Game 12: No. 5 Kansas at Stanford – Preview and Prediction

The No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks return to action after the Christmas break, as they travel out west to take on the Stanford Cardinal. The Jayhawks look to get back on track after a frustrating at Villanova a week ago.

• Sunday, December 29, 2019, 2:00 pm CDT
• Maples Pavilion — Palo Alto, Calif.
• ABC or ESPN App
• No. 5/5 Kansas (9-2) continues its two-game road trip at Stanford (11-1), Sunday, Dec. 29, at 2 p.m. (Central). Kansas’ two losses in 2019-20 have been by a combined three points and both against ranked foes.
• Kansas is 94-13 following at loss in the Bill Self era, which started in 2003- 04, including 1-0 this season. Incredibly, KU has been even more efficient over the last six seasons, amassing a record of 43-5 after losses. This includes an 8-1 mark last season in 2018-19.
• With its 95-68 win against Milwaukee on Dec. 10, KU became just the second NCAA DI team (Gonzaga, 307) to claim 300 wins during this decade. KU sits at 301-68 in the 2010’s, good for an .816 win percentage.
• Kansas leads the series with Stanford 11-3, and the Jayhawks have won the last three meetings. The Dec. 29 contest will be only the third meeting between the schools at Stanford with the last in 1968.
•  Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring at 81.9 points per game, while Stanford leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense, allowing 57.5 points per contest.
• Kansas ranks third nationally in field goal percentage at 52.1 percent. KU is one of only seven teams shooting above 50 percent in 2019-20.

Cardinal to Watch

Oscar Da Silva – Junior, Forward, 6’9″
Da Silva is Stanford’s leading scorer and rebounder at 17.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG. He’s averaging 22 PPG over his last four games, including a season-high 26 back on December 1^st against UNC-Wilmington.

Tyrell Terry – Freshman, Guard, 6’1”
Terry is right there with Da Silva in terms of being able to put up 20+ points. The freshman guard has five 20-point efforts this year, while averaging 15.5 PPG – good enough for second on the team. Terry is also leading the team by dishing out 3.4 APG. He also is pulling down 5.4 RPG. He is a do-it-all guard.

Prediction

I don’t have a great feeling going into this one for some reason. Kansas has had a week off. They didn’t look all too good last weekend against Villanova. I could see the Jayhawks having some rust and coming out flat. Kansas without a doubt will be the best team Stanford will play this season, so this game will be their Super Bowl. Stanford takes this one in another frustrating loss for the Jayhawks.

Stanford 74, Kansas 68
Stanford +5.5

AUDIO PREVIEW: LINK

Season Record: 9-2 (6-5 ATS)