SETTING THE SCENE
Returning home for its penultimate nonconference battle at Maples Pavilion, Stanford welcomes UT Arlington on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. The action will air on ACC Network Extra.
THE STARTING FIVE
• Stanford is out to an 8-2 start with wins over Minnesota, Saint Louis, Portland State, Montana, Montana State, Louisiana, Portland and San Jose State, outscoring its foes by an average of 9.1 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 14th in the country in scoring at 21.0 points per game and second among freshmen. He joins only Duke's Cameron Boozer and BYU's AJ Dybantsa as freshmen nationally north of 20 points per night. Chisom Okpara is averaging 15.2 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. Raynaud, Spencer Jones and Ziaire Williams have each scored 20 or more in the NBA since Dec. 1, including career highs for Jones (28) and Raynaud (25). Raynaud is posting 14.4 points per game over his last seven games with Sacramento.
LEVELING UP
Stanford's AJ Rohosy (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Division III) and Jeremy Dent-Smith (Cal State Dominguez Hills, Division II), have been revelations this season as graduate transfers. Rohosy - an All-American and Academic All-American last season at CMS - is averaging 10.4 points per game on 56 percent shooting with five games in double figures, while Dent-Smith - a two-time All-American at CSUDH - is averaging 8.2 points per game with four double-digit scoring performances.
GIVE BACK
The meeting with the Mavericks will be our holiday game, featuring a Holiday Toy Drive! Help the Cardinal give back this holiday season and bring a new, unopened, and unwrapped toy to donate at the door. All contributions will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities Bay Area!