SETTING THE SCENE
Traveling to Las Vegas for the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 6 seed, Stanford takes on 11th-seeded California on Wednesday night in the opening round. The 7 p.m. tip will air on Pac-12 Networks.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford went 14-12 (10-10 Pac-12) on the season, with conference wins vs. Arizona (twice), Oregon State, Washington (twice), Washington State, UCLA, California (twice) and Utah.
• Senior Oscar da Silva was one of the best players in the Pac-12 this season, posting All-American numbers of 18.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 58% from the floor. The only player to reach those benchmarks in the country, he was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and the All-Defensive team, and is the first in program history to earn both selections.
• The Cardinal co-leads the Pac-12 with four quadrant one wins, tied with USC, and one more than both Oregon and Colorado. Stanford boasts the highest-rated NET win in the Pac-12 with its win over Alabama (9) to open the Maui Invitational in November.
• Stanford was the final power conference program to play at its home facility this season. The Cardinal started the season spending 59 of 64 days on the road, starting Nov. 27 and ending Jan. 30.
• Jaiden Delaire was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year, more than doubling his sophomore scoring mark to 13.4 points per game in conference action this season. He has reached double-figure scoring in 13 of the last 17 games, including three-straight with 20 or more points from Jan. 28-Feb. 2.
WE MEET AGAIN
Rivalry matchups in the Pac-12 Tournament are becoming a near-annual tradition, as Stanford will face California in the opening round for the third time in the last four seasons. Stanford advanced in 2018, 76-58, while the Golden Bears won last year’s meeting, 63-51. The Cardinal swept the regular season, which featured back-to-back meetings on Feb. 4 and 7. Oscar da Silva averaged 23.5 points per game this season in the series, and Stanford shot 56.3% as a team across the two matchups.