The key for Kansas will be not letting one loss turn into two.
Eight days after falling at Villanova, KU (9-2) will hit the road again by traveling to Stanford for a Sunday afternoon matchup. The Jayhawks dropped their No. 1 ranking in the AP poll after the 56-55 defeat, and are now the fifth-ranked team in the country.
KU’s two losses this season have been by a combined three points and both against ranked foes.
But the Jayhawks have performed well in this situation under head coach Bill Self. Kansas is 94-13 following at loss in the Self era, including 1-0 this year. KU went 8-1 after a loss last year, and is now 43-5 in such scenarios over the last six seasons.
Stanford is 11-1 this year and has won four straight after its 62-59 win against San Diego in the Al Attles Classic in San Francisco on Dec. 21. Stanford’s lone loss came to Butler, 68-67, in the title game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City on Nov. 26.
Kansas leads the series with Stanford, 11-3, and has won the last three meetings. Sunday’s contest will be only the third meeting between the schools at Stanford with the last in 1968.
Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
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**BREAKING DOWN STANFORD**
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**TOP PLAYER**
*No. 13 — F Oscar da Silva | 6-9, 225, jr.*
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Picking up where he left off in 2018-19, Oscar da Silva has emerged as Stanford’s top producer so far this season.
He is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 17.6 points per game and paces Stanford in rebounding with a clip of 6.0 rebounds per outing. He has reached double figures in all but one game, shooting 61.2 percent from the floor.
Against UNC Wilmington on Dec. 1, Oscar da Silva poured in a career-high 26 points after going 11-of-14 from the field. Entering the year, he was Stanford’s leading returning scorer and rebounder and has been as advertised through 12 games.
The most interesting man in @marchmadness speaks five languages, is a published stem cell researcher, and leads his team in scoring (16.6p) and rebounding (5.3r).@TheAndyKatz chats with Oscar da Silva, who has @StanfordMBB (8-1) off to its best start since 2011.#Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/8dyNP3Ikjk
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) December 6, 2019
**SUPPORTING CAST**
*No. 3 — G Tyrell Terry | 6-2, 160, fr.*
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Even as just a freshman, Terry has been very effective running the offense for Stanford.
Terry has scored in double figures in 10 different games, which includes consecutive double-doubles against William & Mary and Oklahoma. He became the first Cardinal freshman with back-to-back double-doubles since Michael Humphrey in 2015.
Terry, who has produced five 20-point games, is averaging 15.6 points to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists through 12 games of his freshman campaign.
https://twitter.com/DXContent/status/1201949723818708995?s=20
*No. 14 — F Spencer Jones | 6-7, 195, fr.*
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Jones was inserted into the starting lineup following the season opener.
Since then, Jones has provided a much-needed spark for the Cardinal. He is averaging 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and has been a weapon from deep. Of Jones’ 40 field goals, 34 have come from beyond the arc, including his first 17 baskets to begin the season.
Jones has reached double figures in scoring six times, and has made a team-best 47.2 percent (34-72) from long range. To top it off, his size and athleticism have presented matchup issues for opponents all year.
While Tyrell Terry & Oscar da Silva have gotten most of the attention on Stanford this year, Spencer Jones is really intriguing. He had a really impressive game vs Oklahoma last month & showed how great of a shooter he is (54.7 3PT% on 5.9 3PA) and also showed some solid defense pic.twitter.com/Fekya798ol
— Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13) December 13, 2019
**MEET THE COACH**
The Cardinal are coached by former Kansas guard Jerod Haase, who is 59-50 in his fourth season at Stanford and 139-103 in his eighth season overall.
**ONE THING STANFORD IS GOOD AT**
Stanford has held all 12 opponents to under 70 points, marking the first time the team has accomplished that feat since a 13-game stretch from Nov. 12, 1999-Jan. 13, 2000. Stanford
has allowed 57.5 points per game, which leads the Pac-12 and ranks 11th in the country.
**ONE THING STANFORD IS BAD AT**
Stanford hasn’t taken care of the rock particularly well this season. The Cardinal have posted a 21.6 turnover rate on offense, a mark that ranks 281st in the nation per KenPom. Stanford’s non-steal turnover rate of 12.9 ranks 324th in the country.
**VEGAS SAYS**
Kansas is a 6.5-point favorite as of Sunday morning on most sportsbooks. That line feels about right, to be honest. I do think Kansas will win this game, but it will be lower scoring and I’m taking the points for the home team because of it.
Prediction: Kansas 69, Stanford 65
This year’s record ATS: 6-4
