SETTING THE SCENE
Stanford will compete for the Diamond Head Classic championship on Christmas, as the Cardinal takes on Vanderbilt at 5:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2. Stanford beat Wyoming and Liberty top advance to the final.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is 8-4 (1-1 Pac-12) on the season, including a 4-1 mark in December. Jaiden Delaire leads the team with 12.3 points per game, while Harrison Ingram is close behind with 12.2 points and a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game. Michael O’Connell paces the squad with 4.0 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 is 3-0 all-time against Vanderbilt, with the last two wins coming in tournament play. Stanford won the last time in the postseason NIT (2014-15) and in 1987-88 in the Vanderbilt Invitational.
• The Cardinal has outrebounded its opponent in all 12 games this season, posting a plus-9.3 margin on the glass, which is 16th-best nationally. Stanford holds foes to 28.8 rebounds per game, and ranks in the top-20 nationally in offensive rebound (36.1%) and defensive rebound percentage (77.9%) per KenPom.
CHRISTMAS CARD
The Dec. 25 meeting with Vanderbilt is Stanford’s second-ever game on Christmas Day, as it played Chaminade in the 1985 Western Airlines Chaminade Classic. The 1985-86 Stanford team first played UNLV on Christmas Eve before topping Chaminade on Christmas Day, and then island hopped to Maui for the Hawaii Pacific Tournament, where Stanford fell to Maryland and Fordham. Stanford is 14-15 all-time on the Hawaiian Islands.