SETTING THE SCENE
The Diamond Head Classic begins on Wednesday in Honolulu, as Stanford opens the holiday event with Wyoming at 2 p.m. PT on ESPNU. The winner plays either Liberty or Northern Iowa in the second round.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is 6-4 (1-1 Pac-12) to start the season, with all five non-conference wins coming in double-digit fashion. Harrison Ingram leads the team with 12.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while Jaiden Delaire is close behind Ingram at 12.2 per night. Michael O’Connell paces the squad with 3.5 assists per outing.
• Showcasing the program’s depth and balance, 11 Cardinal players have reached double figures in a game this season. The Cardinal is the only Pac-12 program to reach 11 players in this category.
• Stanford is 6-0 at home this season, besting opponents by an average of 11.3 points per game at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal remained unbeaten in November home games since 2018 (12-0), and are off to a 6-0 start at home for the second time in three seasons. The Cardinal is 12-3 in December home games under Jerod Haase, and 8-1 over the last three-plus seasons.
• The Cardinal has never competed in the Diamond Head Classic, and will play in Hawaii for the first time since the Maui Classic in 2004. Stanford was in last season’s Maui Invitational, played in Asheville, N.C.
• The Cardinal has outrebounded its opponent in all 10 games this season, posting a plus-8.9 margin on the glass, which is 18th-best nationally. Stanford is holding foes to 28.8 rebounds per game, and ranks 15th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (37.0%) per KenPom.
MULTI-TEAM EVENT
Stanford is looking for it’s first tournament victory since claiming the title at the 2007 Basketball Travelers Classic, hosted at Maples Pavilion. Stanford was in the Maui Invitational a year ago, besting Alabama in the opening round, while the Cardinal’s last trip to Hawaii included a win over BYU - a possible opponent on the opposite side of the Diamond Head bracket. The Cardinal’s last trip to Oahu was in the postseason NIT in 1990, which came at Hawaii in a 69-57 defeat.