- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Stanford will square off against San Francisco in the season opener on Friday, Nov. 9, with the game to be played at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The game is set to tip at 8 p.m.

The neutral site contest represents the first meeting between the two Bay Area programs since Nov. 23, 2005, when the Cardinal defeated the Dons 71-56 at Maples Pavilion. Stanford leads the all-time series 44-21.

Oracle Arena, an AEG managed facility, is the premier sports and entertainment facility in Northern California. Originally constructed in 1966, it has been home to the NBA's Golden State Warriors since 1971. Since its opening 46 years ago, Oracle Arena has hosted a spectrum of events in both the sporting and entertainment industries including concerts, circus, boxing, rodeos, religious speakers and ice shows.

Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Rex Walters, San Francisco (20-14, 8-8 WCC) is coming off its first 20-win campaign since a 25-6 finish in 1981-82. The Dons advanced to the postseason for the second straight season, falling to Washington State in the opening round of the CBI.

To purchase tickets via phone call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or purchase online here.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The 2012-13 schedule features 15 opponents who qualified for the postseason last year, an appearance in the loaded Battle 4 Atlantis and an unprecedented amount of television coverage.

Arguably the most challenging schedule in recent memory, Stanford will have an opportunity to quickly establish a high RPI thanks to a rigorous non-conference slate that includes Belmont, Missouri, NC State, Northwestern and two more teams out of a group that includes Louisville, Northern Illinois, Duke, VCU, Memphis and Minnesota.

With the launch of the Pac-12 Networks, every Pac-12 home contest will be televised this season. The 2012-13 Pac-12 men's basketball television package features 221 contests telecast to national and regional audiences, including 150 games aired on the Pac-12 Networks, 47 on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, 22 on FSN and two nationally on CBS.

The Pac-12 schedule once again comprises an 18-game format, featuring a home and road game against each institution's traditional rival, six other opponents both home and away (for two consecutive years) and four opponents on a single-game basis with two games at home and two on the road (rotating every two years). In 2012-13, Stanford will host the Washington schools and face the Arizona schools on the road.

The complete schedule can be found here.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Stanford will also appear in the loaded Battle 4 Atlantis, widely billed as the nation's best preseason tournament and taking place during Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 22-24) at the famed Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas.

The stacked eight-team field includes six squads that have participated in the NCAA Final Four over the last 15 seasons. This year's participants have combined for more than 160 NCAA postseason appearances.

The first round opponent for Stanford will be Missouri, which compiled a 30-5 overall record in a historic season last year while earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Big 12 Tournament championship. The winner will square off against either Louisville, tabbed by some national media outlets as a preseason No. 1, or Northern Iowa, which has won 93 games over the past four seasons. In the third game of the tournament, Stanford faces either Duke, Memphis, Minnesota or VCU.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anthony Brown has switched from No. 3 to No. 21, which was previously worn by Nick Robinson (2002-05). Junior Elliott Bullock will wear No. 51, which hasn't seen action since Bill Elfving (1960-61).

Freshman Rosco Allen will sport No. 12, most recently following up Olatunde Sobomehin (2002-03). Fellow rookie Christian Sanders has been assigned No. 1, last worn by Mitch Johnson (2006-09) while newcomer Grant Verhoeven is No. 30, most recently donned by Johannes Burge (1997-98).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two weeks ago, Josh Owens was signed as a free agent by the Charlotte Bobcats to join their training camp roster. Owens appeared in four games with the Bobcats Summer League team in Las Vegas, averaging 5.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.8 minutes.

As Owens attempts to stick with Charlotte, there are several other former Cardinal standouts that have changed teams heading into the 2012-13 NBA season.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A familiar face is back in the fold this year, with junior Elliott Bullock returning to the program. A 6-11 forward/center from Salt Lake City, Utah, Bullock rejoins the Cardinal after spending the last two years completing a Mormon mission in Houston, Texas.

Bullock's last appearance in a Stanford uniform came during the 2009-10 campaign, a season in which the Cardinal's roster featured only seven true scholarship players, two returning starters and six walk-ons. Bullock participated in 22 games off the bench that year, averaging 1.2 rebounds. He competed in 15 games during the 2008-09 campaign, hauling down 1.1 rebounds per contest.

The former walk-on adds depth to the Cardinal frontcourt, joining the 6-11 Stefan Nastic as Stanford's tallest players on the roster.

