Recap: Stanford Men’s Basketball falls to West Virginia in OT in College Basketball Crown
On Thursday, Stanford men’s basketball fell to West Virginia in overtime in the College Basketball Crown by a final score of 82-77. West Virginia guard Honor Huff led the way for the Mountaineers with 21 points and four rebounds while Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie led all scorers with 34 points and five assists. Okorie reached 30+ points for the 8th time of his sensational freshman season, setting a new ACC freshman record for most 30+ point scoring games in a single season.
BOX SCORE: Stanford vs. West Virginia-Thursday, April 2nd
West Virginia led Stanford 11–6 with 12:13 remaining in the half. West Virginia was 5-of-14 from the field while Stanford was just 3-of-12. Stanford was icy cold from the field and needed to warm up.
West Virginia held a 16–15 edge with 7:57 to go in the half. The Cardinal briefly took their first lead of the game after a 3-pointer by Aidan Cammann. Ebuka Okorie moved up to six points for the Cardinal, while Brenen Lorient’s five points led the Mountaineers.
West Virginia was up 29–23 with 3:28 left in the half. Lorient’s seven points paced the Mountaineers, while Okorie (nine points) and AJ Rohosy (six points) led the Cardinal. Stanford was just 2-of-8 from deep and needed some threes to fall.
West Virginia led 35–29 at halftime. The Mountaineers held the edge at the break, with Lorient’s nine points leading the way, while Okorie’s 11 points led the Cardinal.
West Virginia extended its lead to 41–36 with 15:40 remaining. The Mountaineers went scoreless over the previous 2:34 as Okorie finished a smooth layup inside and drew the foul. He kept Stanford within striking distance with 14 points.
West Virginia was up 47–43 with 11:49 to go. The Cardinal continued to hang tough as Okorie reached 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. He was difficult to stop in transition. Lorient paced the Mountaineers with 11 points and five rebounds.
Stanford took a 53–51 lead with 8:22 remaining. Okorie was balling out with 28 points and lifted the Cardinal in a big way.
Stanford led 59–55 with 6:31 to go after Cammann banked in a 3-pointer to move up to eight points. Stanford gladly took it, not complaining about the bank being open.
Stanford extended its lead to 65–57 with 3:28 remaining. Okorie reached 30 points, setting the ACC freshman record for most 30-point games in a season with eight.
Stanford led 67–63 with 1:03 to go and had possession, needing to close strong. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, the game went to overtime tied at 68–68. Honor Huff was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and calmly knocked down all three free throws for the Mountaineers to extend the game. It was a bit of a controversial foul as the Cardinal tried to foul before he entered his shooting motion, but after not being called for the foul, they tried to foul again, and that’s what got them in trouble.
In the end, West Virginia won 82–77 in overtime. It was a brutal loss for the Cardinal. Huff came alive late for the Mountaineers with 21 points and four rebounds, while Okorie led the Cardinal and all scorers with 34 points and five assists. Stanford’s season came to an end in Las Vegas.
For Stanford, this is not how they wanted their season to end. They were hoping to get a second life in the College Basketball Crown and so to lose in overtime stings. No way to put it. Ebuka Okorie was phenomenal, having one of his best games of the season, and to not be able to win in such an amazing effort is a major disappointment.
At the same time, Stanford had a real chance to win and battled hard. This wasn’t an issue of effort. The biggest difference ultimately was West Virginia clamping down on defense in key moments, Honor Huff stepping up his game, and West Virginia going 22-26 at the foul line. The Mountaineers played a good game as well and took advantage of some key moments, most notably Huff making all three foul shots to force overtime. West Virginia will play Creighton on Saturday at 4:00 PM PT in the semifinals. It’ll be interesting to see how that one goes.
As for Stanford, up next comes the offseason. The biggest thing to watch for is what Ebuka Okorie does with respect to the NBA Draft. He’s definitely good enough to get drafted, but with next year’s draft being projected to be weaker, staying in school one more year might end up being the right move for him. What he ends up doing will have a huge impact on Stanford’s NCAA tourney hopes for next season. With him, they project to be a tourney team. Without him, they’ll have to once again claw, fight, and overachieve. Something that head coach Kyle Smith knows a lot about.
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