SETTING THE SCENE
Bringing a historic rivalry to the Atlantic Coast Conference, Stanford men's basketball travels to Berkeley to face Cal to open league play on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. on ACC Network.
THE STARTING FIVE
• The Cardinal is off to a 7-2 start with wins over Denver, Cal State Fullerton, Northern Arizona, UC Davis, Norfolk State, Santa Clara and Utah Valley. Stanford started 6-0 for the first time since 2019.
• Stanford’s roster holds an exciting mix of returning players, transfers and freshmen, led by All-Pac-12 standout, and one of the best centers in the country, Maxime Raynaud. The Pac-12 Most Improved Player last season, Raynaud is ninth nationally in scoring at 22.3 points per game and third in rebounding with 12.2 per night. He leads the ACC in scoring and is second in rebounding, and his eight double-doubles this season pace the nation.
• Three players are averaging double figures, paced by Raynaud but also including Jaylen Blakes (15.9) and Oziyah Sellers (14.1). Blakes is averaging 19.0 per game over the last three outings.
• Stanford has won the last two meetings with Cal, while the matchup, while the Dec. 7 meeting with the Bears will be the earliest meeting in program history - the first ever before the Christmas holiday.
• Kyle Smith joined the Cardinal from Washington State as the reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year, where he led the Cougars to 25 wins and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24. Smith brought his entire staff from Washington State to the Farm along with program icon Eric Reveno, who was at Oregon State from 2022-24 and was previously on the Cardinal bench from 1997-2006.
THE NATION'S LEADING CENTER
Maxime Raynaud has been the nation's premier center, averaging 22.3 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, ranking ninth and third nationally, while also leading the country in double-doubles (8). Stanford has never had a player finish higher than third on the national rebounding leaderboard (Curtis Borchardt, 2001-02), while his scoring average is on pace to be a top-two average in program history. The closest comparison at Stanford is Adam Keefe, who was 11th in scoring (25.3) and fourth in rebounds (12.2) in 1991-92.
#BEATCAL
Stanford took two of three meetings in 2023-24 against the Bears, including an overtime victory in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. Despite trailing in the all-time series, 131-154, Stanford has won six of the last 10 meetings and is 52-29 since the Mike Montgomery era began on The Farm. Maxime Raynaud has averaged 15.8 points per game against Cal in the last two seasons, and he scored 20 or more in each of the last two matchups.