Stanford upsets No. 16 Louisville at home to pull even in ACC play

On Friday, Stanford upset No. 16 Louisville, downing the Cardinals in 80-76 fashion. It was a massive bounce-back performance for the Cardinal, who fell 47-40 to Notre Dame in their conference-opener on Tuesday.

In the win, Stanford freshman guard Ebuka Okorie was spectacular, tallying a game-high 28 points on 8-16 shooting from the floor. Senior forward Chisom Okpara was also excellent, recording 17 points and eight rebounds.

Louisville couldn’t find its shooting touch in the loss, connecting on just 6-27 (22%) attempts from 3-point range. In contrast, Stanford shot 9-19 (47%) from beyond the arc in the triumph.

Four of Louisville’s starters scored double figures, but its bench combined for nine total points. Worse, the Cardinals’ backups were responsible for four turnovers. The loss is Louisville’s first of the season against an unranked opponent.

Louisville was without star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. in the loss. Brown has missed the Cardinals’ past four games due to a back injury. He last played in Louisville’s 99-73 win over Memphis on Dec. 13.

Brown’s absence is obvious for the Cardinals. He is averaging 16.6 points per game this season, the second-most on the team.

Additionally, Brown averages a team-high 5.1 assists per outing. After Louisville’s win over Montana on Dec. 20, Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey discussed the challenge of adapting to Brown’s absence.

“In terms of adjusting when somebody goes down, that’s just the deal,” Kelsey said. “Every team in the country, in every single sport, has people go down (with) injuries, and you’ve heard me say this before, and it’s the old sports axiom of, next man up.

“That’s why you have 13 guys, or 15 guys on scholarship — however many you’re allowed to in today’s day and age. Other guys gotta step up and change their role from time to time. That’s part of sports and we’ll do that.”

Of course, while Louisville is mourning its loss on Friday, Stanford is celebrating its victory. The win is the Cardinal’s first against a Top-25 opponent this season.

It’s a much-needed confidence boost for the Cardinal, who shot 23% from the field and 13% from downtown in their loss to Notre Dame earlier this week. Stanford head coach Kyle Smith is in his second season at the helm of the program.

He led Stanford to a 21-14 overall record last season. With 12 wins already this season, Stanford is on pace to surpass its win total from the 2024-25 campaign.