By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
Last week, Stanford completed the regular season sweep of California in the rivals’ first season in the ACC.
The Cardinal star Maxime Raynaud scored 20-plus points for the fourth consecutive game in the rivalry. The senior from Paris ended the game with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots.
Stanford led by as many as 17 in the win. The Bears came back and outscored Stanford in the second half, which was a theme all week for the Golden Bears.
In Cal’s second game of the week, they again played tough against an excellent SMU squad, falling by four points. Again, it was a strong finish for Cal as they outscored the Mustangs by nine points in the final 20 minutes, scoring 48 points in the second half.
Both Bay Area schools will play their final home games of the regular season when Cal welcomes Boston College to Haas Pavilion and Stanford plays host to SMU.
For the Bears, the Eagles offer a chance to snap their current five-game losing streak against an opponent that is a game behind them in the ACC standings.
The mid-week game for the Bears will be a different affair as they hit the road to play nationally ranked Louisville. The Cards have won six in a row and have already clinched a double bye in the conference tournament.
The Cardinal will have their work cut out for them on senior day with a visit from the high-scoring Mustangs of SMU.
This is a huge game for both teams, and Stanford can get a top-notch win and hopefully gain some ground in the conference standings.
The Mustangs are fighting for their NCAA hopes, and falling in Palo Alto would be a big blow to SMU’s chances.
The midweek game will take Stanford to struggling Notre Dame on Wednesday for the penultimate game of the regular season. That is a road win that the Cardinal desperately need and can’t afford to drop.
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).