Know Your Opponent: Stanford
Indiana enters its third game in the Maui Invitational after two completely lopsided performances - a 21-point win and a 22-point loss. Wednesday will prove to be a pivotal game for the Hoosiers and the storyline associated with this team moving forward.
IU will face off against Stanford. The Cardinal come into this matchup after splitting their first two matchups, a blowout win against Alabama and then a tough, four point loss to North Carolina.
Led by Jerod Haase in his fifth season with Stanford, he has already turned the program around. Since he arrived, Stanford has won 68 games, recorded its best conference finish and most league wins in a decade and also earned a postseason berth for the first time in three years. He also has signed two top-10 recruiting classes, headlined by 2020 five-star wing Ziaire Williams.
Williams enters the Stanford program with high expectations. The freshman forward was ranked No. 6 in the Rivals150. A fluid athlete, Williams can shoot from the outside, put the ball on the floor and even use his size on the post against smaller defenders. So far this season, he is second on the team in scoring (14.5) while putting up 19 points in his college debut.
Stanford's top returning player from a year ago is Oscar Da Silva. The 6-foot-9 big was part of the All Pac-12 First Team last season after averaging 15.7 points per game. He's a versatile forward who does have the ability to step out on the perimeter, while still being able to use his sound skillset on the block. His length is part of the anchor of Stanford's top-10 defense.
Deajon Davis, the floor general, returns from last season and is a terrific two-way guard. He not only averaged 1.7 steals per game, he also averaged 3.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 8.8 points. It's another bigger guard with good length who will look to get into the backcourt of IU.
Stanford Projected Starters:
PG - Daejon Davis (Sr; 6-3; 190)
Season Stats: 15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg
SG - Bryce Wills (Jr; 6-6; 205)
Season Stats: 13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
SF - Ziaire Williams (Fr; 6-8; 185)
Season Stats: 14.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
PF - Spencer Jones (So; 6-7; 225)
Season Stats: 3.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.0 bpg
C - Oscar Da Silva (Sr; 6-9; 230)
Season Stats: 13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Things To Watch For Indiana:
The main thing to look for from IU is exactly how this team reacts to the blowout loss on Tuesday. It was an all-around terrible performance against Texas, but it will go a long way if Indiana can come out with a win on Wednesday, going 2-1 this week.
Al Durham isn't expected to play, so who steps up in his absence? Archie Miller talked postgame about some of the younger guys - could this be a breakout game for Khristian Lander? Rob Phinisee has had a solid start to his junior year, can he build on his first three games?
Indiana needs to get more from Trayce Jackson-Davis. He hasn't played great and has been forcing things offensively. Look for him to come out with a more calm mindset on Wednesday, while still knowing IU needs to win. Less size from Stanford will help as well.
Jerome Hunter hasn't been able to get going this week and the entire IU staff has talked about the importance of his ability to be able to play significant minutes. It's a smaller frontcourt than Texas, so look for Hunter to play more minutes today.
Game Information:
Who: Stanford (1-1) vs Indiana (2-1)
When: Wednesday, Dec. 2 @ 1:30 pm ET
Where: Asheville, NC
TV: ESPN (Jason Benetti and Bill Walton)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, Joe Smith)
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QUICK HITTERS
• Indiana and Stanford have played four times, Indiana going 4-0 in those meetings. The last game was in 1988, an 84-73 win for IU.
• This will be the first PAC-12 opponent IU will play since UCLA in 2007.
• Indiana is currently 33-20 against PAC-12 opponents.
• IU is holding opponents to 22.4 percent shooting from long range after 3 games.
• Stanford returns 74 percent of its scoring from a year ago,
• Ziaire Williams is the highest rated recruit in Stanford basketball history.
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