SETTING THE SCENE
On the heels of its championship at the Acrisure Invitational, Stanford returns home to Maples Pavilion to face Portland on Monday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. contest will air on ACC Network Extra.
THE STARTING FIVE
• Stanford is out to a 6-1 start with wins over Minnesota, Saint Louis, Portland State, Montana, Montana State, and Louisiana, outscoring its opponents by an average of 9.4 points per game.
• Stanford won the Acrisure Invitational with wins over the Gophers and Billikens, with Benny Gealer's buzzer beater On Nov. 28 sending Stanford home victorious.
• Ebuka Okorie ranks fifth in the country in scoring at 23.0 points per game and first among freshmen. Chisom Okpara is averaging 15.7 points per night, which ranks 17th in the ACC.
• The Cardinal posted a successful first season under the leadership of Kyle Smith, winning the program’s most games since 2014-15 (21) and matching a program record for wins on its home court (17). 2025-26 marks the program’s second year in the ACC, after Stanford finished seventh in its maiden season. The Cardinal was postseason bound for the first time since 2018, appearing in the NIT.
• Maxime Raynaud graduated from Stanford in 2025 after posting one of the top seasons in program history, and the All-American was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in June.
ACRISURE INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS
With wins over Minnesota and Saint Louis, Stanford captured its first multi-team event championship since the 2007 Basketball Travelers Classic, winning the Acrisure Invitational. The Cardinal opened with a win over Minnesota on Thanksgiving Day, 72-68, to reach the championship game. Ebuka Okorie led the way with 25 points, while Benny Gealer had 14 and Chisom Okpara 11. Chisom Okpara led four Cardinal players in double figure with 19 points against the Billikens, while Okorie had 17, Jeremy Dent-Smith 12 and AJ Rohosy 11. Trailing by two in the closing seconds, Okorie missed a free throw intentionally, which was rebounded by Rohosy, who found Gealer for the game-winner with 0.8 to play. Gealer was honored as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
LOOKING FOR AN OREGON SWEEP
Stanford is looking for a sweep of the Portland-based programs when the Pilots fly to Maples on Monday, as it dispatched Portland State in the season-opener, 89-79. Stanford is just 1-2 all-time against the Pilots, with the teams last meeting in 1980 and the Cardinal's lone win coming in the 1967-68 season opener. Kyle Smith is 3-0 all-time against Shantay Legans-coached teams, dating back to when Legans was at Eastern Washington and Smith at San Francisco and Washington State. The Cardinal also posted an exhibition win over Oregon on Oct. 30, 78-70.