SMU Mustangs vs Stanford Cardinal Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs Stanford Cardinal

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA

TV: ACC Network

The SMU Mustangs (19-9) are on their way to Maples Pavilion on Saturday where they will play the Stanford Cardinal (17-11).

The SMU Mustangs faced California and took a loss by a score of 73-69 in their last contest. SMU wrapped up the contest having earned a 45.5% FG percentage (25 out of 55) and buried 8 out of their 21 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Mustangs converted 11 of 26 attempts for a percentage of 42.3%. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they compiled 41 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 13 dimes for the matchup as well as creating 7 turnovers and having 4 steals. In regard to the defense, SMU allowed the other team to shoot 40.0% from the floor on 26 of 65 shooting. California recorded 17 assists and had 7 steals for the game. Moreover, California snagged 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't have a block. California went 80.0% from the free throw line by burying 12 of their 15 tries. They also buried 9 of their 32 shots from downtown. In relation to personal fouls, the Mustangs finished with 15 while California totaled 19 personal fouls.

Corey Washington is someone who was a contributor for this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 44.4% from the field and also totaled 1 assist. He played 33 minutes and also grabbed 9 boards. He scored 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting.

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SMU steps onto the court with a record of 19-9 so far this year. They cough up possession 11.3 times per game and as a squad they are committing 16.9 fouls every game. As a unit, SMU is pulling down 38.1 boards per game and has totaled 497 assists for the season, which ranks 26th in the nation in terms of passing. The Mustangs are connecting on 37.9% on shots from downtown (232 of 612) and 74.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 86.2 pts per contest (18th in the nation) while connecting on 49.9% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Mustangs are forcing 12.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.9 fouls. They currently rank 328th in D-1 in giving up assists with 457 surrendered on the campaign. The Mustangs defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 42.9% (752 of 1,753) and they relinquish 34.5 boards per game as a unit. They are giving up 32.8% on three-point shots while they are 281st in college in PPG from their opponents (77.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the Stanford Cardinal got the victory with a final of 75-67 when they faced Pittsburgh. The Cardinal corralled 19 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 28 for this contest. They also turned it over 8 times, while getting 9 steals in the matchup. Pittsburgh was called for 14 personal fouls for this game which got the Cardinal to the free throw line for a total of 10 attempts. They were able to bury 10 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 100.0%. Pertaining to shots from 3-point land, Stanford knocked down 7 of 20 tries (35.0%). When the game finished, the Cardinal ended up going 29 out of 58 from the field which gave them a rate of 50.0%. The Cardinal allowed Pittsburgh to knock down 24 out of their 49 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.0% for this game. They finished 39.1% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 9 out of 23 and finished the contest at 10 out of 15 at the free throw line (66.7%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Stanford permitted Pittsburgh to collect 26 in total (8 on the offensive glass).

Ebuka Okorie was important for the Cardinal for the matchup. He earned 34 points in his 39 minutes on the court and accumulated 6 assists in the game. He knocked down 11 of 19 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 57.9%, and totaled 6 rebounds.

Stanford has a mark of 17-11 so far this year. As an offense, the Cardinal are shooting 42.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 312th in the nation. Stanford has 2,102 points on the year (75.1 per contest) and they pull in 34.2 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 11.9 times per contest (321st in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.9 times per game. The Cardinal commit 17.7 personal fouls per contest and they go 72.4% from the free throw line.

The Cardinal defensively are ranked 134th in Division 1 in PPG allowed with 72.3. They are able to force 12.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.6% from the floor (263rd in college hoops). The Stanford defense gives up 33.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (172 of 510) and opponents are making 75.6% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 10.8 assists and 33.2 boards per game, which ranks them 16th and 102nd in college.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take SMU

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