On Saturday at 3:00 PM PT on ACC Network, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the SMU Mustangs on the road in Dallas, Texas. Stanford comes in at 15-6 overall and 7-3 in the ACC while SMU comes in at 16-5 overall and 7-3 in the ACC.

Last time out: On Wednesday, Stanford defeated Syracuse 70-61. Stanford big man Maxime Raynaud led the way for the Cardinal with 21 points, 15 rebounds, three steals, and one block.

RECAP: Stanford MBB hangs on against Syracuse

Injury update: Per team release, Stanford guard Jaylen Blakes (head) is out for today’s game against SMU while forward Donavin Young (lower leg) is also out. Young was previously a game-time decision, but has been downgraded to out.

On SMU: Like Stanford and Cal, SMU is in their first season in the ACC. So far, they are holding their own just fine as their league record indicates. They are currently on a two-game winning streak with wins over NC State (63-57) and Cal (76-65). Their most recent loss was a couple weeks back at home against Louisville by a final score of 98-73.

The Mustangs have a score by committee approach with five guys scoring in double figures on average in junior guard Boopie Miller (13.8 points), senior guard Chuck Harris (12.2 points), senior forward Matt Cross (11.2 points & 8.4 rebounds), junior guard B.J. Edwards (10.8 points & 4.1 rebounds), and freshman center Samet Yigitoglu (10.3 points & 6.6 rebounds). Speaking of injuries, Yigitoglu was did not play against Cal and is listed as a game-time decision for today’s game, so the Mustangs are dealing with some injuries as well.

As a team, the Mustangs average 82.8 points per game on 47.8% shooting from the field, 37.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 74.1% shooting from the foul line. They average 40.4 rebounds, 16.2 assists, 7.7 steals, 4.0 blocks, and 11.8 turnovers per game. They also average a +7.2 rebound margin and a +0.6 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 71.8 points per game on 40.5% shooting from the field, 33.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 74.6% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to the game: With Blakes out, Stanford is going to really need to Maxime Raynaud to ball out in this one. If Yigitoglu is indeed out for SMU, Raynaud should look to get going early and often in this one. I really don’t see how Stanford wins this one unless Raynaud has a big performance.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is take care of the ball. With Blakes out, they’re going to need to get strong point guard play from Benny Gealer in particular. If they take good care of the ball and have good possessions, maybe they can pull this one out.

Finally, Stanford needs to keep SMU away from the foul line. The Mustangs being at home will look to get to the foul line early and often. Especially since they shoot well. If Stanford can win the free throw battle and keep SMU away from the line, that more than anything would help them steal this game.

Prediction: Stanford has shown that they can win tough games on the road. However, two of their road wins have come courtesy of Jaylen Blakes hitting a game winner. Without him, I have a hard time seeing Stanford wining this one. I’ll pick SMU to win by a final score of 77-69.

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