In a season that was highlighted by Landry Fields' 704 points (third-best total in school history), it was actually Bullock who scored Stanford's final bucket of the 2009-10 campaign when he converted on a lay-up in the final seconds of the Cardinal's Pac-10 Tournament loss to Washington.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Speaking of familiar faces, Cardinal fans only need to turn their attention toward the team bench.

Back in early June, head coach Johnny Dawkins announced the appointment of Mark Madsen as an assistant coach. One of the most iconic and inspirational players in school history, Madsen replaces Dick Davey, who announced his retirement last March after serving the past four years as the program's associate head coach.

Madsen, who will work primarily with the team's post players, has enjoyed success at every level of basketball. During his four-year career on The Farm, Madsen earned All-America honors in each of his final two seasons while helping lead the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1998 Final Four. A nine-year NBA veteran, Madsen spent six seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves following a three-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, in which he contributed to the franchise's 2001 and 2002 NBA championships.

Madsen, 36, has spent the last two years on campus, completing coursework toward his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Known to everyone as "Mad Dog" for his signature physical and aggressive style of play, Madsen averaged 10.9 points and 7.9 rebounds for his Cardinal career while ranking among the school's top-10 all-time performers in field goal percentage (fourth - 58.7), and rebounds (sixth - 857). A two-time All-Pac-10 selection, Madsen was tabbed a two-time All-American by the NABC (1999 Third Team, 2000 Second Team) and a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press in 2000. He was also named a member of the John R. Wooden Award team as a senior.

Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round (29th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft, Madsen played three seasons with the Lakers (2000-03) and was a member of back-to-back NBA championship teams in 2001 and 2002. He then signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a free agent prior to the 2003-04 campaign and played six seasons (2004-09) with the Wolves. During his tenure at Minnesota, Madsen was elected by his teammates to serve as the club's National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) player representative for three seasons.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rookies Rosco Allen, Christian Sanders and Grant Verhoeven will have an opportunity to contribute immediately this year. The trio should be excited to get going, considering how freshmen have flourished under head coach Johnny Dawkins' tenure.

In 2011-12, Chasson Randle was honored as one of five picks for the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, becoming the fourth player to earn All-Freshman Team status during Dawkins' tenure after a six-year period in which only two Cardinal rookies were honored.

Fielding a team without a senior for the first time in school history in 2010-11, Dawkins put his rookies in a position to excel as Anthony Brown and Dwight Powell were named to the All-Freshman Team. In addition to making more starts (47) than any other Pac-10 team, Stanford's freshmen logged the highest percentage of minutes played (41.7) and accounted for the highest percentage of scoring (40.3).

Jeremy Green was selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2009.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In addition to its success on the court last year, Stanford perhaps excelled even more in the classroom. During the 2011-12 campaign, Stanford was represented with a conference-best eight players named to the Pac-12 All-Academic team.

For the third season in a row under head coach Johnny Dawkins, Stanford had more honorees than any conference school. Stanford's four selections among the first and second teams were the program's most since 2004-05, when five Cardinal players accounted for the top 10 spots.

Jack Trotter and John Gage were named to the first team, Josh Owens and Andrew Zimmermann were appointed to the second team while Anthony Brown, Josh Huestis, Stefan Nastic and Dwight Powell earned honorable mention accolades. To be eligible for selection, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor.

Meanwhile, Trotter and Zimmermann were also selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court (cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher, academically a junior or senior). Trotter was also named the recipient of the Stanford Alumni Association's 2012 J.E. Wallace Sterling Award, recognizing his dedicated involvement in volunteer and leadership activities through service to Stanford.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For the 11th straight year, a different player led Stanford in scoring.

Chasson Randle closed out 2011-12 with a team-best 13.8 points per game, following Jeremy Green (16.7 ppg in 2010-11), Landry Fields (22.0 ppg in 2009-10), Anthony Goods (16.2 ppg in 2008-09), Brook Lopez (19.3 ppg in 2007-08), Lawrence Hill (15.7 ppg in 2006-07), Matt Haryasz (16.2 ppg in 2005-06), Dan Grunfeld (17.9 ppg in 2004-05), Josh Childress (15.7 ppg in 2003-04), Julius Barnes (16.0 ppg in 2002-03) and Casey Jacobsen (21.9 ppg in 2001-02).