Stanford (8-9, 1-4 Pac-12) at Washington State (8-9, 1-3 Pac-12) | Saturday • Jan. 19 • 12:00 p.m.
Beasley Coliseum • Pullman, Wash.
Television: Pac-12 Network | Radio: Stanford Cardinal Sports Network
Game Notes: Stanford | Washington State
Live Stats: WSUCougars.com
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EVERGREEN STATE TOUR CONTINUES
Stanford continues its tour of the Evergreen State with a Saturday contest against Washington State in Pullman. The Cardinal has won four straight and nine of its last 10 against the Cougars.
OKPALA AMONG PAC-12's BEST
Sophomore KZ Okpala ranks second in the Pac-12 in scoring (17.9 ppg) and three-point field goal percentage (.451), and eighth in rebounding (6.5 rpg). In conference play, the forward is averaging 21.2 ppg (second) and 7.6 rpg (sixth). He posted his second double-double of the year (22 pts., career-best 10 rebs.) at UCLA and matched his career-high with 29 points vs. Arizona during conference action.
BREAKING DOWN OKPALA'S PERFORMANCES
• 10 20-point games this season is the most in the Pac-12 and is six more than all of last year.
• Averaging 21.2 ppg and 7.6 rpg in conference play.
• Averaging 20.3 ppg in the last eight games, after averaging 15.8 ppg in the first nine contests.
• Posted three straight 20-point games for the first time in his career in the last three contests.
• Of the 11 performances of at least 29 points in the Pac-12 this season, only Okpala (29 vs.
Arizona and Seattle) and WSU's Robert Franks (31, 30) have achieved the feat more than once.
OKPALA'S IMPACT AS A SOPHOMORE
Sophomore KZ Okpala leads Stanford in scoring (17.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) in 32.7 mpg through 17 games this season. He averaged 9.5 ppg in 27.7 mpg in his first 17 games last season. The forward has recorded a career-best 29 points twice this season (vs. Arizona and Seattle).
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 have more than two years of playing experience. Through 17 games, first and second-year players have accounted for 83% of Stanford's scoring (1,019 of 1,234) and 80% of Stanford's rebounding (486 of 605).
Stanford's starting lineup in seven games has been made up of freshmen and sophomores. In five games, sophomores Daejon Davis, KZ Okpala and Oscar da Silva have started alongside freshmen Cormac Ryan and Bryce Wills. Three freshmen - Ryan, Wills, Delaire - started 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.
AGAINST WASHINGTON STATE
Stanford owns a 78-60 lead in the all-time series with Washington State. The Cardinal has won four straight and nine of its last 10 against the Cougars. Stanford has not lost in Pullman since 2015. The Cardinal has won its last two contests (did not play at WSU in 2017) at Beasley Coliseum. Stanford has totaled 45 three-point field goals over the last five games against WSU.
CARDINAL PLAYERS AGAINST WASHINGTON STATE
Nine active Stanford players have faced Washington State previously. Sophomore KZ Okpala has averaged 20.5 points in two games against the Cougars. Fellow sophomore Daejon Davis has averaged 11.5 points and 5.0 assists in two games against WSU.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE COUGARS
Daejon Davis hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left, lifting Stanford to an 86-84 victory over Washington State Feb. 24, 2018 at Maples Pavilion. With the game tied, Davis made his move toward the basket. He was fouled and made both foul shots, the second following a WSU timeout. Davis finished with eight points, seven rebound and six assists. Reid Travis scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and KZ Okpala added 20 points for the Cardinal.
Robert Franks scored 19 points to lead the Cougars. Malachi Flynn and Drick Bernstine each added 16 points. Flynn missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
DAVIS DOES IT ALL
Sophomore Daejon Davis has averaged 15.3 points, 5.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals in his last nine games. The point guard has matched his season-high scoring total of 19 in three of his last eight games against No. 2 Kansas, Eastern Washington and San Francisco.
Davis is seventh in the Pac-12 in assists (4.3 apg) and steals (1.4 spg). He is second the conference with 5.8 assists per game during Pac-12 action.
Davis 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.
The sophomore, who broke Brevin Knight's school freshman assist record with 160 last season, has started 48 of 49 career games he has played in.
RYAN AMONG PAC-12'S BEST 3-POINT THREATS
Freshman Cormac Ryan is second in the Pac-12, averaging 2.3 three-point field goals per game. The guard has recorded at least four three-point field goals in a game in five contests (6 vs. USC, 5 vs. Seattle, 4 vs. North Carolina, 4 vs. Florida, 4 vs. Eastern Washington). He has multiple three-point field goals in seven games and is shooting 33.7 percent from three-point range (30-of-89). Ryan's career-best six threes at USC (all in the second half) were the most threes in a game by a Stanford freshman since Chasson Randle (6) vs. Arizona State on March 7, 2012.
JOSH JAMS
Of Josh Sharma's 59 field goals on the season, 28 have been dunks. He has 21 dunks in the last 12 games. The center ranks second in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage, shooting better than 65 percent (65.6) from the field.
SHARMA'S LAST 12 GAMES
Josh Sharma is averaging 9.4 ppg over his last 12 games, after averaging 5.8 ppg in his first five contests of the season. He ranks second in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (.656), eighth in blocks (1.2 bpg) and sixth in offensive rebounding (2.2 orpg). His 17 points Thursday at Washington was the second-best point total of his 107-game career.
FREQUENT FLYERS
Nine of Stanford's first 14 games were played away from The Farm. The Cardinal traveled 16,787 miles during that span. Stanford has played outside the Pacific time zone in six of its nine road games, traveling to Chapel Hill and Wilmington, North Carolina, Lawrence, Kansas and Paradise Island, Bahamas. Stanford spent 16 of the first 26 days of the season (Nov. 6-Dec. 2) on the road, traveling inside and outside the U.S. Stanford's flight from Seattle to Pullman on Thursday was the 13th flight the program has traveled this season.
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 nine games, including four of the last six. The freshman posted a career-best 10 points against Portland State and at San Francisco. The guard is averaging 25.7 minutes per game over the last seven contests.
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 ranks fourth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 44.4 percent (16-of-36) this season. He was 5-of-5 from beyond the arc at No. 2 Kansas. White has played 149 minutes in Stanford's last 10 games, after totaling 23 over the first seven contests. The sophomore was 3-of-4 from the beyond the arc at UCLA on Jan. 3.
DA SILVA FINDS TOUCH FROM DOWNTOWN
Sophomore Oscar da Silva has connected on 15 threes in the last nine games after opening the season 3-of-30 on three-point attempts. He finished with a career-high six threes against San Jose State.
KISUNAS EARNING MINUTES
Freshman Lukas Kisunas is averaging 9.5 minutes per game in five Pac-12 games, after averaging 5.8 minutes per contest in 12 nonconference games. He has played in 15 of 17 games overall. The freshman, who played 12 minutes in the second half at No. 7 North Carolina with four rebounds and a block, recorded six rebounds in 13 minutes against Arizona and scored four points in 11 minutes in the win over Arizona State.