Virginia’s Journey: The Stanford Cardinal Connection

SETTING THE SCENE
The Stanford men’s basketball team continues its homestand, part of seven games over 10 contests at Maples Pavilion, as Virginia comes to town for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Jan. 11. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

THE STARTING FIVE
• The Cardinal has had a strong 10-5 start (2-2 ACC), achieving conference victories against California and Virginia Tech, along with a quadrant one NET triumph over Santa Clara. They have an impressive home record of 8-1 this season.
• Stanford’s roster features a thrilling combination of returning athletes, transfers, and newcomers, highlighted by one of the leading centers in the nation, Maxime Raynaud. The Pac-12 Most Improved Player from last season, Raynaud ranks 10th nationally in scoring with an average of 20.7 points per game and is third in rebounding with 11.6 boards per game. He tops the ACC in both scoring and rebounding, and his 12 double-doubles this season lead the nation. No other player in major conferences has surpassed 10 double-doubles, and no other ACC player has more than seven.
• Three athletes are scoring in double digits, led by Raynaud, along with Jaylen Blakes (14.8) and Oziyah Sellers (14.1). Both Blakes and Sellers are having career-best seasons by a significant margin.
• Stanford began its ACC schedule with an 89-81 win on Dec. 7 at California. This victory marked the first for Stanford at Haas since 2021 and marked the third consecutive win overall in this rivalry. The Cardinal increased its conference tally with a 70-59 win over Virginia Tech on Jan. 8.
• Kyle Smith transitioned to the Cardinal from Washington State, where he was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to 25 victories and a second-round NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023-24. Smith brought his entire coaching crew from Washington State to Stanford, alongside program legend Eric Reveno, who was at Oregon State from 2022-24 and previously served on the Cardinal bench from 1997-2006.

CARD MEETS CAVS
Stanford boasts a 7-1 all-time record against Virginia, including a streak of six successive victories from 1992-2010. This match marks their fifth face-off at Maples Pavilion, where Stanford holds a 4-0 edge. The Cardinal secured the last encounter by a margin of 21 points, winning 81-60 in 2010, led by Jeremy Green’s 21 points. Additionally, this game features Cole Kastner going up against his previous school, as Kastner is a three-time All-American lacrosse player at Virginia.

THE NATION’S LEADING CENTER
Maxime Raynaud has emerged as the top center in the country this season, averaging 20.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, placing him 10th and third nationally, respectively, while also leading the nation in double-doubles with 12. He became the first Stanford player to achieve seven consecutive double-doubles since Reid Travis performed the same feat from Feb. 24 to March 19, 2018.

He leads the ACC in both scoring and rebounding and ranks fourth in field goal efficiency. Stanford has not had an athlete finish higher than third on the national rebounding leaderboard (Curtis Borchardt, 2001-02), while his scoring average is projected to be among the top eight averages in program history. The closest statistical comparison at Stanford to Raynaud is Adam Keefe, who ranked 11th in scoring (25.3) and fourth in rebounds (12.2) in 1991-92.

Raynaud joined the elite 1,000-point club at Stanford as the 51st member, currently ranking 34th in program history with 1,227 points. Needing just two more points to surpass Arthur Lee ’99’s 1,229 and Kris Weems ’99’s 1,235. Raynaud is also currently 10th on the all-time rebounding list (792) and is just six rebounds away from ninth place (John Revelli ’84, 798). He is poised to be the seventh player in Stanford’s history to achieve 1,200 career points and 800 rebounds.