Washington Huskies vs Stanford Cardinal: Predictions, Odds and Roster Notes

Where: Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA, USA.

When: Sunday, March 3rd at 4pm EST.

How (TV/Radio): ESPN2 |

Washington Huskies (Away)

Head Coach: Mike Hopkins {Overall: 22-6, .786 W-L% | Conference: 13-2, 1st in Pac-12}

The Huskies have been arguably the lone bright spot in what has been a historically weak Pac-12 conference. Washington has capitalized on down years from traditional powers Arizona and UCLA to take control of the conference and made themselves a virtual lock for the NCAA tournament.

Mike Hopkins’ team will look to continue their dominance as they travel to Palo Alto to take on a middling Stanford team, whom they beat 80-64 on January 17th. Sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell led the way with 22 points, while fellow sophomore Nahziah Carter came off the bench to drop 13 points.

In their most recent game, the Huskies were dealt their second conference loss by California in Berkeley on February 28th. Senior guard David Crisp went off for 32 points in the 76-73 defeat to Bears, who snapped a 23 game losing streak in conference play.

Stanford Cardinal (Home)

Head Coach: Jerod Haase {Overall: 15-13, .536 W-L% | Conference: 8-8, T-6th in Pac-12}

Stanford has dealt with a rough season, starting off with a challenging non-conference schedule featuring the likes North Carolina, Wisconsin, Florida, and Kansas. Things did not get better when conference play started, as they opened their Pac-12 slate by losing 5 of their first 7 contests.

The Cardinal will look to close out their season on a high note by avenging their earlier loss at Washington. Sophomore forward, Kezie Okpala was the leading scorer with 22 points, while 7-foot senior center Josh Sharma chipped in with 17 points.

Stanford enters this game coming off a win against the Huskies’ in-state rival Washington State, as the Cardinal laid a 98-50 home beatdown on the Cougars on February 28th. Okpala led in scoring again with 22 points, while reserves Cormac Ryan and Isaac White each contributed 14 points off the bench. A key factor to the massive margin of victory was poor shooting on Washington State’s part, as the Cougars managed to hit just 30.8% of their attempts from the field.

Washington Roster Notes

The Huskies have no roster news to report.

Stanford Roster Notes

Sophomore guard Daejon Davis hurt his foot in the Washington State game. There have been no updates on his condition thus far.

Head-to-Head: Jaylen Nowell vs Daejon Davis

Jaylen Nowell

Shooting Guard | 6-4, 200lb (193cm, 90kg) | Garfield HS | Seattle, WA | Sophomore

16.3 PPG | 3.2 APG | 5.5 RPG | 1.3 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 3.1 TOV | .506 FG% | .441 3P%

Daejon Davis

Point Guard | 6-3, 185lb | Garfield HS | Seattle, WA | Sophomore

11.8 PPG | 4.6 APG | 3.0 RPG | 1.6 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 3.2 TOV | .434 FG% | .354 3P%

The matchup to watch in this game will involve two former high school teammates from Seattle. Both players are similar in size as well as the roles they play for their respective teams.

Jaylen Nowell has been a key contributor from the moment he stepped on campus and started all but three games as a freshman last season. One area where he has improved is his three-point shooting, as he has raised his long-range accuracy above the 40% mark after hitting 35% of his threes last year. His defines have also made him a valuable asset for the Huskies, as evidenced by his 1.8 defensive win shares which rank third in the Pac-12.

Nowell’s teammate at Garfield High School, Daejon Davis, also managed to hit the ground running as he has started all but one game during the first two years of his college career. He has been a steady but not explosive source of offense for Stanford this year, as he has failed to reach double figures only twice in conference play while having yet to reach 20 points in a game this season.

Washington at Stanford Predictions and Odds

Oddsmakers are predicting a tight game as they favor Washington by just 2 points. The over/under for the game is currently at 134.5