Ebuka Okorie scored 28 points for host Stanford, which scored its first win over a ranked opponent in more than two years with an 80-76 upset of No. 16 Louisville on Friday in an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown.
Held to seven points in a disappointing 47-40 loss to Notre Dame on Tuesday, the freshman guard showed why he’s one of the top scorers in the country. The performance by Okorie, who is averaging 21.5 points per game, was critical for the Cardinal (12-3, 1-1 ACC), who scored their second Quad 1 victory of the season.
Okorie shot 9 of 18 from the floor and made 2 of his 5 3-point shots while going 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Chisom Okpara added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Ryan Agarwal finished with 12 points, going 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Three days after the Cardinals (11-3, 1-1) rolled over Cal in their ACC opener, they struggled too often. Louisville missed 10 straight shots during a 5:17 stretch of the first half, and Stanford reaped the benefits, building a 29-20 lead after an Okorie layup with 7:37 to go before halftime.
Okorie notched 14 points in the first half.
Then it was Stanford’s turn to go cold as Louisville trimmed its deficit to 35-34 on Sananda Fru’s putback at the first-half buzzer.
While Louisville struggled again offensively, an Okorie dunk led to a three-point play that gave Stanford a 54-52 lead with 11:07 remaining that it did not relinquish.
Louisville played its fourth straight game without Mikel Brown Jr. (back), the team’s second-leading scorer at 16.6 ppg. Leading scorer Ryan Conwell put up a team-high 18 but hit just 6 of 21 shots from the field, including 2 of 14 from 3-point range. He fouled out with 1:51 remaining and Stanford holding a 74-71 lead.
Stanford, among the ACC’s leaders in free-throw attempts, went 21 of 31, including 16 of 22 in the second half.
Isaac McKneely scored 17 for the Cardinals and went 3 of 8 from the perimeter. Louisville made a season-low six of its 27 3-point shots (22.2%).
Stanford’s last win over a ranked team came on Dec. 31, 2023, when the Cardinal beat then-No. 4 Arizona 100-82.
–Field Level Media
