GAME NOTES: The Stanford Cardinal hit the road for non-conference action, as they take on the DePaul Blue Demons on Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

Johnny Dawkins' Cardinal have just one loss on the season, that being a 70-59 setback to powerhouse Duke back on Nov. 22. Stanford has gained some distance from that loss with an 84-57 whipping of Delaware last Tuesday, moving the team to 4-1 on the season.

Oliver Purnell's Blue Demons will attempt to do the same thing Stanford did last time out, bounce back from their first loss of the season. DePaul opened the year with wins over UIC (72-71) and Drake (80-62), but dropped an 86-74 decision to Lehigh last Wednesday.

Stanford has won two of the three all-time meetings with DePaul, including the last time these teams met, an 81-74 overtime decision in Anaheim in 2010.

Other than the Duke game, Stanford has really been effective at both ends of the court this year. The team is averaging 78.0 ppg on .477 shooting, while limiting the opposition to just 61.8 ppg on .377 efficiency. In addition, Stanford lives comfortably in terms of rebounding margin (+10.4). Senior guard Chasson Randle is the straw that stirs the Stanford drink, as he leads the team in scoring at 18.0 ppg. Senior center Stefan Nastic is the perfect complement with is interior dominance, adding 15.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Yet another veteran, swingman Anthony Brown (13.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg) has done a little bit of everything for the Cardinal.

The Cardinal put the defensive clamps on the Blue Hens last week, holding Delaware to a mere .250 shooting performance in the first half, while taking an insurmountable 44-21 lead into the break. Four of Stanford's five starters notched double-digit point totals in the win, led by Randle's 15 points. Nastic, Roscoe Allen and Brown all netted 12 points in the win.

Although the sample size isn't huge, the Blue Demons have scoring balance as well. The team is averaging 75.3 ppg on .447 shooting, with four of the team's five starters averaging double figures. Myke Henry leads the charge, averaging 16.0 ppg on a healthy .543 shooting. Billy Garrett Jr. is a close second at 14.0 ppg, followed by Tommy Hamilton IV and Jamee Crockett at 12.7 and 11.0 ppg, respectively.

A slow start plagued the Blue Demons last time out, as they shot a mere .303 from the floor in the first half and trailed Lehigh by 11 points at intermission. The team was unable to fight its way back, despite getting a big game from Henry. The 6-foot-6 junior recorded a double-double with a game-high 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Garrett added 15 points to the cause, while Crockett (13 pts) and Hamilton (12 pts) also made contributions in the loss.

The Blue Demons have the potential to be much improved this season, but Stanford's balance inside and out will cause some problems in this one. Randle and Nastic will put up enough numbers to give the Cardinal a hard-fought win here.