Stanford Basketball Earns No. 2 Seed in NIT

Stanford's season is not over after all

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) passes the ball in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It is officially time for some tournament basketball. On Sunday, the annual selection show took place, unveiling the 64 programs that will participate in this year's edition of March Madness.

While the Stanford Cardinal will not be a part of the main NCAA tournament, a successful first season under new head coach Kyle Smith was good enough for them to punch their ticket to the National Invitation Tournament, where they received the No. 2 seed in the San Francisco region.

Finishing the season 20-13 before losing in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, the Cardinal were among the 32 teams invited to continue their season in postseason fashion, also securing home games in each of the first two rounds should they get that far.

To start things off, the No. 2 Cardinal will face Cal State-Northridge on March 18, with the winner facing either St. Bonaventure (No. 3) or Kent State.

Other teams in the Cardinal's bracket include San Francisco, Utah Valley, San Jose State and Loyola Chicago.

While the NIT does not have the same feel that March Madness has, Stanford earning a trip to this year's tournament speaks volumes to where they are as a program compared to in years past.

In what was supposed to be a major rebuilding year, with not only a new head coach taking over but joining a new conference in the ACC, the Cardinal (predicted to finish near the bottom of the conference standings) finished seventh in the conference and won 20 games for the first time since 2019-20.

Getting the chance to play in the NIT will be crucial for Stanford. Even with key stars such as Jaylen Blakes and Maxime Raynaud set to depart after this season, the majority of the Cardinal roster is young, with the likes of Donavin Young (freshman), Evan Stinson (freshman), Jaylen Thompson (sophomore) and Oziyah Sellers (sophomore) expected to take on bigger roles in 2025-26.

By playing in the NIT, Smith and staff can see what type of team they are in tournament style basketball and figure out even more ways to get better for next year in order to make a run at making March Madness.

For the best programs, the way that they play in March is what can set them apart from the rest and if Stanford wants to become a force in college basketball, a good NIT showing can be the first step.

Throughout the entire history of the program, the Cardinal are about to make their ninth appearance in the NIT, with three championships, last appearing in the 2018 edition. In that season, they beat BYU 86-83 in the first round before falling to Oklahoma State in the semifinals by a score of 71-65. The three championships came in 1991, 2012 and 2015.

These next few weeks will undoubtedly be overshadowed by March Madness, and while that could take away some attention from Stanford's impending run, staying locked in and focused on the task at hand in the midst of everything is all the Cardinal can do now.

Next: Stanford MBB's 2024-25 Season Provides Hope For the Future