Virginia must figure out a way to deal with star big man Maxime Raynaud as the Cavaliers seek to avoid two defeats on their California visit when they face Stanford on Saturday afternoon.
Raynaud recorded his nation-leading 12th double-double of the season when his 19 points and 14 rebounds for Stanford, paving the way for a 70-59 home win over Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
The win not only snapped a three-game losing streak, but also was the first at home for Stanford (10-5, 2-2) in ACC play. That opportunity made this week’s games against Virginia Tech and Virginia special for Raynaud.
“I’m a big Pac-12 guy, because we’ve been in the Pac-12 for a couple years,” the senior 7-footer said. “We really had to set the tone (against ACC competition) not for us, but for the years to come. It felt amazing. The whole conference is very competitive, so it felt great to start off with a good win. It’s really big for our program.”
Stanford has never lost to Virginia at home, going 4-0, with the most recent victory coming in 2010.
The Cavaliers (8-7, 1-3) have had two days off after a 75-61 loss at Cal on Wednesday.
Coming off a 70-50 home loss to Louisville, the goal for the Cavaliers this week was to take care of business on the court and hope highly touted freshman Christian Bliss could make his college debut. But Bliss remains in wait mode until at least next week because of a foot injury.
“He’s just not feeling good enough to get on the floor,” Virginia coach Ron Sanchez said. “That’s a player decision.”
Another Virginia freshman, Jacob Cofie, will be in the spotlight against Stanford. The 6-foot-10 Seattle native is expected to draw the defensive assignment on Raynaud.
Cofie has recorded two double-doubles in his 15-game college career. He had 12 points and four rebounds in Wednesday’s loss to Cal.
-Field Level Media
