Will Stanford be Able to Sneak Into NCAA Tournament?

Stanford only has six regular season games left to prove that they belong in the NCAA tournament

Jan 22, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Kyle Smith claps against the Miami (FL) Hurricanes in the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The college basketball regular season is nearing its final stretch. With the calendar having flipped to February, programs are now approaching their final handful of games before postseason play begins. For Stanford men's basketball, only six games remain on its regular season schedule. And with where they stand, it could be very possible that every single one of those games becomes very meaningful.

Currently sitting at 16-9, having surpassed their win totals from the past two seasons, the Cardinal could still be in contention to earn their first spot in the March Madness tournament in about a decade. But, that will take wins in nearly all of their games.

Next up on the ledger for the Cardinal is a massive matchup with No. 3 Duke on Feb. 15, in what could very well be the game of the year for them. In what is expected to be a very hostile crowd, ACC stars Maxime Raynaud and Cooper Flagg will face-off, looking to prove who is the best in the conference.

While most likely not favored to win, keeping things competitive, or even pulling off the upset, could get the program another step closer to earning an at-large bid.

After Duke, Stanford will not face another ranked opponent for the rest of the regular season, as Cal, Boston College, SMU, Notre Dame and Louisville are not ranked. Three of the last five games are also at Maples, as after returning from the Duke trip, Stanford will then have three straight home games.

A major difference between last season and this season for Stanford as well is its depth. While last season's team has Raynaud, Spencer Jones and Andrej Stojakovic, this season's team has arguably more depth, with the Cardinal adding Jaylen Blakes from Duke into the starting lineup, where he has had a career year, while also adding key bench players in Chisom Okpara, Oziyah Sellers and three-star recruit, Evan Stinson, among others.

The rest of the campaign will be be crucial for Stanford, with each game providing a tough test, but with a coach in Smith who has a reputation of bringing teams back to relevance, as he did with both San Francisco and Washington State, and having players like Raynaud and Blakes who have proven that they can star in a tough ACC conference, confidence in the program's ability to end the streak could be high, with the expectation being that the future will be even brighter.