Stanford @ UCLA preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2019 ) Stanford 72, UCLA 79

Two teams heading in opposite directions meet Wednesday when No. 25 Stanford visits UCLA, which has lost five of its last six games and sits near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. While the Bruins continue to struggle under first-year coach Mick Cronin, Stanford is 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2004.

Stanford point guard Tyrell Terry was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 52 percent from the field in a pair of wins over the Washington schools. Terry scored a season-high 22 points and had six rebounds in Saturday’s 88-62 victory over Washington State as the Cardinal won for the seventh time in their last eight games. Stanford leaves the Bay Area for the first time since Nov. 26 to face a struggling UCLA squad, which opened Pac-12 play with a surprising victory over Washington but allowed an average of 76.5 points in back-to-back losses to Washington State and USC. “We’re not a good defensive team,” Cronin told reporters. “I’m not making excuses for our guys anymore.”

TV: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network

ABOUT STANFORD (14-2, 3-0 Pac-12): Forward Oscar da Silva averages 16.5 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Cardinal, who lead the conference in scoring defense at 58.3 points per game. The Cardinal boast a deep lineup with nine players averaging at least 10.9 minutes - including junior guard Isaac White, who scored 11 points in 23 minutes against Washington State and has earned a bump in playing time during conference play. Junior guard Daejon Davis is averaging 9.1 points and 3.8 assists for the Cardinal, who are beginning a run of three straight games on the road.

ABOUT UCLA (8-8, 1-2): One of the few bright spots for the Bruins has been the play of junior guard Chris Smith, who recorded his second double-double this season with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-63 loss to USC and has averaged 18.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in three Pac-12 games. Cronin has also been encouraged by the development of freshman wing Jaime Jaquez Jr., who is averaging 11 points and 6.5 rebounds in the last 10 games. The Bruins are second in the Pac-12 in rebounding margin at plus-7.88 but are shooting only 30.5 percent from 3-point range.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. UCLA has won each of its last 13 home games against Stanford dating back to the 2005-06 season.

2. Davis has averaged 14 points in five career games against the Bruins - including his career high of 23 on Jan. 27, 2018.

3. UCLA is 61-9 when leading at halftime since the start of the 2016-17 season.

PREDICTION: Stanford 71, UCLA 63