Stanford @ California preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2020 ) California 52, Stanford 68

Stanford returns to the court Sunday for the first time since blowing a 21-point second-half lead against USC last Saturday. The Cardinal look to bounce back in a road matchup against rival California, which is 0-8 away from Haas Pavilion but owns an 8-2 record at home.

Junior forward Oscar da Silva averages 16.2 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 61 percent from the field to lead the Cardinal, who sit atop the Pac-12 standings following USC’s loss to Oregon on Thursday. The 6-9, 225-pound da Silva scored 21 points and freshman Spencer Jones added 18 in last Sunday’s 82-78 loss to USC, which trailed 45-25 at the half before storming back to hand Stanford its third defeat of the season. “There’s some frustration since we were in position to win that game,” coach Jerod Haase told reporters. “We came to a screeching halt offensively in the second half and just weren’t as aggressive. But we also understand the big picture. 4-1 in conference is a good place to be.” The Cardinal will need to be careful not to overlook Cal, which has shown improvement under first-year coach Mark Fox but struggled to score in back-to-back losses to USC and UCLA last week.

TV: 6 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT STANFORD (15-3, 4-1 Pac-12): Point guard Tyrell Terry is making a case for Pac-12 freshman of the year with an average of 15.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from 3-point range. Junior guard Daejon Davis is averaging 9.4 points in conference play but was held to three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 40 minutes in the loss to USC. Davis scored a season-high 20 points with six rebounds and five assists in Stanford’s 68-52 win over Cal in the Pac-12 opener for both teams on Jan. 2 at Maples Pavilion.

ABOUT CAL (8-10, 2-3): Sophomore guard Matt Bradley averages 17.4 points and 5.1 rebounds to lead the Bears, who swept the Washington programs at home before averaging 48 points in road losses to USC and UCLA. Cal finished with its lowest scoring total in 32 years after going 11 minutes without scoring a point during one stretch in the second half of last Sunday’s 50-40 loss to the Bruins. Fox is seeking more production from several players – including junior forward Grant Anticevich, who scored a total of two points on 1-of-12 shooting in the last two games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cal owns a 150-126 lead in the all-time series, but Stanford has won the last two meetings at Haas Pavilion.

2. Stanford leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense at 59.7 points per game.

3. Cal is averaging 71.7 points on 48.4 percent shooting at Haas Pavilion this season.

PREDICTION: Stanford 72, Cal 56