Stanford looks to stay in the win column when Rice comes to town on Monday.
This is the first time these teams have faced each other since Nov. 30, 2003.
The Cardinal (2-0) have recorded wins against Eastern Washington and Oakland to begin this season.
The season opener was a back-and-forth battle with the Eagles, with Stanford leading just 34-30 at the half. Julius Price led the way with 17 points, while Yale transfer Nick Townsend contributed 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Townsend was the hero against the Golden Grizzlies, posting 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in Friday’s emphatic 81-63 victory at Maples Pavilion.
Fellow transfer Christian Bliss posted 17 points and eight rebounds, and returning forward Aidan Cammann added 13 points. Aziz Olajuwon went 2-for-5 from 3-point range to end the night with six points and six rebounds.
“Including our exhibition (games), I thought that was our best team effort,” Stanford coach Kyle Smith said after the win against Oakland.
“We’re trying to form an identity. We’ve gone through the discovery phase. Every year we’ve added eight new guys, and every year is going to be different. But (tonight) it felt like we were locked into our roles and what we do, and kind of established things… (The Golden Grizzlies) are really good. They know what they’re doing. They played really well against Michigan. They had 21 offensive rebounds, so we were a little concerned because of our lack of rebounding. And our guys really responded.”
Meanwhile, the visiting Owls are looking for consistency after a 1-1 start to their campaign.
Rice started strong with a 100-55 win against Dallas Christian College, with Jacob Dar leading the way with 20 points and eight rebounds.
But they fell just short in their second game Thursday against an East Texas A&M squad coming off a season-opening upset at Oklahoma.
Dar contributed 13 points and seven rebounds, Jaxson Thompson posted 14 points and Jimmy Oladokun Jr. added a team-leading eight rebounds in the 72-71 home loss in Houston.
–Field Level Media
