Stanford takes the court Wednesday night for the first time since the Cardinal’s biggest win in several years, a 72-71 stunner at North Carolina on Saturday.
Miami comes to the Bay Area for an ACC matchup a few days removed from a 117-74 loss at home to SMU, the second-highest point total ever by an ACC team in a conference road game and the most by an ACC team in league play since 2003.
Stanford (12-6, 4-3 in ACC) is 9-1 at home this season, while the Hurricanes (4-14, 0-7) sit at the bottom of the conference standings with seven consecutive losses. This will be the fifth time the two teams have ever played each other.
The Cardinal are led by center Maxime Raynaud’s 20.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. He leads the conference in both categories. Raynaud, last year’s Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year, has 11 20-point games this season.
Jaylen Blakes has made two game-winning shots this season, following his jumper with 1.5 seconds to play at North Carolina. Blakes averages 14.8 points per game and a team-best 5.3 assists.
“Us getting in the ACC, we’re not going to get any breaks. You have to earn your respect,” Stanford head coach Kyle Smith said.
Miami has dropped six straight games under new coach Bill Courtney, who stepped in when Jim Larranaga retired suddenly last month. Each of the last four losses has been by at least 10 points.
Guard Nijel Pack’s 13.9 points per game lead Miami, but Pack has not played since December due to a foot injury. Guard Matthew Cleveland, a Florida State transfer, averages 13.8 points, but opposing teams are shooting 49.5 percent against Miami’s defense, one of the worst yields in the country.
“We’ve preached and preached about fighting through adversity, but when you’re 18 to 22 years old and it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, sometimes that can affect your mentality,” Courtney told the Miami Herald this week. “I think that’s what happened to us.”
–Field Level Media
