SETTING THE SCENE
The Cardinal returns to the road for the second straight weekend in Pac-12 action, traveling to Seattle for the first of two games in the Evergreen State on Thursday against Washington. The 8 p.m. tip airs on FS1.
THE OPENING TIP
• The Cardinal is 5-10 (0-5 Pac-12) to open the campaign, including home wins over Pacific (88-78), Cal Poly (80-43) and Green Bay (85-40) and neutral site wins over Florida State (70-60) and Loyola Chicago (75-62).
• Through 15 games, Spencer Jones leads the team with 12.4 points per game, and joined Stanford’s 1,000-point club on Dec. 29 with a 25-point outing against Colorado. Jones paces the program in Pac-12 play with 17.0 points per game, which ranks fourth in the league. He also ranks sixth in made triples, fifth in free throw percentage, eighth in blocks and third in offensive rebounds.
• Harrison Ingram, who was Stanford’s first Pac-12 Freshman of the Year since Casey Jacobsen in 2000, withdrew his name from the 2022 NBA Draft to return to The Farm for his sophomore campaign. He is the first Pac-12 Freshman of the Year to return since Jahii Carson (Arizona State) in 2013-14.
• The Cardinal returns eight of its top nine rotation players from a year ago, ranking sixth nationally in minutes continuity, per KenPom, while also bringing in the program’s first transfer in 12 years and the first graduate transfer in program history in Michael Jones (Davidson). Jones had a game to remember in the season opener, with his 31 points the most by a Stanford player in his team debut on record. The 31 points remain tied for the best single-game mark by a Pac-12 player this season.
• Stanford has won five of the last six meetings with the Huskies, and two of the last three matchups in Seattle. The Cardinal is looking for its first sweep on the road in Washington since February, 2020.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
Stanford is led in the scoring column by Spencer Jones and Michael Jones, with the former ranking fourth in Pac-12 play at 17.0 points per game. Michael Jones averages 9.4 points and a team-leading 3.0 assists per game in conference action, and 10.1 points overall on the season. Both Jones are among the five Stanford players averaging at least one steal per game in conference action, while Spencer Jones is posting 1.2 blocks per game to lead the team. Stanford is making 7.4 threes per game in Pac-12 play, which ranks second overall, and is third in steals at 7.8 per night.