SETTING THE SCENE
Stanford hits the road for the second time in ACC play, beginning with a trip to Miami on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) tip will air on ACC Network.
THE STARTING FIVE
• Stanford is out to a 14-6 start, including four quadrant one NET victories, marking its second-consecutive 14-6 start to the season. Stanford has ACC wins vs. No. 14/15 North Carolina, No. 16/13 Louisville and Virginia Tech.
• Ebuka Okorie ranks 11th in the country in scoring at 21.7 points per game and third among freshmen. He joins only Duke's Cameron Boozer and BYU's AJ Dybantsa as qualified freshmen nationally north of 21 points per night, and he was named in the top-10 rankings for national freshman of the year by ESPN, Bleacher Report, Field of 68 and Hoops HQ.
• Stanford won the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert with wins over Minnesota and Saint Louis, with Benny Gealer's buzzer beater on Nov. 28 sending the Cardinal home victorious.
• The Cardinal split its first ACC road trip, and it holds a 5-1 record away from home this season.
• 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, Brook Lopez, Spencer Jones and Ziaire Williams have each scored 20 or more in the NBA since Dec. 1. Raynaud is averaging 9.5 points per game, improving to 11.0 points per night in his 24 starts, while Jones has started 29 of his 41 appearances for the Denver Nuggets this season.
ROAD DOGS
Stanford has been a tough opponent away from home this season, going 3-0 in neutral site battles vs. Minnesota and Saint Louis in Palm Desert and Colorado in Phoenix, and 2-1 in true road games, with wins vs. Virginia Tech and San Jose State. Ebuka Okorie tallied 30-point performances in the wins over Colorado (32) and Virginia Tech (31), including a last-second winner against the Hokies. Benny Gealer was named MVP of the Acrisure Invitational after leading victories over the Billikens and Golden Gophers.
TAKING OUR TALENTS TO SOUTH BEACH
The meeting with Miami will be the sixth in program history and the second as ACC rivals. The Cardinal won last year's meeting in California by 37 points, 88-51, in the biggest margin of victory of the series. Stanford also faced Miami at the 2016 Advocare Invitational in Orlando (L, 67-53), but it defeated the Hurricanes in the 2015 NIT Championship game, led by 25 points from Chasson Randle and the game-winning free throws with 3.4 seconds to play. Maxime Raynaud led the effort a year ago with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while returners Ryan Agarwal and Chisom Okpara were also in double figures with 11 and 12, respectively.
HE'S HEATING UP
Graduate student guard Jeremy Dent-Smith is hitting his stride in ACC play, scoring 18 or more points in each of the last three games, including two straight with a season-high 20. Dent-Smith, a two-time Division II All-American, is 12 for his last 22 (54.5%) from 3-point range over the last three games, and his six 3-pointers against North Carolina are the second-most in any league game this season. The Hawthorne, California native ranks 17th in league games in 3-point percentage (38.9%), and he has increased his overall average in conference play to 10.9 points per game.