Stanford MBB Advances in NIT

Stanford men's basketball will play another day after their 87-70 win over Cal State Northridge on Tuesday evening in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). With the win, the Cardinal will take on Kent State, who upset No. 3 seeded Saint Bonaventure in their opening round matchup. Kent State came out ahead 75-56.

The Cardinal took the lead when Ryan Agarwal hit a three 48 seconds into the game, and they never looked back. Those 48 seconds were the only time that the teams were tied in the entire contest, and Stanford held the lead for 38:57 in the official box score. They would hold a 46-29 lead at the break, while the teams played evenly in the second half, putting up 41 points apiece.

Northridge wouldn't get closer than a 13 point deficit in the second half.

The lines at the end of the game were comparable, with Stanford hitting 47% of their shots, and CSUN draining 46% of theirs. The rebounding was even, second-chance points were even, and CSUN even held a large advantage, 42-24 in the paint.

The biggest difference in the game was Stanford's range, with the Cardinal dropping 12-of-31 (39%) from beyond the arc, while CSUN made just four threes and shot 24% from deep.

Oziyah Sellers led the way from three, hitting 3-of-7 and finishing with 20 points in the game. He added three rebounds, an assist, a block, and two steals. His 20 points ranked second on the team, giving him 20 points in back-to-back contests.

Of course, it was NBA draft prospect Maxime Raynaud that led the scoring with 22, adding 11 boards, two assists, and an impressive five blocked shots. The five blocks ties a season high, which he also accomplished against Cal in an 89-81 win over the Golden Bears on December 7.

Earlier in the day, Raynaud was named an AP All-American honorable mention. Raynaud became Stanford’s single-season rebound leader on the night, passing Adam Keefe’s 33-year-old record from 1991-92, and moved into the top-10 on Stanford’s all-time scoring list.

He ended the evening in ninth place with 1,601 career points, moving past John Revelli and Howard Wright. Raynaud also becomes the third Stanford player in program history to reach 1,600 career points and 900 career rebounds, along with Keefe and Kim Belton

Junior Benny Gealer contributed 13 points off the bench, shooting 3-of-9 from deep and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also added a pair of rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

For the game, Stanford racked up 17 assists on 28 total baskets (12 from three). They also put together eight total blocks and six steals as a unit.

As for the rest of Stanford's region, both No. 1 San Francisco and No. 4 San Jose State will play on Wednesday. If both teams were to advance, they would play each other. The Cardinal, as previously mentioned, will take on Kent State on Sunday, March 23. The game time and television designation will be announced after the completion of the first round games in the NIT.

Kent State went 22-11 during the regular season, while Stanford improved to 21-13 with their NIT win last night.