Stanford Cardinal is looking to extend its strong start when it visits UNLV Rebels on Friday night in a clash of unbeaten teams.

The Cardinal (3-0) went 8-7 away from home last season but should be confident after a dominant start to their 2026 campaign, with convincing victories against Eastern Washington, Oakland, and Rice.

Nick Townsend has led the way for Stanford, averaging 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game. The Yale transfer was particularly impressive in the 91-73 win against Rice, leading both teams with 31 points and adding eight rebounds and six assists.

He leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring and tops the conference with a 71% field-goal percentage on 22-of-31 shooting.

"My teammates did a great job of finding me in the right spots," Townsend said. "I was able to take advantage of some good matchups and get to the line again, which I think helps."

Austin Maurer posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, Julius Price had 10 points and four assists, and Christian Bliss added 12 points and went 2-for-3 from 3-point range in the win over the Owls.

"We're getting better," Stanford coach Kyle Smith said. "Overall, just really pleased with our (effort), to feel like we've been getting better every game. Kind of get an identity."

Meanwhile, the Runnin' Rebels (2-0) made their own statement to start the season with home victories against Northern Arizona and Samford.

"Both Northern Arizona and Samford are good teams," UNLV coach Josh Pastner said. "And you can see that there isn't a lot of separation anymore. There is so much parity among college basketball."

UNLV held a narrow 45-40 lead against Samford at the half on Saturday before taking control. Cam Miles led the way with 20 points, while Jackson Kiss posted a team-leading six rebounds. Sebastian Mack and Tyrin Jones each posted 17 points, and Jones added six blocks while also going 7-for-10 from the foul line.

"Our guys did a great job of adhering to the game plan," Pastner said. "Secondly, we were in the game because of free-throw shooting. Free-throw shooting was really imperative for us tonight, 25-for-32. Tyrin Jones had some big free throws. ...

"And, thirdly, we had 11 offensive rebounds. The ones late (in the game) from Jackson Kiss and Dontrez Williams were great."

--Field Level Media

Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Field Level Media. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Field Level Media is strictly prohibited.