SETTING THE SCENE
The final push in the regular season begins on Saturday, as Stanford makes its return trip to rival California for a 5:30 p.m. tip. The action will air on Pac-12 Network.
THE OPENING TIP
• Stanford is 15-12 (8-9 Pac-12) overall, with conference wins over Oregon, USC (twice), Washington State, Arizona State, Cal, Washington and Oregon State.
• Harrison Ingram leads the team with 11.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per night, while Jaiden Delaire and Spencer Jones are close behind at 10.9 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Michael O’Connell paces the squad with 3.6 assists per night.
• The Cardinal earned its fourth quadrant one win on Jan. 27 vs. USC, and is one of 34 teams nationally to meet that threshold. Stanford is one of three Pac-12 teams with at least four wins in the top tier (ARI, ASU), and is one of just 15 teams with at least four quadrant one wins in each of the last three years, and the only one in the Pac-12.
• Stanford is looking for its second-straight regular season sweep of California after winning the first leg at Maples, 57-50, on Feb. 1. Delaire and Ingram scored 12 points apiece in the win.
• The Cardinal has outrebounded its opponent in 23 of 27 games, and has only been outrebounded twice, posting a plus-7.6 margin on the glass, which is 12th-best nationally. Stanford ranks in the top-20 nationally in offensive rebound (17th, 34.9%) and defensive rebound percentage (18th, 77.1%) per KenPom.
HAASE PAVILION
Stanford is looking for its fourth win in the last five tries at Cal’s Haas Pavilion, and its ninth win over its rival in the Jerod Haase era. The Cardinal gave up just 50 points to Cal on Feb. 1 in the first meeting of the year, which was the Cardinal’s fewest allowed in basketball’s Big Game since Feb. 19, 2000. The 50 points are tied for the lowest Stanford has allowed this year, as well as the lowest that Cal has scored this season. The Cardinal has won six of the last eight regular season contests with the Golden Bears.