CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two of the ACC’s newcomers showed the rest of the league how it’s done.
Rivals Cal and Stanford staged an East Coast rendition of the Big Game and turned in the most entertaining, well-played contest at this year’s ACC tournament to date.
Maxime Raynaud scored 23 points and Jaylen Blakes added 21 as the Cardinal outlasted the Bears 78-73 in the second round Wednesday at the Spectrum Center.
Cal center Mady Sissoko grabs a rebound in front of Stanford’s Maxime Rynaud during a second-round Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament game in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday night. (Allie Lawhon — ACC)
Stanford (20-12) faces second-seeded Louisville (25-6) in the quarterfinals Thursday with a chance to improve its outside shot at an NCAA tournament at-large bid. Stanford has been on the road for nearly two weeks, capping the regular season with a trip that included a 68-48 loss at Louisville on Saturday.
Andrej Stojakovic scored 37 points for Cal, which also ended the regular-season with a trip to Louisville and Notre Dame but also had played six combined overtimes in its previous two games. The Bears, who debuted at the ACC tournament less than 24 hours earlier with a double-OT upset of 10th-seeded Virginia Tech, also was without two starters.
The Bears figured to be running on fumes against Stanford. Instead, Cal pushed its rival to the limits in a back-and-forth contest that was tied with 1:51 to play.
Cal played without two-thirds of its starting backcourt, freshman star Jeremiah Wilkinson (concussion) and fellow guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. (undisclosed injury). Both played Tuesday against Virginia Tech.
While other, longer-tenured ACC teams in earlier games struggled to hit shots, Stanford and Cal tickled the twine at impressive rates Wednesday, the Bears connecting on 53% of their shots and the Cardinal hit 51%.
Stanford guard Oziyah Sellers passes to forward Maxime Raynaud during a game against Cal at the 2025 T.Rowe Price Men’s Basketball Tournament in Charlotte, NC. Wednesday March 12th, 2025 (Photo by Allie Lawhon/ACC)
The teams were tied 68-68 when Benny Gealer drained a 3-pointer to give the Cardinal a lead it would not relinquish, securing its third win over Cal this season.
Stanford ended Cal’s season for the second year in a row. Last March, it was an 87-76 decision in overtime in the final Pac-12 tournament.
Wednesday, the longtime rivals met nearly 3,000 miles from home. The game was played at the Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, in the heart of ACC country, just two hours from fabled Tobacco Road, home to league stalwarts Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
Wednesday’s game tipped about two hours after the Tar Heels’ blowout of Notre Dame and there were still tinges of Carolina blue scattered throughout the stands.
Stojakovic, who put up 25 and 16 points in a pair of regular-season losses to the Cardinal, scored Cal’s first 11 points Wednesday night.
Cal used a 9-0 run – the last five points coming from Stojakovic – to build a 22-14 lead with 10:34 to go before the break.
But Stanford ended the half on a 9-0 surge of its own and went to the locker room ahead 38-32.
Despite the minutes it had logged in its last two outings, Cal didn’t show any signs of wearing down. A Stojakavic 3 with 13:18 left pulled it within a point, and a pair of his free throws less than a minute later put the Bears back on top, 55-54.
Stanford regained the edge, 65-64 with 5:52 to play, setting the stage for the tight finish as Cal and Stanford made their first ACC tournament meeting a memorable one.
Stanford forward Maxime Raynaud faces up against Cal forward Lee Dort at the 2025 T.Rowe Price Men’s Basketball Tournament in Charlotte, NC. Wednesday March 12th, 2025 (Photo by Allie Lawhon/ACC)
