Stanford @ Oregon preview
Matthew Knight Arena
Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2020 ) Stanford 67, Oregon 80
Stanford will end a 12-day break when it plays at No. 21 Oregon on Saturday, with both teams unbeaten in Pac-12 play.
The Cardinal (5-2, 1-0 Pac-12) has not played since a 63-50 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 21.
Their game Thursday at Oregon State was postponed because of COVID-19 contact tracing affecting the Beavers' program.
Stanford also had a Pac-12 game with Southern Cal on Dec. 13 postponed because of COVID-19. Its conference victory was over visiting Arizona, 78-75, on Dec. 19.
Oregon (7-1, 2-0 Pac-12) is coming off an 82-69 win Thursday over California at Eugene, Ore., behind 26 points and a career-high five steals from Eugene Omoruyi.
The Ducks have won 27 straight home games.
"I thought Eugene did a lot of good things and the five steals -- his activity there was really good," said coach Dana Altman. "He was really unstoppable inside."
Altman passed Louisville's hall of fame coach Denny Crum for 23rd on the NCAA career Division I wins list with 676. Former Cal and Stanford coach Mike Montgomery is at No. 22 with 677 career wins.
Altman took the risk of allowing his players to go home for Christmas break. The Ducks had not played since a win over Portland in Eugene on Dec. 19.
Their home game against UCLA on Dec. 23 was postponed because a referee tested positive for COVID-19 and the other two officials were quarantined because of contact tracing.
"Being able to go home and see family really helped me lock back in," Omoruyi, a Rutgers transfer from Ontario, Canada, said.
Oregon overcame a slow start against Cal, trailing by seven points in the first half, with a strong finish.
Eric Williams Jr., who transferred from Duquesne, became the third Oregon player this season to reach 1,000 career points, joining LJ Figueroa (St. John's transfer) and Amauri Hardy (formerly of UNLV).
Williams Jr. is the only player in the Pac-12 with seven or more games scoring at least 11 points with six rebounds this season.
Stanford is led by Oscar da Silva, who leads the Cardinal in scoring (18.9 points per game) and rebounding (6.0). The German forward also leads Stanford with nine blocked shots.
He had 21 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in the win over Arizona.
Stanford secured its fourth straight win in the victory over Bakersfield behind 17 points by touted freshman Ziaire Williams, who made 9 of 10 shots from the free-throw line.
"I still really haven't had a game where I've been completely satisfied, but I know it's coming," Williams said of his 4-for-12 shooting performance from the field. "I'm just sticking with the process and trusting my coaches and teammates to guide me, and we'll be alright."
The Cardinal is one of two Power 5 conference teams to boast multiple road wins in nonconference play, joining Oklahoma State. Stanford is 2-0 on the road, winning by an average of 21.5 points per game.
--Field Level Media