UNC Wilmington @ Stanford preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 9, 2018 ) Stanford 72, NC-Wilmington 59

Stanford returns home following its first loss of the season to host UNC Wilmington on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinal, who lost to Butler, 68-67, in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic on Tuesday, are still off to their best start since the 2011.

Stanford had won its first seven games, including an impressive 73-54 victory over Oklahoma in Monday's semifinals, before Kamar Baldwin sank a game-winning 18-foot jumper with eight seconds to go to give the undefeated Bulldogs the victory in the title game. The Cardinal then committed a turnover on its final possession to see its longest season-opening win streak since 2008, when they began 10-0, snapped. "That game stings," coach Jerod Haase told sfgate.com. "Very proud of our guys and the way we fought. So many guys are stepping up in so many different ways. There were many times we could've cracked in this game, but our guys stepped up every time." UNC Wilmington, picked to finish ninth in the Colonial Athletic Association, comes in off a 80-59 loss at Boise State on Friday night.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT UNC WILMINGTON (5-4): The Seahawks had a two-game winning streak that included a 122-66 victory over Division III Emory & Henry on Tuesday snapped by Boise State. Sophomore guard Jaylen Sims is the only player averaging in double figures (15.4) and also leads the team in rebounding (5.6). Sophomore point guard Kai Toews led the CAA with 253 assists last season and is averaging 6.1 points and a team leading four assists per game.

ABOUT STANFORD (7-1): Freshman point guard Tyrell Terry is off to a blistering start, leading the team in scoring (16.5) to go along with 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He had a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Oklahoma and followed that up with a team-high 21 points, including 5-of-9 3-pointers, in the loss to Butler. Junior forward Oscar da Silva (15.4 points) and freshman forward Spencer Jones (10.3) also are averaging in double digits with da Silva also grabbing a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game.

TIP-INS

1. This is the second meeting between the two schools with Stanford defeating the Seahawks, 72-59, last season in Wilmington, N.C.

2. Stanford has held each of its first eight opponents to fewer than 70 points, the first time the Cardinal has accomplished that feat since an eight-game stretch to open the 2011 season.

3. The Cardinal are allowing an average of 58.1 points per game which ranks 20th nationally.

PREDICTION: Stanford 80, UNC Wilmington 56