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STANFORD — The Stanford basketball team was dealt some harsh context to its surprising 11-1 record on Sunday when No. 5 Kansas visited Maples Pavilion.
The Jayhawks jumped out to an 11-0 lead and Stanford missed its first 14 shots on the way to a 72-56 Kansas victory in front of 6,582 fans that included a strong KU contingent.
Amazingly, the Cardinal (11-2) still had a chance even after its gruesome start. The Jayhawks (10-2) suffered from poor shot selection and a glut of early turnovers, allowing Stanford to climb within 22-16 late in the first half.
“We made a really good run at one point and that showed us we can compete with these guys,” said forward Oscar da Silva, who led Stanford with 19 points. “At no point did anybody think this game was over.”
Ultimately, even an often-sloppy KU performance was too much for Stanford, which will open Pac-12 play on Thursday at home against Cal.
The outcome muddies the best start in 11 years by Stanford, whose record previously was marred only by a one-point loss to a Butler team sitting at No. 3 in the NCAA’s NET computer rankings.
Stanford, picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12, entered play Sunday ranked No. 11 in the NET. But the Cardinal’s troubles scoring against Kansas call into question their prospects of finishing higher than the middle of the pack in conference.
“I don’t think that was our best effort, especially at the offensive end in the first half,” said Stanford coach Jerod Haase, whose team shot 22 percent in the half. Haase cited 19 turnovers by his team and KU’s 44-25 rebounding advantage as other key numbers.
“We have to reduce our turnovers, and obviously the boards,” he said. “Offensively, look, at some point you’ve got to make some shots.”
Against Kansas, whose two front-court starters were an average of three inches and 57 pounds bigger than their Cardinal counterparts, Stanford labored to find good shots.
The Cardinal was scoreless until da Silva made two free throws with 12:11 left in the first half and did not make a field goal until Isaac White dropped in a 10-foot baseline shot with 8:12 to go.
Stanford’s defense, which ranked 11th in the nation at just 57.5 points allowed per game, harassed Kansas into 1-for-12 shooting from the 3-point arc to start the game. KU had 14 first-half turnovers, equal to its season per-game average.
“Both teams were so inept offensively I’m sure it was a hard game of a lot of people to watch in the first half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “But we did defend and rebound.”
The Cardinal did a nice job of bottling up 7-foot, 270-pound Udoka Azubuike, who two years ago had 24 points, including seven dunks, in a win over Stanford. The big man had 13 rebounds and was a defensive deterrent in the lane, but had five turnovers and just two points.
The Jayhawks stretched the lead back to 28-18 by halftime and was up 42-24 after three straight 3-point baskets by Isaiah Moss in the opening five minutes of the second half.
Stanford’s starting guards, Tyrell Terry and Daejon Davis, combined to make just two of their first 17 shots. Terry, a freshman who was averaging 15.6 points, wound up with 10 points.
Haase remains winless in four tries against his alma mater, and this series is not scheduled to continue after the teams played each season since 2016-17. The Cardinal also dropped to 1-18 against AP Top-25 opponents under Haase.
Moss scored 17 points while Devon Dotson and Ochai Agbaji each had 14 for the Jayhawks, who shot 58 percent in the second half, including 6-for-8 from 3-point distance.
