SETTING THE SCENE
Opening the final regular season week at Maples Pavilion, Stanford will face Boston College for the first time in program history on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. The game will air on ACC Network, while the radio broadcast can be found on the GoStanford App, Varsity Network App and Sirius XM Channel 385.
THE STARTING FIVE
• The Cardinal is off to a 17-10 start (9-7 ACC), including conference wins over North Carolina, California (2x), Virginia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, Syracuse, NC State and Miami, and quadrant one NET wins over Santa Clara and the Tar Heels. The Cardinal is 14-2 at home this season and 7-1 in ACC play.
• Stanford’s roster holds an exciting mix of returning players, transfers and freshmen, led by the premier center in the country, Maxime Raynaud. The Pac-12 Most Improved Player last season, Raynaud is 17th nationally in scoring at 19.9 points per game and third in rebounding with 11.2 per night. He leads the ACC in scoring and rebounding, and his 20 double-doubles this season pace the nation. No other major conference player has more than 17 (Johni Broome, Auburn).
• Three players are averaging double figures, paced by Raynaud but also including Jaylen Blakes (13.8) and Oziyah Sellers (13.9). 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.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Stanford enters the meeting with Boston College with the ACC's second-best home record at 14-2 overall, including a 7-1 mark in the ACC. Duke is 8-0 in the ACC at home, while the Cardinal are one of four one-loss teams at home in conference play, along with Clemson, Louisville and North Carolina. Stanford has outscored all opponents at home by 12.4 points per game and 10.9 points per night in ACC play.
#BEATCAL
On a night when the program honored legendary head coach Mike Montgomery in front of a near sell-out crowd, Stanford completed a regular season sweep over rival California, downing the Golden Bears 66-61 on Feb. 22 at Maples Pavilion. Maxime Raynaud led the offense with 20 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks. Oziyah Sellers finished with 14 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 mark at the free throw line, while Ryan Agarwal scored 11 points and Jaylen Blakes had 10. The Cardinal defense forced 13 California (12-15, 5-11 ACC) turnovers while holding the Golden Bears to 34.5 percent shooting from the floor.
The regular season sweep was Stanford's first over California since 2021, while the unbeaten mark could be the first total sweep over Cal since 2015. Stanford is 4-0 in the last four meetings with its archrival.