SETTING THE SCENE
Returning to the road after a win over top-of-the-table UCLA, Stanford men’s basketball travels to Arizona on Thursday night. The 8 p.m. PT contest will be televised on ESPN2.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is off to an 9-5 start (5-3 Pac-12), with league wins vs. Arizona, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State and UCLA. Stanford is 5-0 this season in Santa Cruz, including a 4-0 mark 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. Oscar da Silva led four in doubles figures with 21 points on Dec. 19.
• Through 14 games, Stanford ranks 17th nationally in defensive efficiency (per KenPom, as of Jan. 25) while posting the 28th-best field goal defense in the country (39.3%). Stanford ranked seventh nationally in defensive efficiency a year ago, while boasting the nation’s 16th-ranked scoring defense.
• The Cardinal is 8-0 this season when winning the rebounding battle, and 8-0 when scoring at least 70 points.
• Stanford is the only power conference program yet to play at its home facility this season. The Cardinal’s only “home” games have 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.
• Oscar da Silva is stating his case as the Pac-12’s top player through eight games, averaging 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per night in conference play.
• Stanford is looking for its first win in the McKale Center since Feb. 16, 2008, which also capped Stanford’s last season sweep against the Wildcats.
AT THE BUZZER
Taking down UCLA, 73-72 (ot), on Saturday, Stanford earned its first win at the buzzer since Jan. 7, 2018, when Daejon Davis scored from beyond midcourt against USC. Underneath the basket with 0.8 seconds to go, Oscar da Silva scored the final two of his 26 points when he scored on a layup as time expired.