SETTING THE SCENE
Stanford hits the road for the second time this season, heading to No. 9/8 Baylor on Saturday, Nov. 20 for a 10 a.m. PT tip-off on ESPN+.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is 3-1 to start the season, with all three wins coming in double-digit fashion. Harrison Ingram leads the team with 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while Jaiden Delaire is also averaging double figures with 11.8 per night. Seven players are scoring at least five points a night.
• Delaire was named last season’s Pac-12’s Most Improved Player of the Year after more than doubling his sophomore scoring mark to 13.4 points per game in conference action. He reached double-figure scoring in 15 of the last 19 games in 2020-21.
• The Cardinal has scheduled a challenging non-conference slate led by defending national champion Baylor, beginning a home-and-home series, and a trip to Honolulu for the Diamond Head Classic. Stanford will play three teams this season in the AP preseason top-eight, four in the top-13 and eight that were either in the top-25 or received votes.
• Stanford tallied a pair of ranked wins a year ago, downing No. 25 Alabama in the Maui Invitational and beating No. 24/20 UCLA at the buzzer in Santa Cruz. The program is looking for its first top-10 win on the road since winning at No. 9/9 Texas, 74-71, on Dec. 23, 2014.
• Jerod Haase played Baylor once as a player at Kansas (W, 87-68) on Jan. 11, 1997, scoring 18 points.
THAT’S HIGH PRAISE
It took no time at all for Harrison Ingram to earn accolades from the Pac-12, as he was named the conference Freshman of the Week for the opening salvo to the college basketball season. Ingram averaged 17.5 points per game over two outings over Tarleton State and Santa Clara, and the five-star recruit has scored at least 16 points in each of his three games this season. Ingram’s 17.5 point-per-game scoring average led all freshmen in the Pac-12 in week one, and was 12th nationally among true freshmen.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
The Cardinal and Bears each rank in the top-10 nationally per KenPom in limiting opponents offensive rebounds. Stanford ranks seventh nationally in defensive rebound percentage at 83.1%, while Baylor checks in third at 84.1%. Stanford and Baylor are also each in the top-50 nationally in offensive rebound percentage. The Cardinal sports a +10.0 rebound margin, and are holding foes to 27 boards per game.