SETTING THE SCENE
Capping its abbreviated home schedule this week, Stanford men’s basketball hosts Oregon on Thursday, Feb. 25. The 6 p.m. contest will air on ESPNU.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is 14-9 (10-7 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 25th nationally in defensive efficiency (per KenPom, as of Feb. 23) while limiting opponents to 40.4 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 is looking for its second-straight win over Oregon at Maples Pavilion, and the third in four games, after upending the No. 11/12 Ducks a year ago.
• 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 21 teams have four Q1 wins in the country, while Stanford is the only program in the Pac-12 to reach the threshold.
MCDONALD’S ALL-AMERICAN GAME
Stanford signee Harrison Ingram became the ninth recruit in program history to earn a spot on the McDonald’s All-American game roster, while the Cardinal has a participant for the second-straight year - the first time in program history to accomplish the feat in back-to-back years. Ingram joins Ziaire Williams (2020), Reid Travis (2014), Brook and Robin Lopez (2006), Josh Childress (2001), Casey Jacobsen (1999) and Jarron and Jason Collins (1997) as Stanford athletes with the honor.