SETTING THE SCENE
In a battle for fourth place in the ACC, Stanford men's basketball travels to SMU on Saturday, Feb. 1 for a 3 p.m. PT tip. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.
THE STARTING FIVE
• The Cardinal is off to a 15-6 start (7-3 ACC), including conference wins over North Carolina, California, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, Syracuse and Miami, and quadrant one NET wins over Santa Clara and the Tar Heels. The Cardinal is 12-1 at home this season and 5-0 in ACC play.
• Stanford’s roster holds an exciting mix of returning players, transfers and freshmen, led by one of the premier centers in the country, Maxime Raynaud. The Pac-12 Most Improved Player last season, Raynaud is 11th nationally in scoring at 20.5 points per game and third in rebounding with 11.9 per night. He leads the ACC in scoring and rebounding, and his 17 double-doubles this season pace the nation. No other player in the country has more than 14 and no other major conference player has more than 12.
• Three players are averaging double figures, paced by Raynaud but also including Jaylen Blakes (14.6) and Oziyah Sellers (14.3). Both players are posting career-best numbers by a comfortable margin.
• Blakes has showcased his clutch gene this season with game winning baskets in the closing seconds against both Santa Clara and North Carolina. Blakes made national headlines on Jan. 18 with his last-second winner against the Tar Heels, while his sister, Mikayla, a freshman at Vanderbilt, scored a game-winner of her own less than 24 hours later against Tennessee.
• 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.
THROUGH THE QUAD AND INTO THE GYMNASIUM
The Cardinal enters Saturday on a four-game winning streak, and a 5-0 mark at home in the ACC. Stanford is 12-1 at home for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign - a season in which the Cardinal won the NIT. The Cardinal has also earned its first 6-1 stretch during conference play since 2008, when Stanford went 9-1 from Jan. 5-Feb. 9. Stanford is one of four ACC schools with multiple quadrant one wins.
THE NET RESULT
Stanford enters the matchup with the Mustangs at No. 68 in the NET rankings (Jan. 30). The matchup is currently a quadrant one contest, as SMU slots in at No. 42. 15 of Stanford’s 31 regular season games are currently slated to be in quadrant one or two, including nine in Q1. Stanford is one of four ACC programs with multiple quadrant one wins, joining Duke, Clemson and Louisville.
vs. Quad 1: 2-4 (Wins over North Carolina, Santa Clara)
vs. Quad 2: 1-1 (Win over California)
vs. Quad 3: 4-0 (Wins over Florida State, Virginia, Syracuse, Utah Valley)
vs. Quad 4: 8-1 (Wins over Miami, Virginia Tech, Norfolk State, Merrimack, UC Davis, Northern Arizona, Cal State Fullerton and Denver)