Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, November 26
Palm Desert, Calif. / Acrisure Arena
5 p.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
vs
Stanford
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Brennan returns strong for key matchup vs. Stanford
11/25/2024 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes face undefeated Cardinal, 7-foot-1 Raynaud in Palm Desert
Tuesday, Nov. 26 | 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Acrisure Hoiday Invitational
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STANFORD CARDINAL (6-0) |
vs. | GRAND CANYON LOPES (3-2) |
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| WATCH: truTV, Max | LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic | STATS: View | ||||
PALM DESERT, Calif. – The return of Grand Canyon junior center Duke Brennan was right on time Friday night to help the Lopes' dramatic about-face performance, but his availability is what is coming next is as punctual as a tipoff time.
GCU is facing undefeated Stanford on Tuesday in the Acrisure Holiday Invitational, where Brennan will be matched against the national rebounding leader who is the only player in the nation with six double-doubles – Cardinal 7-foot-1 senior center Maxime Raynaud.
Raynaud, who is from Paris, France, is coming off a 32-point, 16-rebound game Saturday when Stanford (6-0) rallied from an eight-point deficit in the last two minutes to win 71-69 at Santa Clara.
The first-ever GCU game against Stanford tips off at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) on truTV and Max as the third game of a five-game event at the 2-year-old Acrisure Arena.
"I'm looking forward to it," Brennan said. "I like those games. I like the games where I have to step up to the plate. I enjoy playing at that level, so I'm not scared and I'm excited to get back on the court."After missing the first four games for a left arm injury, Brennan excited fans too with how he impacted GCU in Friday's 91-73 home win against Norfolk State.
He instantly changed the Lopes' look at both ends. Brennan sealed the baseline on a guard drive and switched over to a guard making an errant pass on his first two defensive possessions. On offense, he accounted for GCU's first seven points with two rim-run scores and a dribble-handoff assist.
Brennan puts teammates in their natural positions. His screening free guards and creates roll opportunities. His help defense deters drivers. His rebounding cements defensive stands, and the outlet passing allows the Lopes to push tempo.
"He's a way better player than last year too," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "That's not the same Duke that we saw out there last year. He's quicker. He's more athletic. He sees the game faster. He's a much-improved player from last year.
"How it was (Friday night) was more how it was supposed to look like."
The Lopes are trying to carry over the holiday cheer of taking a 27-point halftime lead and assisting on 31 of 33 baskets on Friday, when the Lopes assisted on each of their last 26 scores.Only North Carolina (30 assists on 31 baskets in 2012 vs. East Tennessee State) and Iowa (34 assists on 36 baskets in 2017 vs. Northern Illinois) have played a Division I game with an assist percentage of 94% and at least 30 assists, according to the Stathead.com database.
"The guys have responded well and worked hard," Drew said. "I feel we're a better basketball team than we were a couple days ago."
Raynaud, last season's Pac-12 Most Improved Player, leads the nation with 12.8 rebounds per game while also averaging 22.8 points on 51% field-goal shooting and 46% 3-point shooting. Drew said he is a future NBA player.
That will challenge Brennan, who faced him twice as an Arizona State freshman in 2022-23. The 6-foot-10 center has improved vastly over his two years at GCU. His
13-point, seven-rebound game in 26 minutes Friday was the third-highest scoring game of his career."Those guys had me back on the court instantly and trusted me to make a catch and a score," Brennan said. "We built that brotherhood last year. So I appreciate them, finding me in those zones. I felt free out there. I felt good out there. I've got to push into all these next games."
New Stanford head coach Kyle Smith, the Pac-12 Coach of the Year at Washington State last season, also built a backcourt with Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes and USC transfer Oziyah Sellers. Each is averaging more than 14 points per game, and Blakes has made 32 assists with only six turnovers in six games.
Only 13% of D-I teams play at a slower tempo than Stanford.
"We definitely would rather it be a faster-paced game," Drew said. "To do that, usually you have to get deflections and put pressure on the defensive end. They have good players that handle the ball and make good decisions. They play at their pace. That'll definitely be a challenge for us."
Stanford commits the ninth-least turnovers per game (9.0) in the nation and holds opponents to 62.7 points per game, ranking the Cardinal 41st nationally in scoring defense.But the nationally televised event catches GCU (3-2) in its third game with WAC Player of the Year Tyon Grant-Foster back and the second game of Brennan's return. The latter helped solidify an eight-man rotation of experienced players.
"We're thankful to have Duke back, just because of the stability and the flow that he brings," GCU senior guard Ray Harrison said.
Lope tracks
Before the team boarded its bus for the 255-mile drive to Palm Desert, graduate guard Jason Amador was baptized in a campus pool by assistant coach Casey Shaw with the entire team and staff on hand. Video- The truTV broadcast will be called by play-by-play announcer Chris Sylvester and analyst Steve Smith, the former 15-year NBA star guard.
- Tuesday's Acrisure Holiday Invitational lineup starts with two women's games, California vs. Michigan State and Vanderbilt vs. Arizona, before the GCU-Stanford game at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time). The night ends with two more men's games, California Baptist vs. SMU and Fresno State vs. Washington State.
- This is GCU's first ACC opponent since losing to Louisville in December 2017.
- Stanford has not reached the NCAA tournament since 2014.
- A GCU pregame tailgate event will begin at 2 p.m. (Palm Desert time) in VIP Lot A near the southeast arena entrance.
Players Mentioned
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