Where Stanford Basketball Fits in ACC Tournament

With the regular season now behind us, we now know where Stanford men's basketball sits in the ACC standings, and when they will be playing. Finishing with an 11-9 record in conference play, that was good enough for a seventh-place finish in the tough ACC, and has earned Stanford a bye in round one.

Following the bye, Stanford is scheduled to take on the winner of the No. 15/10 matchup, which will take place on Tuesday between the California Golden Bears (No. 15), and the Virginia Tech Hokies (No. 10).

The good news here is that Stanford has gone undefeated against these two teams in particular this season, sweeping the season series with rival Cal, two games to none, while also adding a win over Tech, 70-59. That 11-point win was also the largest margin of victory in the three games, with the Cardinal beating Cal 89-81 in Berkeley in December, and 66-61 at home in late February.

The one potential downside here is that Stanford has thrived at home, going 16-2 this season, while holding a 3-8 record on the road, and an 0-2 mark at neutral sites. These ACC tournament games will played in North Carolina at the Spectrum Center, or in other words, away from Maples.

This tournament could end up being big for Maxime Raynaud, who will be looking towards the NBA Draft once the season is officially over. The 7-foot-1 Frenchman has taken big steps forward this season, averaging 20.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per contest, which led to a nation-leading 23 double-doubles this season.

Still, he's viewed as a second round selection in the draft according to current mocks, and a big showing in the ACC tournament could help propel him towards the top of that second round, as opposed to a mid-to-late round pick.

Last year in the Pac-12 tournament, Stanford faced Cal in the first round, and went home with a win, 87-76, Raynaud had 22 points and 14 rebounds in that one, leading all scorers and all rebounders. A similar performance from Raynaud, no matter the opponent on Wednesday, would go a long way to securing a second-round win in the tournament.

If Stanford were to win their game on Wednesday, they would then go on to face Louisville on Thursday for the second time in under a week. The Cardinal and Cardinals matched up on Saturday, with Louisville taking home the win.

That said, Stanford was able to hold Louisville in check defensively, but they also shot just 20% from the floor in the first half. Perhaps a rematch would be a little closer.

Tip-off for Wednesday's game against either Cal or Virginia Tech is scheduled for 4 p.m. (PT) and will air on ESPN2.