Stanford looks to replace Okorie and most of last season's top scorers in Kyle Smith's 3rd season

Stanford begins coach Kyle Smith’s third season looking to replace almost all of the production from last season, including the top five scorers led by star point guard Ebuka Okorie. The Cardinal have exceeded expectations the first two seasons under Smith and will try to do so again with a top 25 high school recruiting class and the Nerd Ball approach that has proven effective.

F/C Aidan Cammann is the only returner who averaged more than 3 points per game last season. Cammann averaged 6.5 ppg and 3.8 rpg last season but did score 12.7 ppg during a seven-game stretch of ACC play. The only other returning player who had significant playing time last season is F Donavin Young. The Cardinal will rely transfers PG Christian Bliss and F Nick Townsend, as well as the freshman class led by Julius Price and Aziz Olajwuon, the son of Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon.

Ebuka Okorie left for the NBA after averaging 23.2 points and 3.6 assists per game as a freshman. The Cardinal also lost six of its next seven top scorers with Chisom Okpara, Benny Gealer, Jeremy Dent-Smith, AJ Rohosy, Ryan Agarwal and Oskar Giltay all either graduating or transferring. Bliss was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year at Delaware and Townsend was the Ivy League Player of the Year at Yale. Seattle transfer Austin Maurer offers help at center. Olajuwon and Price were both four-star recruits who could contribute right away.

Stanford's toughest nonconference games include a visit to Texas A&M on Dec. 2, and a tournament Thanksgiving week that includes a game against Colorado and either Grand Canyon or Saint Louis. The conference schedule features road games against Duke, Louisville and North Carolina within a two-week span in January. The Cardinal will visit rival California on Jan. 23 and host the Golden Bears in the season finale on March 6.

Stanford has back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2013-14 and 2014-15 and will seek three in a row since doing it 10 straight seasons under coach Mike Montgomery ending when he left for the NBA in 2004. ... The Cardinal went 20-18 in conference play in Smith's first two seasons to tie for the seventh best mark in the ACC. They were 14-5 at home and 6-13 on the road. ... The Cardinal lost 89% of their scoring from last season and 83% of their minutes played from last season. ... Stanford set school records with 301 made 3-pointers and 257 steals last season.

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FILE - Stanford head coach Kyle Smith during an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu,File)

The Panthers find themselves at a crossroads of sorts as coach Jeff Capel enters his ninth season. Capel, who is 127-127 at Pitt, made significant changes after last year's dismal finish, including jettisoning his brother Jason from the coaching staff. The arrival of a pair of high-profile freshmen recruits in forward Chase Foster and guard Jermal Jones gives Pitt hopes better days are ahead. If things get away from the Panthers for a third straight season, athletic director Allen Greene will almost certainly move on from Capel, who has brought stability but mixed results since taking over a program in tatters in 2018.

The 6-foot-9 Foster is the kind of athletic, versatile big man the Panthers have sorely lacked in recent years. The Baltimore native chose Pitt over Villanova and Arkansas and will get plenty of opportunities to prove he is worthy of the hype. Junior swingman Jonathan Powell came to Pittsburgh searching for a more impactful role after serving as a reserve at North Carolina.

It's a sign of the times that forward Macari Moore is the only scholarship player back after Pitt's worst ACC finish since Capel's first year in 2018-19. Transfer Naithan George averaged a solid 11.1 points in three seasons at Syracuse. Senior forward Baye Ndongo averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds last year with Georgia Tech. Charleston Southern transfer guard A’lahn Sumler shot nearly 40% from 3-point range last year.

The Panthers open the season at home against Rider on Nov. 2. The nonconference slate includes hosting former Big East rival Villanova on Nov. 17 and neutral-site meetings with Penn State (Nov. 8) and West Virginia (Dec. 9), as well as games against Oklahoma (Nov. 24) and Missouri (Dec. 1). ACC play begins against 14th-ranked Miami on Jan. 2. Pitt also visits No. 2 Duke (Jan. 9) and No. 11 Louisville (Feb. 2). Conference play wraps up with a home date against North Carolina (March 2) and at SMU (March 6).

The Panthers are 13-25 in conference play over the last two seasons, with 26-14 combined in 2023 and 2024, one of the main reasons Capel is probably coaching for his job this season. ... Rebounding will be key, something Pitt struggled with during an exhibition against Providence on Oct. 17, when they were outrebounded 42-26 in a blowout loss. ... How big was the roster overhaul? Moore, the only returner, averaged all of 1.4 points while coming off the bench.

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FILE - Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel III looks on during the first half against Clemson in an NCAA college basketball game, Jan. 31, 2026, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser, File)