Stanford Basketball Takes on Cal with Huge NCAA Tournament Implications

Stanford will look to keep the wins coming against Cal on Saturday night

Mar 12, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Kyle Smith reacts in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It’s Big Game weekend here in Palo Alto, where the two local athletic and academic powerhouses meet up. Every year, this game brings bragging rights, competitiveness, and almost always dictates a teams’ season. This year will be no different. Welcome to the Big Game.

Stanford and Cal come into this game at a very similar level. The Bears rank 60 in NET, while the Cardinal sit at No. 68. In KenPom, Cal is 76, while Stanford is 77. The analytics back up the fact that both teams are almost exactly similar in their overall ability. The team that wins this game will hold an advantage when it comes time to hand out berths to the NCAA tournament.

The Cardinal are currently 14-5 coming into the game, and have six wins in either quad one or two. They have beaten No. 14 North Carolina, No. 16 Louisville, St. Louis, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, and Colorado. Their “good” losses come to No. 6 Duke and No. 23 Virginia, their two most recent losses, while bad losses earlier in the season include Seattle, UNLV, and Notre Dame to begin ACC play.

The Bears are in a similar boat, as they match Stanford’s 14-5 record. Cal’s two quad one/quad two wins are No. 14 North Carolina and No. 18 UCLA, showing that they can also compete with anyone. Their two most recent opponents are the same as Stanford's, and both programs beat a visiting North Carolina, while both fell to Duke.

Stanford’s roster has taken a recent hit with the loss of Chisom Okpara, but still have enough star power to compete. Freshman Ebuka Okorie is averaging a strong 22.1 points per game, building his case for a potential All-American year in Palo Alto.

Benny Gealer is putting up 10.1 points per game this year, and has been quite the threat from three point range. Jeremy Dent-Smith has immensely improved his game recently, and after back to back 18+ point games, the DII transfer is now averaging 7.9 PPG on the year.

Cal is led by Virginia and Michigan transfers Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen. Ames is putting up 17.4 points a night, while Pippen has 14.6. Both stars can go off on any given day, and Saturday night is their big chance to prove themselves on a big stage. John Camden, a transfer from Delaware, is averaging a sneaky 13.4 points per game after his big night against North Carolina.

ESPN gives Stanford a 60.6% chance to get the victory in their home court, so this one figures to be close.

We are going to pick Stanford in a down to the wire battle. Every time these two programs play, it always comes down to the wire. This year is no different. The Cardinal match up well with the Bears, and therefore should succeed on the shoulders of Okorie. We'll pick Stanford 78-74, getting a big quad two win, and bringing home their sixth win over the Bears in a row.

In about a month, these two teams will meet up one more time during the regular season, but with Cal hosting Stanford on Saturday, February 21. Today's game will be on the ACC Network.