SETTING THE SCENE
Looking to sweep Cal for the first time since 2014-15, Stanford men’s basketball welcomes the Golden Bears on Sunday, Feb. 7 for its second game at Maples Pavilion. The 7 p.m. contest will air on FS1.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is off to an 11-7 start (7-5 Pac-12), with league wins vs. Arizona (twice), Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, UCLA and California.
• Senior captain Oscar da Silva is stating his case as the Pac-12’s top player through 12 games, averaging 19.5 points, 8.0 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 last Thursday in Tucson, 73-64.
• Through 18 games, Stanford ranks 18th nationally in defensive efficiency (per KenPom, as of Feb. 5) while limiting opponents to 40.2 percent shooting from the field this season. 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 was the final power conference program to play at its home facility this season. Prior to Tuesday’s clash with USC, the Cardinal’s only “home” games had been played in Santa Cruz. The Cardinal is also one of two power conference teams to boast multiple road wins in non-conference play, joining Oklahoma State.
THURSDAY AT HAAS
Stanford earned a win over Cal on Thursday in Berkeley, 70-55, led by a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double for Oscar da Silva, his sixth in the last 10 games. The game was Stanford’s fourth in eight days, and was the first of a back-to-back with Cal, the first between the two teams since Jan. 4 and 6, 2002.