Stanford basketball makes it rain in Maples in win over Northern Arizona

The shots did not stop falling as the Cardinal came away with another big win.

Mar 3, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) shoots over Colorado Buffaloes guard Javon Ruffin (11) in the first half at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Stanford basketball continues to roll. On Tuesday night, the Cardinal hosted Northern Arizona and in what was a shooting clinic, they were able to take home another convincing victory, coming away with the 90-64 win to improve to 3-0, their first 3-0 start to a season since 2019-2020.

It was a slow start for the Cardinal, who fell behind 8-0 early in the game, but they quickly found their groove, tying the game up at 13-13 not long after, with a 16-0 run by Stanford being the major highlight of the first half that allowed it to take control of the game. At one point, the Cardinal were on a 34-8 run in the half which allowed them to take a 48-26 lead into the break. In these early games, the Cardinal have shown the ability to lock in defensively and shut down the opposition for long stretches.

Star big man Maxime Raynaud led the charge for Stanford, pacing the team with 22 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the field, while also grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists, recording his third consecutive double-double to open the season and proving once again why he went into the season as one of college basketball’s most intriguing players. 13 of Raynaud’s points came in the first half, with Oziyah Sellers (12 points) and Benny Gealer (10 points) also in double figures by the time the halftime break commenced. 

Sellers finished the game right behind Raynaud in scoring, recording 17 points for the night, while shooting 7-for-11 from the field, including going 3-for-5 from three. Ryan Agarwal, who came off the bench, finished with a career high 15 points and led the team in three pointers made, going 4-for-5 on the night from downtown.

Overall for the game, scoring was not a problem for the Cardinal, as they shot 56% from the field and 52% from three, also managing to convert on about 87% of their free throws. Defensively, the Cardinal were especially strong on capitalizing off of turnovers, scoring 17 points off of NAU turnovers for the game, while also out-rebounding NAU 31-22. Raynaud was the catalyst for all the rebounds but another player who looked strong on the boards was Jaylen Thompson, who despite only playing two minutes, nabbed three rebounds, with all three of them being offensive rebounds.

After taking control of the game in the first half, the Cardinal firmly put things away in the second, where an 11 point half from Jaylen Blakes helped the Cardinal remain undefeated and go into their next game with a lot of momentum.

Off for the rest of the week, the Cardinal will now shift focus on preparing for their next game, which will once again be at home, against UC Davis on Sunday, Nov. 17. Tip-off for the game will be at 1:00 p.m. (PT) and will air on ACC Network Extra and ESPN+.