The Stanford men's basketball program returned to the hardwood on Saturday night in a road exhibition contest at Santa Clara, and ultimately ended up dropping the game 83-78. The Cardinal were outscored by five points in the first half (37-32), and then matched the Broncos in the second half 46-46. 

The starters for Stanford were Julius Price, Christian Bliss, Aziz Olajuwon, Donavin Young, and Aidan Cammann, which could provide some insight into how head coach Kyle Smith plans to deploy his roster to begin the season. 

At the same time, Nick Townsend was held out of action out of an abundance of caution as he awaits a decision in Glancey v. NCAA. The case involves 76 basketball players, most of whom graduated high school in 2022 and have played four seasons in the four years since.

"They challenge the NCAA's decision to not extend an additional year of eligibility to them under the new five-year 'age rule' that now allows five seasons of play in five years," per the College Sports Litigation Tracker. 

Price led Stanford in playing time with just over 34 minutes on the court, and led all scorers with 26 points. That scoring was aided by Price going 15-of-19 on free throws, while going 5-of-11 from the field that included 1-of-3 from three. Price and Bliss led the Cardinal with three assists each. 

Olajuwon went 3-of-7 from the field for six points, adding two rebounds, a block, and two steals. Like most of the starters for Stanford, he also committed a number of turnovers. Olajuwon was responsible for four, while the Cardinal committed 20 total. Price (3), Bliss (5), and Young (3) along with Olajuwon's four accounted for 15 of those turnovers. 

Bliss was extremely efficient with his production, going 4-of-5 from the floor, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-7 from the free throw line, giving him 15 total points. 

Anthony Batson Jr. only played 14:47, but he was Stanford's second-highest scorer with 16 points. Shooting 8-of-10 from the free throw line certainly helped. 

Transfer Austin Maurer played 22:18 in the opener and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Young was right behind him with eight. 

Finally, 6-foot-10 sophomore Kristers Skrinda received decent minutes after playing just nine games off the bench in 2025-26. Skrinda made it on the floor for 13:38 and collected four rebounds and did not attempt a shot.