SETTING THE SCENE
Looking to extend its winning streak to four games, Stanford (19-9, 7-7 Pac-12) hosts Colorado (21-8, 10-6 Pac-12) on Sunday afternoon at Maples Pavilion. The action will air on ESPNU.
THE OPENING TIP
• Junior Oscar da Silva leads the team with 16.1 points per game, a mark which ranks 10th in the conference. He also holds the 18th-best national mark in field goal percentage (58.8), and was the Pac-12 Player of the Week for Jan. 27-Feb. 2.
• Stanford fell in the first meeting between these two teams, 81-74, in Boulder.
• Stanford held 12 of its 13 non-conference opponents below 70 points and has limited its Pac-12 foes to an average of 64.1 points per game, which leads the league. The program boasts the best overall scoring defense in the Pac-12 (61.6), and the 11th-best nationally. As of Feb. 29, KenPom rates the Cardinal defense as the seventh-most efficient in the country.
• The Cardinal holds the Pac-12’s third-best scoring margin in conference play (plus-4.5 points per game). Each of the conference losses came by single digits, while the team has recorded double-digit wins over Cal, Washington State (twice), UCLA and Oregon.
• Stanford is looking for its first win over the Buffaloes since Jan. 16, 2019 - its last meeting in Maples Pavilion. Oscar da Silva led the way in that game (W, 75-62) with 21 points and seven rebounds.
VALUING THE THREE
Excelling on both ends of the floor beyond the arc, Stanford is one of four teams nationally to rank in the top-20 in both 3-point percentage and 3-point defense, joining San Diego State, Nevada and Northern Colorado. The Cardinal holds the 10th-best defensive mark, limiting its opponents to just 28.7 percent from 3-point range (including 27.6 percent in Pac-12 play), and the 17th-highest 3-point percentage at 37.9.
Three Stanford players are shooting north of 40 percent from 3-point range this season - Spencer Jones (43.0), Tyrell Terry (42.1) and Isaac White (42.0).