Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM

Stanford gets its first opportunity to respond to a loss Saturday night when the Cardinal host Cal Poly in a nonconference game.

The Cardinal (6-1) opened 5-0 at home and then won at Santa Clara last Saturday before coming up short against Grand Canyon 78-71 in a neutral-site affair Tuesday in Palm Desert, Calif.

Despite his team’s winning streak, first-year Stanford coach Kyle Smith made two changes in his starting lineup for the Grand Canyon game, inserting forward Aidan Cammann and guard Ryan Agarwal among his three standouts, Maxime Raynaud, Jaylen Blakes and Oziyah Sellers.

Cammann and Agarwal combined for just eight points, but Smith said afterward he’s confident they’ll be more productive as the young players become more familiar with their surroundings.

“As (Raynaud and Blakes) get better, I think other guys will follow,” Smith said, “and we’ll be in good shape.”

Raynaud has recorded double-doubles in all seven Stanford games, averaging 23.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. Blakes, a Duke transfer, had a season-high 22 against Grand Canyon.

Cal Poly (4-4), meanwhile, continues a nonconference survey of the Bay Area, having already lost at San Francisco, Cal and Saint Mary’s. The Mustangs conclude the tour with a game at San Jose State in December.

Cal Poly has gone just 1-4 on the road, beating Eastern Washington, to offset a 3-0 start at home. The team edged visiting Grambling 82-79 in its most recent game Tuesday.

One Mustang with whom the Cardinal should be plenty familiar is graduate point guard Jarred Hyder, who played two seasons at Cal. He had 13 points in his only previous trip to Stanford in 2021, and when last seen by the Cardinal, was contributing to the rival Golden Bears’ win in the Pacific-12 Conference tournament later that season.

Hyder had 27 points in a loss at Arizona State last week, but says the Mustangs’ need to focus more on defense than big offensive numbers.

“If we stick to our defensive principles, that helps us get out and run,” he said. “That is a big emphasis for us.”

–Field Level Media