Stanford @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 24, 2019 ) Utah 70, Stanford 66

After ending a three-game losing streak with an impressive win over Oregon, Stanford looks to carry that momentum into Thursday’s road matchup against Utah. The Cardinal are tied for fourth place in the wide-open Pac-12 race and hope they’ve rediscovered their rhythm from early in the season, when they opened with seven straight wins.

Junior forward Oscar da Silva recorded a career-high 27 points and added 15 rebounds in last Saturday’s 70-60 win over Oregon, which led by nine in the second half before Stanford took control. “It was about energy and who wanted it more,” Ducks guard Will Richardson told reporters. “They came out in the second half with a spark because they wanted it more than us. They went after the ball harder than we did, and they got rewarded for it.” The 6-9 da Silva was named Pac-12 player of the week after averaging 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 62 percent from the field in a split against the Oregon schools. Stanford has lost three of its seven road games and needs to be careful not to overlook Utah, which is 8-1 at the Huntsman Center.

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

ABOUT STANFORD (16-5, 5-3 Pac-12): Point guard Tyrell Terry has been a model of consistency in his freshman season while averaging 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Coach Jerod Haase relied on a seven-man rotation in the victory over Oregon and received a welcome spark from 6-10 sophomore Lukas Kisunas, who scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. Freshman forward Spencer Jones has been the team’s most reliable perimeter shooter, but the 6-7 forward is looking to bounce back after missing eight of his nine 3-point attempts against the Ducks.

ABOUT UTAH (12-9, 3-6): The Utes played their second straight game without injured guard Both Gach (knee) on Sunday and fell to 10th place in the league standings following a 73-57 loss to UCLA. Gach ranks third on the team in scoring (10.6 points per game) and is listed as day-to-day for the Utes, who saw starters Rylan Jones, Riley Battin and Timmy Allen each play at least 35 minutes against the Bruins. Allen averages a team-high 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds but shot a combined 10-of-36 from the field in losses to USC and UCLA last week.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Utah has won the last three meetings against Stanford and holds a 21-13 lead in the all-time series.

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

3. Allen is averaging 20.4 points on 50 percent shooting in nine home contests.

PREDICTION: Stanford 71, Utah 63