Stanford Hosts Portland, Looking to Keep Streak Alive

Stanford will welcome in the Portland Pilots after a huge weekend of wins

Mar 8, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Ryan Agarwal (11) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Stanford 68-48. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

On Monday night, Stanford basketball plays a pivotal non-conference battle. The Cardinal will take on the Portland Pilots at 7 p.m. (PT) on ACC Extra. The game will be a home game for Stanford, played at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA.

Stanford comes off one of the best two-game slates the Cardinal have seen in years. First, they beat Minnesota in a thriller while being down 10 points early in the game. Then, the Cardinal beat Saint Louis on a buzzer beating shot by Benny Gealer after being down 13 earlier in that game. Their season has been off to a great start, and they sit at 6-1 in their first seven games of the season.

Portland has had a solid start to their year as well, currently sitting at 5-3 through their first eight games. The Pilots have big wins over UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton, but have also lost to Northern Colorado, St. Thomas, as well as Wyoming in ugly fashion, 93-56.

But as middle of the road as the Pilots have been, they certainly have a roster with depth, including some stars. Freshman Joel Foxwell has been averaging 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists, doing practically everything for the Pilots. But the depth pieces around him help as well.

Portland has Timo George and Mikah Ballew averaging 10-plus points per game on the year, and they have eight players that average at least six points per game.

Portland is a similar team to Stanford on the whole. They have a similar style of play, with a freshman as their ball dominant guard that does tons for the team. They also have a good mix of guards and bigs, size, and depth that can help when it matters.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this one plays out. Stanford is the better team on paper, but also could play down to a similar level and style of play. We saw them unable to hit a shot late against Seattle, earning them their first (and only) loss of the season.

Stanford is the heavy favorite in the contest, by -17.5 points. The Cardinal also have a 96% chance to win the game according to ESPN analytics.

Stanford is surely the better team but may struggle to cover the spread in a game where the schemes are so similar.

The will be the men's team's only home game until Sunday, so this will be the best way to get your fix on Stanford basketball early this week.