Stanford (2-2) vs. Florida (2-2) | Thursday • 4:00 p.m. PT
Imperial Arena • Paradise Island, Bahamas
Television: ESPN2 | Radio: Stanford Cardinal Sports Network
Game Notes: Stanford | Florida
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STANFORD CLASHES WITH FLORIDA IN THANKSGIVING REMATCH
Stanford, coming off a 62-46 setback to No. 25 Wisconsin Wednesday, will face Florida on Thursday at 4 p.m. PT at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Bahamas resort. The clash between the Cardinal and the Gators marks the second consecutive year the teams will meet on Thanksgiving.
THANKSGIVING FLASHBACK
Last Thanksgiving, Stanford and Florida met in the PK80 Invitational at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. The Cardinal dropped a 108-87 decision to the No. 7 Gators. Florida connected on 9 of its first 12 three-point attempts. The Gators made 13 threes in the first half, shooting 72.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Gators shot 58.5 percent overall and 68.2 percent from three-point range. Stanford, which trailed by as many as 38, out-scored the Gators 29-12 over the final 8:27. Daejon Davis and Oscar da Silva are the only returning starters from last year's game.
BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS
Stanford has faced six of the other seven teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis field, having yet to meet Middle Tennessee State. The Cardinal was also part of the 2012 field, placing sixth in the tournament with losses to Missouri and Minnesota and a victory over Northern Iowa.
Head Coach Jerod Haase is making his second appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis. In his third season as the head coach of UAB in 2014-15, Haase and the Blazers faced No. 2 Wisconsin in the 2014 tournament opener. UAB lost to the Badgers, 72-43. UAB fell to Florida in its second game.
AGAINST FLORIDA
Stanford is 4-1 against Florida. The teams met last year in the PK80 Invitational in Portland on Thanksgiving, the only loss for the Cardinal in the series. Stanford and Florida met in the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 27, 2002, where the Cardinal defeated the No. 8 Gators, 69-65. The other neutral site matchup was Feb. 4, 1989 in Orlando, an 84-69 Cardinal win. Stanford also recorded home wins on Dec. 21, 1990 (86-74) and on Dec. 23, 1974 (80-70).
WISCONSIN OUTLASTS STANFORD IN BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS OPENER
Stanford got within two of Wisconsin with just over six minutes remaining, but the Badgers responded with 18 of the game's final 22 points in a 62-46 setback for the Cardinal in its Battle 4 Atlantis tournament opener Wednesday. KZ Okpala, who scored seven of his team-high 11 points in the second half, connected on a three-pointer to cut it to 44-42 with 6:53 remaining. The Cardinal had two opportunities to tie it on its ensuing possession, but could not convert. The Badgers responded on the other end with a Brad Davison three-point play to spark a 9-0 run. They held Stanford without a field goal the remainder of the contest, while finishing the game on an 18-4 run for the 16-point win.
LOWEST POINT TOTAL AND FG PERCENTAGE IN THREE SEASONS
Stanford's 46 points against Wisconsin was its lowest since totaling 45 in a 59-45 loss to No. 8 Villanova on Nov. 26, 2015 in Brooklyn. The Cardinal's 27.1 field goal percentage (16-of-59) on Wednesday against Wisconsin was its lowest since that Villanova contest in 2015 when Stanford shot 26.0 percent (13-of-50) from the field. Stanford shot 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from three-point range against the Badgers, its worst since a 0.95 percentage (2-of-21) from beyond the arc in the 2015 game against the Wildcats.
YOUNG SQUAD
Among the 15 players on the 2018-19 roster, 11 are in their first or second year playing. Only senior Josh Sharma and juniors Marcus Sheffield, Trevor Stanback and Rodney Herenton entered 2018-19 with at least two seasons played. Through four games, first and second-year players have accounted for 78.7 percent of the Cardinal's scoring (225 of 286 points). The underclassmen have also accounted for 84.6 percent of Stanford's rebounding total (126 of 149 rebounds).
Stanford's starting lineup against Wisconsin on Wednesday was made up of three sophomores (Daejon Davis, KZ Okpala, Oscar da Silva) and two freshmen (Cormac Ryan and Bryce Wills).
OKPALA'S IMPACT AS A SOPHOMORE
Sophomore KZ Okpala is averaging a team-best 19.8 ppg in 36.0 mpg through four games this season. He averaged 10.3 ppg in 31.0 mpg in his first four games last season. The forward, who had a career-best 29 points in the season opener against Seattle, entered the tournament as the Pac-12's leading scorer. He was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Nov. 12.
DAVIS DIRECTS OFFENSE
Sophomore Daejon Davis is in his second season as Stanford's starting point guard. He has started all 37 career games he has played in. An All-Pac-12 Freshman Team selection last season, Davis broke Brevin Knight's school freshman assist record with 160. The point guard is averaging 10.0 points, 3.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game in four contests this year.