Stanford (7-6, 0-1 Pac-12) at USC (8-6, 1-0 Pac-12) | Sunday • Jan. 6 • 5:00 p.m.
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Game Notes: Stanford | USC
Television: ESPNU | Radio: Stanford Cardinal Sports Network
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
CARDINAL AND TROJANS CLASH SUNDAY NIGHT
Stanford closes its Los Angeles trip Sunday at USC with a 5 p.m. contest at the Galen Center. Sunday's game is on ESPNU with Roxy Bernstein and Caron Butler on the call. The Cardinal is looking for its first win on the road against the Trojans since 2015.
YOUNG SQUAD
Eleven of Stanford's 15 players are in their first or second year playing. Only senior Josh Sharma and juniors Marcus Sheffield, Trevor Stanback and Rodney Herenton entered the year with at least two seasons played. Through 13 games, first and second-year players have accounted for 82% of Stanford's scoring (776 of 949) and 79% of Stanford's rebounding (373 of 471).
Stanford's starting lineup in six games has been made up of three sophomores and two freshmen. In four games, sophomores Daejon Davis, KZ Okpala and Oscar da Silva have started alongside freshmen Cormac Ryan and Bryce Wills. Against Long Beach State, the sophomore trio of Davis, Okpala and da Silva started alongside Wills and fellow freshman Jaiden Delaire. Thursday, Stanford started three freshmen - Wills, Ryan and Delaire - and two sophomores - Okpala and da Silva - at UCLA. The Cardinal is one of only four teams in Division I that have started all freshmen and sophomores this season, joining East Carolina, Incarnate Word and Mount St. Mary's.
OKPALA AMONG PAC-12's BEST
Sophomore forward KZ Okpala ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring (17.0 ppg), third in three-point field goal percentage (.472) and 11th in rebounding (6.4 rpg). He posted his second double-double of the season with 22 points and a career-high-tying 10 rebounds Thursday at UCLA. The sophomore's seven 20-point games this season is the second-most in the Pac-12 this season and three more than he had all of last year.
FREQUENT FLYERS
Sunday marks Stanford's ninth game away from The Farm in its first 14 contests, with the Cardinal traveling 16,787 miles. Stanford has played outside the Pacific time zone in six of its eight previous road games, traveling to Chapel Hill and Wilmington, North Carolina, Lawrence, Kansas and the Bahamas. Stanford spent 16 of the first 26 days of the season (Nov. 6-Dec. 2) on the road.
DAVIS' DOMINANT DECEMBER
Sophomore Daejon Davis averaged 17.6 points, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals in Stanford's five games in December. The point guard has matched his season-high scoring total of 19 in three of his last five games against No. 2 Kansas, Eastern Washington and San Francisco.
OPENING CONFERENCE PLAY ON THE ROAD
Stanford's games at UCLA and at USC this week mark the first time in six years the Cardinal has opened the Pac-12 season on the road. Stanford opened last year's conference slate 5-1 with four of its six games at Maples Pavilion.
SUNDAY GAMES
The Cardinal's game at USC marks the first of five Sunday games in conference play for Stanford. Along with the game at USC, the Cardinal will play Sunday games at California (Feb. 3), at Oregon (Feb. 10), at Arizona (Feb. 24) and against Washington (March 3).
SHARMA'S CAREER NIGHT EARNS THE SENIOR PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Josh Sharma was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday, following his career-night against Long Beach State. Sharma earned his first career conference honor following his first career double-double with a career-high 23 points and a career-best 18 rebounds. He played 28 minutes off the bench, finishing 10-of-15 from the field with three dunks.
HOW SHARMA'S PERFORMANCE STACKS UP HISTORICALLY
Josh Sharma's performance against Long Beach State marked just the third time in the last 22 years a Stanford player posted at least 23 points and 18 rebounds in a game. Michael Humphrey recorded 26 points and 18 rebounds against Pacific on Nov. 12, 2017 and Curtis Borchardt registered 25 points and 21 rebounds against Arizona on Feb. 2, 2002. Sharma's performance against Long Beach State is one of eight 23+ point and 18+ rebound games in the nation this season. The Cardinal senior is one of 23 players in the Pac-12 in the last 22 years to achieve the feat.
Sharma's 12 offensive rebounds in the contest tied for the most in the nation this season. He joined Washington's Jon Brockman (vs. Stanford on Jan. 8, 2009) as the only Pac-12 players with at least 12 offensive rebounds in a game since the 1996-97 season.
The senior's rebounding total is the most in a game by a Stanford player since Humphrey posted 20 rebounds at Oklahoma State last March. It is the second-most by a Pac-12 player this season.
The rebounding total was more than double his previous career-high of nine against Middle Tennessee State earlier this season. The point total was eight points better than his previous career-best total of 15 against Cal State Northridge during his sophomore season.
