Stanford vs SMU Prediction 3/1/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The SMU Mustangs and the Stanford Cardinal meet Saturday in college basketball action from Maples Pavilion. Here’s a Stanford vs SMU prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Stanford vs SMU pick.

SMU Mustangs Betting Preview

The Mustangs have had a couple of brief runs with some spotty play in the books so far this year, but overall they’re doing pretty well. SMU lost two of their first six outings versus Butler and Mississippi State, then took out Cal Baptist, Washington State, Alabama State, Virginia, LSU, Boston College and Longwood. Following losses to Duke and North Carolina, SMU hit an 8-1 run with a lone loss to Louisville among wins over Georgia Tech, Virginia, Miami, NC State, Cal, Stanford, Virginia Tech and Pitt. The next three games were a 1-2 run with a win over Notre Dame in between losses to Wake Forest and Clemson. That would give the Mustangs a 20-7 overall record across their first 27 outings of the year.

In their Wednesday matchup with California, the Mustangs jumped out to a comfortable 42-29 lead by the break. SMU was outscored 48-39 the rest of the way however, and had to hang on for the win 81-77 in the end. Chuck Harris led the team on his 21 points with three rebounds and three assists, while BJ Edwards put up 18 pitons with five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Samet Yigitoglu managed 11 points with seven rebounds in 26 minutes of work.

Stanford Cardinal Betting Preview

Over on the Stanford side, they’ve had a couple of choppy stretches this year as well but otherwise aren’t doing too badly. The Cardinal won their first six straight games before falling to Grand Canyon and Cal Poly, then beat Utah Valley, California and Merrimack. Losses to Oregon, Clemson and Pitt came next before a 6-1 run that featured a loss to Wake Forest among wins over Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Miami, Florida State and Syracuse. The next six outings were a 2-4 run with wins over NC State and California among losses to SMU, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Duke. The result through the first 27 games of the year was a 17-10 overall record for the Cardinal.

Matched up against Boston College at home on Wednesday, the Cardinal put up a 37-19 advantage by halftime and cruised to the win 78-60 in the end. Tops in scoring was Maxime Raynaud with 23 points and 10 boards for a double-double.

Why the Stanford Cardinal will win

• Stanford has won each of its last eight games at Maples Pavilion following a home win.
• The home team has won the first half in each of Stanford’s last four games.

Why the SMU Mustangs will win

• SMU has won each of its last six road games.
• SMU has won the first half in each of its last seven day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Stanford vs SMU Prediction

I’ll probably just stay with SMU here. The Mustangs had a good first half in their latest road win over California, and rode that wave to a four-point victory. SMU shot a nice 55.6 percent from the field with 38 rebounds in that one, holding the Bears to just 39.1 percent on the other side. That said, the Mustangs missed seven of their 20 free throws (65 percent) and coughed up 18 turnovers for 25 Bears points in a pretty sloppy game.

The last time these teams met up back on February 1, SMU secured an 85-61 win at home. The Mustangs jumped out to a 45-25 halftime lead and cruised from there on 40 more points. SMU shot very well with 53.4 percent from the field and 50 percent (12-of-24) from outside, but did get out-rebounded 43-34. One key stat was the Cardinal’s 14 turnovers for 21 points. Couple that with Stanford’s rough 33.3 percent from the field and 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from 3-point range and it’s tough to win games. That said, I expect Stanford to clean up their act in the home rematch, so SMU will need to play a more complete game. I still like the Mustangs to power it out if all goes well, though.