SETTING THE SCENE
Returning to the friendly confines of Maples Pavilion for the first time this season, Stanford men’s basketball hosts USC on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The 6 p.m. PT contest will be broadcast on FS1.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is off to an 10-6 start (6-4 Pac-12), with league wins vs. Arizona (twice), Oregon State, Washington, Washington State and UCLA. This is the third attempt to play USC this season, as both previous contests were postponed due to positive COVID tests within the Trojans’ program.
• Senior captain Oscar da Silva is stating his case as the Pac-12’s top player through 10 games, averaging 20.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per night in conference play.
• The Cardinal opened conference action with a 78-75 win over Arizona, which snapped a streak of 20 straight defeats in the series. Stanford finished its Wildcat sweep on Thursday in Tucson, 73-64.
• Through 16 games, Stanford ranks 16th nationally in defensive efficiency (per KenPom, as of Feb. 1) while posting the 36th-best field goal defense in the country (40.0%). Stanford ranked seventh nationally in defensive efficiency a year ago, while boasting the nation’s 16th-ranked scoring defense.
• Michael O’Connell became the second Stanford player this season to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 1. He averaged 13.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game against Arizona and Arizona State, with a 7 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.
• Stanford is the final power conference program to play at its home facility this season. The Cardinal’s only “home” games have been played in Santa Cruz to this point. The Cardinal is also one of two power conference teams to boast multiple road wins in non-conference play, joining Oklahoma State.
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM
Stanford is prepping to face USC for the third time this season, but both previous games, Dec. 13 and Jan. 21, were postponed. As part of the consistently evolving schedule, Stanford will now travel to the Galen Center in Los Angeles on Monday, Feb. 22.