AGAINST USC
Stanford holds a 126-125 edge over USC in a series that dates all the way back to the 1916-17 season. The Cardinal has won six of its last eight against the Trojans in the series, highlighted by Daejon Davis' 50-foot buzzer beater at Maples Pavilion last season. Stanford has not won at USC since Jan. 11, 2015, when Anthony Brown led the Cardinal to a victory over the Trojans with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Among the 15 players on the current Stanford roster, no one has played in a win at USC. Stanford has dropped three of its last nine games at USC.
CARDINAL PLAYERS AGAINST USC
Eight active Stanford players have faced USC previously. Sophomore Oscar da Silva is averaging 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in two contests against the Trojans. Fellow sophomore Daejon Davis is averaging 7.5 points and 4.0 assists in two games.
LAST GAME AGAINST THE TROJANS
USC's Jonah Mathews scored 18 points and the Trojans escaped with a 69-64 victory over Stanford on Jan. 24, 2018 in Los Angeles. Reid Travis led Stanford with 16 points. Michael Humphrey and Dorian Pickens each added 14 points. Humphrey hit a three-pointer and Daejon Davis made two free throws that got Stanford to 66-64.
Jordan McLaughlin missed a three-pointer and then missed 3 of 4 free throws that left USC clinging to a 67-64 lead. Daejon Davis missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 4 seconds left. USC regained possession to seal the win.
OKPALA'S IMPACT AS A SOPHOMORE
Sophomore KZ Okpala leads Stanford in scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg) in 31.8 mpg through 13 games this season. He averaged 9.0 ppg in 28.1 mpg in his first 13 games last season. The forward, who had a career-best 29 points in the season opener against Seattle, is seventh in the Pac-12 in scoring, third in three-point field goal percentage (.469) and 14th in rebounding.
THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
Stanford is third in the Pac-12 and 40th nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense. The Cardinal has limited opponents to just 29.7 percent on threes (62-of-209) this season. Five of Stanford's first 13 opponents have recorded four or less three-pointers against the Cardinal. Stanford held Middle Tennessee without a three-pointer in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
SHARMA'S LAST EIGHT GAMES
Josh Sharma is averaging 9.1 ppg over his last eight games, after averaging 5.8 ppg in his first five contests of the season. He ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (.609) and offensive rebounding (2.4 orpg), and ninth in blocks (1.0 bpg).
JOSH JAMS
Of senior Josh Sharma's 42 field goals on the season, 21 have been dunks. He has 14 dunks in the last eight games. The center ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage, shooting better than 60 percent (60.9) from the field.
DAVIS DOES IT ALL
Sophomore Daejon Davis, who broke Brevin Knight's school freshman assist record with 160 last season, has started 44 of 45 career games. He is averaging 17.6 points, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals in his last five games. Davis ranks second on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg). His 1.7 steals per game average is fourth in the Pac-12 and his 3.8 assists per game ranks ninth in the conference. The sophomore has posted at least four points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals in two games this season against UNC Wilmington and Middle Tennessee. He has posted at least four points, four rebounds and four assists in four contests. Davis matched his career-high rebound total with 10 vs. Middle Tennessee in November.
RYAN AMONG PAC-12'S BEST 3-POINT THREATS
Freshman Cormac Ryan is third in the Pac-12, averaging 2.3 three-point field goals per game. The freshman has recorded at least four three-point field goals in a game in four of 10 contests (5 vs. Seattle, 4 vs. North Carolina, 4 vs. Florida, 4 vs. Eastern Washington). He has multiple three-point field goals in six games and is shooting 32.9 percent from three-point range (23-of-70). He scored a team-best 12 points, all in the second half and all on three-pointers, against Florida. Ryan's 10.6 ppg ranks third on the team.
WILLS ONE OF NATION'S YOUNGEST PLAYERS
With a birthdate of October 13, 2000, Bryce Wills is the youngest player in the Pac-12 and one of the youngest in Division I. Wills is the seventh-youngest player in the nation. He has started six games, including two of the last three. The freshman posted a career-best 10 points against Portland State and at San Francisco. The guard is averaging 26.0 minutes per game over the last four contests.
DA SILVA FINDS TOUCH FROM DOWNTOWN
Sophomore Oscar da Silva has connected on 13 threes in the last five games after opening the season 3-of-30 on three-point attempts. The sophomore finished with a career-high six threes against San Jose State.
DA SILVA'S SECOND-HALF PRODUCTION
Oscar da Silva has scored 84 of his 121 points on the season in the second half. Over the last 11 games, 80 of his 111 points have come after halftime. He posted all 12 of his points at San Francisco, all 11 of his points at North Carolina and all seven of his points against Wisconsin in the second half.
WHITE DIALED IN FROM LONG RANGE
Sophomore Isaac White, who led Stanford with 38 three-pointers last season, is one of the Pac-12's top three-point threats again. The guard is shooting 44.8 percent from three-point range (13-of-29) this season. He was 5-of-5 from beyond the arc at No. 2 Kansas. White has played 107 minutes in Stanford's last six games, after totaling 23 over the first seven contests. The sophomore was 3-of-4 from the beyond the arc Thursday at UCLA.