Recap: Stanford Men’s Basketball edges Notre Dame in South Bend
On Wednesday, Stanford men’s basketball defeated Notre Dame on the road by a final score of 86-78. Stanford freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie led the way for the Cardinal with 24 points and seven assists on 10-19 shooting from the field and 3-6 shooting from 3-point range while graduate student guard Jeremy Dent-Smith was right behind him with 21 points on 6-7 shooting from the field, 5-6 shooting from 3-point range, and 4-4 shooting from the foul line. Notre Dame guard Jalen Haralson was the top performer for the Irish with 19 points and five rebounds. Stanford improves to 19-11 overall and 8-9 in the ACC while Notre Dame falls to 13-17 overall and 4-13 in the ACC.
VIDEO: Stanford Postgame Press Conference: Notre Dame-Wednesday, March 4th
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Notre Dame-Wednesday, March 4th
“Yeah, that was one of the best games we’ve played this year,” Stanford head coach Kyle Smith said after the game. “Going on the road, obviously this is one of the two teams that we played twice like an old conference. Home and home. It couldn’t have been a more opposite game than the first one, which was a complete rock fight. And I just got so much respect for the way Notre Dame plays. They’re hard to guard. They’re gritty, they’re tough, you know what they’re going to do and you got to find a way to execute and beat them and our guys just played excellent. Had a lot of guys that stepped up and made big contributions like Donavin Young coming off the bench, having to guard Haralson at times, but he also made some big baskets and rebounds and blocks.
“Jeremy Dent-Smith really gave them I thought when certain lineups, when they could play three guards together, that was a separator for us offensively. And then Jaylen Thompson just made a lot of key rebounds, big three, and Jeremy made a big three. It’s just what you have to do on the road. You got to make some, you got to have some guys, multiple guys do that. And then obviously Ebuka was tremendous and I know Notre Dame did an awesome job on him at our place and he just keeps growing as a leader, as a point guard, and just really, I’m blessed to coach him and really tickled for us. That’s a great win.”
Notre Dame led Stanford 9–8 with 15:13 remaining in the first half. Brady Koehler was hotter than July for the Irish with eight points, and Stanford needed to cool him down. Stanford shot 4-of-7 from the field while Notre Dame went 2-of-7. The Irish were 4-of-5 at the foul line, while Stanford had yet to attempt a free throw.
Stanford led Notre Dame 20–17 with 11:17 remaining in the half. Ebuka Okorie got on the board with a transition dunk, while Benny Gealer and Jeremy Dent-Smith each had five points to lead the Cardinal. Stanford had made six of its previous seven field-goal attempts, while Koehler remained at eight points for Notre Dame.
Stanford led Notre Dame 38–28 with 6:43 remaining in the half. Okorie was up to 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Donavin Young caught fire as well with seven points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 from deep. The Cardinal closed the stretch on a 6–0 run over the final 30 seconds.
Stanford led Notre Dame 42–35 with 1:50 remaining in the half following a 2:06 scoring drought for the Cardinal. Stanford needed to finish the half strong and not allow the Irish to close the gap before the break.
Stanford led Notre Dame 45–37 at halftime. Ryan Agarwal knocked down a three-pointer and came up with a block from behind to prevent a buzzer-beating attempt, capping a strong sequence. Okorie led the Cardinal with 13 points and four assists, while Dent-Smith was the second-leading scorer with eight points. Braeden Shrewsberry led the Irish with nine points.
Stanford led Notre Dame 54–44 with 14:51 remaining. Okorie’s 15 points and five assists paced the Cardinal. Notre Dame had not made a field goal over the previous 2:48 as the Irish went cold.
Stanford led Notre Dame 55–51 with 11:55 remaining. Stanford had gone cold as well, making just one of its previous 10 field-goal attempts. Cole Certa was up to 13 points for the Irish after knocking down a three-pointer.
A much-needed bucket inside by Aidan Cammann pushed Stanford’s lead to 57–51 with 11:23 remaining. Cammann had four points on a quiet night.
Stanford led Notre Dame 61–51 with 10:29 remaining following a big basket and the foul by Jaylen Thompson. The free throw was no good, but Thompson continued to make an impact.
Stanford led Notre Dame 67–58 with 7:13 remaining after a huge three-pointer by Dent-Smith put the Cardinal up nine and gave him 14 points. Okorie was up to 18 points as Stanford continued to maintain control.
Stanford led Notre Dame 75–68 with 3:25 remaining. Okorie was up to 24 points, showcasing his craftiness around the rim.
Stanford led Notre Dame 79–76 with 52.2 seconds remaining after a big three-pointer by Thompson. Dent-Smith followed with another triple to extend the lead to 82–76 with 44.7 seconds remaining.
“Ebuka puts a lot of pressure on your defense and they had to hard show and double at times to get the ball out of his hands and we were able to be and we haven’t handled that as well all year,” Smith said of their threes. “And they, that really bothered us the first time I think and I don’t know how you say his name, Imes did a hell of a job on him last year for the most part. I mean last time we played and I just think he’s, obviously Ebuka’s no longer a freshman. That was his first league game. That was the first ACC game. So, he’s just growing in confidence and it’s a wonderful thing. You got that kind of talent and then you’re humble and you work at it. I think he was unselfish. That’s what I’m saying.
“Like, it’d be easy and been in those situations. Like I was wasn’t shocked. He struggled in that game and then, Duke. We had a stretch there like Duke really blitzed him and Cal really got after him and he’s seen it. He’s been through the wars and the second time he played Cal, he, I thought he’s just, he learned and I thought maybe it’d be the same for this one, too.
“And I was right. I don’t say that out loud. I said that after the fact. I think he’s gonna be, he’ll play the right way and he did and he took what the defense gave him and like I said, he had to make a play, and who hit Jaylen? Ebuka. Yeah, so just his willingness to trust his teammates and they’re a good group. You don’t have to be a hero. Being a hero is making that play and having confidence in your teammates to make a shot. So, we made a bunch of them and you have to do that to win.”
In the end, Stanford defeated Notre Dame 86–78. The Cardinal earned a much-needed win behind a true team effort. Okorie (24 points, seven assists) and Dent-Smith (21 points) led the way, while AJ Rohosy (11 points, five rebounds) and Young (10 points) also finished in double figures.
For Stanford, this was a must-win game in terms of keeping their NCAA tournament hopes alive. They absolutely needed this game and to their credit they did just what was needed. Okorie was fantastic as usual and Dent-Smith really stepped up. Plus, others guys like Rohosy, Thompson, and Agarwal found ways to make plays as well. All around, this was a nice team win. While their NCAA tournament odds remain slim, they at least still have a pulse.
“Got a pretty special group,” Smith said of his team. “Like I said, people ask, I said, our culture is great. Our guy, we just preach having great attitudes, great work ethic, and guys that have pride in our program and that’s the most important thing. I’ve been a part of four as a head coach and probably that I always tells people like Saint Mary’s when I was an assistant when we inherited a 2-27 program, that was really the mantra and they’re still chugging away 25 years later. So, that’s kinda, it sounds simple, but it’s hard to accomplish, but just seeing these guys and part of what attracted me to Stanford is you’re going to get guys, like Notre Dame, these are awesome brands. They’re gonna attract really high character people and then you can push those people to be that much more special and lucky to be a part of it.”
Up next for Stanford is a road game at NC State on Saturday, March 7th. Tipoff is set for 11:15 AM PT on The CW.
CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), & Bluesky: @StanfordRivals
Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), YouTube, & Bluesky: @slamdunk406
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
Join the conversation on CardinalSportsReport.com
