Stanford MBB 2024-25 – Non-Conference Schedule Released

On Monday, the Stanford basketball team's non-conference schedule was released. This is the first season for the Cardinal with Kyle Smith as head coach.

READ: 2024-25 Stanford MBB ACC pairings revealed

PROMO: Kick-off 2024

Below is the list of games the Cardinal will play before the start of ACC play: clearly be at home, Italics neutral location and no marking at the location:

Monday, November 4th against Denver

Friday, November 8th against Cal State Fullerton

Tuesday, November 12th against Northern Arizona

Sunday, November 17th against UC Davis

Wednesday, November 20th against Norfolk State

Saturday, November 23 in Santa Clara

Tuesday, November 26 against Grand Canyon (Acrisure Holiday Classic in Palm Springs, CA)

Saturday, November 30th against Cal Poly

Tuesday, December 3 against Utah Valley University

Tuesday, December 17th against Merrimack

Saturday, December 21st against Oregon (San Jose Tip-Off in San Jose, CA).

I'll give it more thought once the full schedule is available, but a few thoughts come to mind just looking at this schedule.

First of all, the presence of Denver and Utah Valley on the schedule is due to Stanford's previous ties to both programs. Denver's head coach Jeff Wulbrun previously worked at Stanford as an assistant coach and later as associate head coach at Jerod Haase's team before accepting the head coaching position in Denver. As for Utah Valley, the current head coach of Cal Mark Madsenwho had a standout playing career at Stanford, was head coach at Utah Valley before taking the job at Cal.

The agreement to play Denver was obviously made with the expectation that it would be a reunion of Haase and Wulbrun at Maples Pavilion. As for the agreement to play Utah Valley, I can't help but think that was made while Madsen was still Utah Valley's head coach. It would also make sense that he's a Stanford alum and would want to schedule a game against his alma mater. But of course, Madsen is now returning to Maples Pavilion to coach the California Golden Bears, who join Stanford in the ACC. It's a little weird to see those two games on the schedule knowing Haase is no longer coaching Stanford and Madsen is now at Cal, but that's the world we live in. Change is constant. You never step into the same river twice.

The Santa Clara game will be a good test for Stanford, as Santa Clara is always tough to beat at their stadium. Not to mention it's a bit of a rivalry game. I'm sure Santa Clara will bring a packed student section to the game, which should make for a great atmosphere. It will also be on the same day as Big Game, the Stanford-Cal football game. This year the game is in Berkeley, so there's no guarantee I'll make it to Santa Clara. I'm hoping the football game start time works out so I can make it to Santa Clara.

The game against Oregon will be very entertaining as it will be played at the SAP Center in San Jose, home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks. It's always cool to play in a professional arena. Additionally, it will be a Pac-12 reunion as both Stanford and Oregon are in different conferences. Oregon currently plays in the Big Ten. This game should be a good test for Stanford and a great way to end the non-conference season.

Overall, it's a pretty loose schedule. All of the home games are a breeze and Stanford won't be leaving the state until conference play begins. They should get plenty of wins and build some good momentum before they start ACC play.

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