Stanford men’s basketball secures electric win over No. 14 Tar Heels

Stanford (14-4, 3-2 ACC) secured a nail-biting victory against the No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels (14-3, 2-2 ACC) in a conference matchup Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal overcame a 12-point deficit in the first half before rallying back in a last-minute effort led by freshman guard Ebuka Okorie’s career-high 36 points and nine assists. Okorie’s 36 points set a school record for most points in a game for a freshman. This marks the Cardinal’s second consecutive win against the Tar Heels, following last season’s one point win at the Dean Smith Center.

“Great win for our program and look forward to enjoying it while we can,” said head coach Kyle Smith.

The two teams entered the matchup in the thick of a competitive ACC conference, with the Cardinal returning from Charlottesville after a 15-point loss to Virginia and the Tar Heels flying cross-country after a three-point win against Wake Forest. The Cardinal entered the game without their second-leading scorer Chisom Okpara due to a lower extremity injury. Okpara is day-to-day moving forward. North Carolina was led by freshman star Caleb Wilson, who dropped 26 points and fell one rebound shy of securing a double-double. Wilson is averaging 19.5 points and 11 rebounds this season and is widely regarded as a consensus top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Stanford started the game off shaky, with turnovers sparking an immediate 13-6 lead for the Tar Heels. The Cardinal’s interior defense stayed strong, preventing early buckets from Wilson and junior center Henri Veesaar. Redshirt junior forward Ryan Agarwal and graduate guard Jeremy Dent-Smith traded off early 3s to cut the Cardinal’s deficit, but a lack of offensive boards and increased turnovers benefited the Tar Heel’s great start to the game. Veesaar’s several floaters accompanied by Wilson’s tough finishes increased the Tar Heel lead to 12 midway through the first half. Smith noted that Veesaar’s offensive production “reminds me of Maxime [Reynaud]”.

Frustrations got the best of the Stanford squad, as Coach Smith received a technical foul for his strong opposition on a phantom foul. Okorie spiraled into scoring following this, delivering tough layups and racking up a steal that turned into an Agarwal fast-break drive. After a 10-0 run by the Cardinal to tie the game at 34-34, North Carolina responded back with an 8-1 run led by three-pointers from Veesaar and freshman guard Luka Bogavac. With both teams trading layups and free throws, the first half concluded with a 47-45 score for UNC.

North Carolina started the second half aggressively, with Wilson scoring eight straight points, increasing the Tar Heel lead to 10. Stanford responded back with an immediate 9-2 run sparked by two straight Okorie layups and an Agarwal drawn charge.

Despite UNC’s efforts to control the game, Dent-Smith provided a much-needed sparkplug for the Cardinal, firing off his first four three-point attempts and drilling a critical three-pointer coming into the final minute of play, giving the Cardinal a one-point lead.

“It’s always a shooter’s game,” said Dent-Smith. “Credit to Ebuka for finding me on a lot of those threes.”

On the ensuing possession, Agarwal came up with a steal and knocked down a fast-break three, igniting the crowd and pushing the lead to four. In the closing seconds, Stanford’s defense forced a travel on Wilson, sealing a 95–90 Cardinal victory.

Smith appreciated the support from Nerd Nation and even participated in a crowd chant alongside his players as many students stormed the court following the final buzzer.

Both Agarwal and Dent-Smith scored 20 points, racking up a combined 11 made 3s. Agarwal finished with 20 points, a career high for the Texas native.

Okorie’s stellar play on both sides of the court with only one turnover was praised by Coach Smith.

“I thought we had one of the best players in the gym tonight,” said Smith.

The Cardinal hope to carry this momentum into their next matchup against an even tougher No. 6 Duke squad on Saturday at Maple Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

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