SETTING THE SCENE
Celebrating its senior class with its final home contest of the year, Stanford men’s basketball welcomes Oregon State to Maples Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 27. The 3:30 p.m. contest will air on Pac-12 Networks.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is 14-10 (10-8 Pac-12) on the season, with league wins vs. Arizona (twice), Oregon State, Washington (twice), Washington State, UCLA, California (twice) and Utah.
• Senior captain Oscar da Silva is stating his case as the Pac-12’s top player through 17 games, averaging 18.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per night in conference play.
• Through 23 games, Stanford ranks 29th nationally in defensive efficiency (per KenPom, as of Feb. 23) while limiting opponents to 40.5 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.
• The Cardinal will honor seniors Oscar da Silva, Daejon Davis and Daniel Begovich before Saturday’s contest. da Silva and Davis have each joined the 1,000-point club in their careers.
• Stanford was the final power conference program to play at its home facility this season. The Cardinal is also one of two power conference teams to boast multiple road wins in non-conference play, joining Oklahoma State, and leads the power conferences in playing 19 road + neutral games, four more than second-place Colorado.
• Jaiden Delaire has emerged as one of the most improved players in the Pac-12, averaging 14.0 points per game in conference action. He has reached double-figure scoring in 13 of the last 15 games, including three-straight with 20 or more points from Jan. 28-Feb. 2.
BUILDING A RESUME
Stanford is one of just seven teams nationally with at least four Q1 wins and six road wins, joining Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois, Ohio State, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Only 23 teams have at least four Q1 wins in the country, while Stanford is the only program in the Pac-12 to reach the threshold.
SENIOR DAY
The program will honor the careers of Oscar da Silva, Daejon Davis and Daniel Begovich on Saturday before the game with a senior day ceremony. da Silva will depart Stanford as one of the most accomplished forwards in program history, while Daejon Davis has been one of the top guards in recent memory. Daniel Begovich earned his spot on the team last season after beginning as a manager, and has appeared in seven games over the course of his career. The recruiting class of 2017 also featured KZ Okpala and Isaac White, who are now playing professionally for the Miami Heat (NBA) and Illawarra Hawks (Australia NBL), respectively.