Stanford vs. Virginia Will Have Underrated Matchup to Keep an Eye On

Over the last few years, American basketball has been welcoming more and more high level foreign born players. The NBA has had stars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic.

Even college basketball has seen Alex Condon compete for a national championship, Xaivian Lee dominated in the Ivy League and earned a transfer to Florida, and even Chad Baker-Mazara contributed for Auburn and then found himself dominating at USC. This weekend, we get an intriguing matchup between two foreign born players from the same country.

Today Stanford is taking on Virginia in a road ACC battle with tons of implications. Both teams are hot, winning games at home and on the road, and both are 2-1 in conference play. Each program has high hopes for later in the season, too. But what many may not realize, is contributing players on both sides are both from the same country, and also both freshmen.

Virginia’s best player is a 6-foot-9 freshman from Belgium, named Thijs de Ridder. From day one on campus, it was clear that he would be a top player on the Cavaliers. In his first five games, he put up at least 20 points in four of them, including 26 against Northwestern in a close win.

While he has had a few tough performances, he is typically a consistent big man that can give you 15-20 points a night. But it’s not just his scoring that helps the Cavaliers. De Ridder has also put up big rebounding games, grabbing 10 boards on opening night, nine against Dayton, and even 13 against Virginia Tech in their triple overtime loss.

The star is averaging 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season, leading his 23rd ranked Virginia in scoring. He has proven that he is a top player in the ACC this season.

But Stanford has added a player this season that can defend stars in the paint, and is great at blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. He is also a freshman, and he is also from Belgium.

Oskar Giltay is almost identical in frame with De Ridder, but has an extra inch on his height, listed at 6-foot-10. He could stop his Belgian counterpart on Saturday.

Giltay didn’t do much early for the Cardinal, scoring every other game, but occasionally having a big rebounding night. But against Portland at the beginning of December, Giltay exploded for 15 points, going 5-for-5 from the field, with eight rebounds. The next game, he grabbed 14 rebounds to go along with 9 points. From there, it was clear Stanford had a young rising star on their hands.

After impressing in late non-conference play, Giltay has become the starter throughout the last two conference games. And in those contests, Stanford is 2-0, beating No. 16 Louisville at home and Virginia Tech on the road. Giltay put up 8 points and 13 rebounds in his most recent game against the Hokies. Overall, Giltay averages a strong 4.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season.

It’s clear that De Ridder is a great player, but there is potential for him to get stopped by Stanford's own Belgian freshman.

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