SETTING THE SCENE
With regular season action finished in the conference, seventh-seeded Stanford men’s basketball (20-11, 9-9 Pac-12) turns its attention to the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday night against 10-seed California (13-18, 7-11 Pac-12). The action will air on Pac-12 Networks.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. A tournament championship would be the second in school history, joining the 2004 team.
• 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 17th-best national mark in field goal percentage (58.4), and was the Pac-12 Player of the Week for Jan. 27-Feb. 2.
• Stanford held 12 of its 13 non-conference opponents below 70 points and has limited its Pac-12 foes to an average of 65.2 points per game, which ranks third in the league. The program boasts the best overall scoring defense in the Pac-12 (62.5), and the 16th-best nationally. As of March 9, KenPom rates the Cardinal defense as the seventh-most efficient in the country.
• Oscar da Silva stands just two points shy of becoming the 48th member of Stanford’s 1,000-point club. He will become the first Cardinal player to do so since three reached the milestone in the class of 2018: Reid Travis (1,427), Dorian Pickens (1,186) and Michael Humphrey (1,037).
PAC-12 ACCOLADES
Stanford had three players earn All-Pac-12 recognition, led by a first team All-Pac-12 selection for junior Oscar da Silva. Stanford has had a first-team honoree in each of the last eight years, which is the longest active streak in the conference by two years (Washington, 6). Freshman Tyrell Terry was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention and to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, becoming the first Cardinal player to earn both honors since Brook Lopez in 2007. One of the most versatile defenders in the conference, sophomore Bryce Wills was chosen to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team, as Stanford’s first honoree since 2017.