play since Stanford forced 41 combined miscues against USC (21 turnovers - Jan. 22, 2005) and UCLA (20 turnovers – Jan. 20, 2005).
Stanford ranks second in the Pac-12 in steals (6.6 spg).
TRAVIS, HUMPHREY ANCHORING POST
Junior forwards Reid Travis (16.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Michael Humphrey (9.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg)) have combined to average 37.8 percent (26.0 out of 68.8) of the team's scoring average and 41.9 percent (14.4 out of 34.4) of the team's rebounding average. The duo leads the Cardinal in conference play, with Travis averaging 15.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg and Humphrey contributing 11.6 ppg and a team-best 8.1 ppg.
TRAVIS TIMELINE
Junior Reid Travis returned to the lineup three games ago at California, leading the team with 17 points and five rebounds after having missed four of the previous six games with a right shoulder injury. After totaling nine points and five rebounds against Colorado last Thursday, the forward posted 26 points, five rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes against Utah on Saturday. He sat out both games of Stanford's Southern California trip before returning to the lineup Jan. 12 against Washington State, totaling 17 points and six boards in 20 minutes. Two days later against Washington, Travis aggravated the injury after playing 12 minutes in the first half and did not return. Travis did not play in road games at Oregon State and Oregon.
AGAINST ARIZONA
Arizona leads the all-time series, 62-29. The Wildcats have won the last 14 games in the series, including the contest earlier this year in Maples Pavilion. Stanford's last victory against Arizona in Tucson was on Feb. 16, 2008, as Brook and Robin Lopez led the No. 7 Cardinal to a 67-66 win.
STANFORD AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Stanford is 0-6 against nationally-ranked opponents in the Associated Press poll this season and 48-59 against ranked foes since 2000. The Cardinal has come up short this season 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) and No. 11/10 Oregon (69-52). Wednesday will represent Stanford's fifth road game against a top-25 opponent. The Cardinal also faced Arizona, USC and UCLA in succession earlier this month, marking the first stretch against three straight top-25 foes since the 2001-02 campaign.
JEROD HAASE AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Head Coach Jerod Haase owns a 2-14 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.
RETURN TO THE GRAND CANYON STATE FOR CARDINAL DUO
This week's visit to Tucson and Phoenix marks a return of juniors Dorian Pickens and Michael Humphrey to their home state. Both call Phoenix home. Last season, Humphrey averaged 14.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg and Pickens averaged 13.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg in the two games in their home state. Freshman Andrew Ekmark, who is redshirting the year, is from Paradise Valley, Arizona.
PICKENS ON TARGET FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Junior Dorian Pickens has posted at least one three-pointer in 20 games, with multiple three-pointers in 12 contests. He is shooting 37.8 percent from three-point range, with a team-best 42 three-pointers. The junior has totaled six three-pointers in his last two games. 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.
THE JUNIOR CLASS
Stanford's four-member junior class - Reid Travis, Dorian Pickens, Michael Humphrey and Robert Cartwright - has accounted for 66.7 percent of the team's overall scoring. Travis (16.7 ppg), Pickens (12.3 ppg), Humphrey (9.3 ppg) and Cartwright (7.6 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. In Saturday's win over Utah, the group combined for 59 of Stanford's 81 points.
HUMPHREY CONTROLLING THE GLASS
Michael Humphrey has totaled 71 rebounds (8.9 rpg) over the last eight games. He ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in rebounding overall at 8.1 rpg. Humphrey has played more than 30 minutes in six of the last nine contests, after not reaching the 30-minute mark in any of the first 14 games. At UCLA on Jan. 8, 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 season. He followed that with 18 points and a 10-rebound performance in 34 minutes against Washington on Jan. 14, and was one rebound shy of a double-double at California.
MARCUS ALLEN HEATING UP OVER LAST SIX GAMES
Senior Marcus Allen has been one of the Cardinal's leaders on both ends of the floor over the last six games. He is averaging 10.8 ppg (third on the team), while leading the team in steals (13) and ranking second in assists (16). After averaging 4.4 ppg in his first 17 contests, Allen is now averaging more than six points better per game over his last six contests.
CARTWRIGHT ON POINT
Junior Robert Cartwright has taken over as the Cardinal's starting point guard, starting the last seven contests. He ranks ninth in Pac-12 in assists (4.0) during conference play, and seventh in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) overall. He is coming off a 14-point, five-assist performance in the win over Utah.
