SAN FRANCISCO – Stanford has been picked 10th in the Pac-12 men's basketball preseason poll, as voted on by media who cover the league.
Stanford, projected ninth by the media in last season's preseason poll, finished tied for eighth in the conference in 2018-19 with an 8-10 record.
Two years ago, the Cardinal was tabbed fifth in the preseason poll but finished third in the Pac-12 at 11-7, posting its best conference finish and most league wins in a decade.
Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll
| Place | Team (first-place votes) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Oregon (9) | 291 |
| 2. | Colorado (9) | 288 |
| 3. | Washington (6) | 273 |
| 4. | Arizona (2) | 263 |
| 5. | USC (1) | 198 |
| 6. | Arizona State | 187 |
| 7. | Oregon State | 161 |
| 8. | UCLA | 148 |
| 9. | Utah | 131 |
| 10. | Stanford | 84 |
| 11. | Washington State | 47 |
| 12. | California | 35 |
Representing the Cardinal at Pac-12 Media Day will be juniors Oscar da Silva and Daejon Davis.
Davis, who earned a spot on the five-member Preseason All-Pac-12 Second Team, is averaging 11.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 59 career games while ranking in the top-20 in program history with 274 career assists. Davis, who has led the Cardinal in assists in each of his first two seasons, led Stanford in scoring last year at 11.4 points per game while ranking fifth in the Pac-12 in assists (4.4 apg) and seventh in steals (1.5 spg). A Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection in 2017-18, Davis established a school record for assists (160) by a freshman.
A 2019 Honorable Mention Pac-12 All-Academic selection, da Silva is averaging 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 66 career games. da Silva made noticeable strides as a sophomore, starting all 31 games and ranking fourth on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.0 rpg). Additionally, his 1.3 blocks per game clip ranked eighth in the conference. As a freshman two years ago, da Silva played in all 35 games and established a school freshman record with a team-leading 55.8 three-point field goal percentage while his 30 blocks ranked second on the team and seventh-most by a freshman in school history.
Stanford opens its season on Oct. 30, hosting Sonoma State in an exhibition at 7 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.