Stanford men’s basketball secured a close 85-84 win over NC State at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. This marks Stanford’s 20th victory of the season and its fourth consecutive win. The Cardinal now holds a 20-11 overall record and is 9-9 in the ACC.
With this result, head coach Kyle Smith became the first in program history to reach 20 wins in each of his first two seasons with Stanford.
The team achieved its fifth win of the season against a NET quadrant one opponent and its third in quadrant 1A. Only 23 teams nationwide have accomplished both feats this year, with the other 22 currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament.
Ebuka Okorie led Stanford with 33 points, setting career highs in field goals (13) and three-pointers (5). He also contributed five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Okorie matched Duke’s Marvin Bagley III for the most 30-point games by a freshman in ACC history with seven such performances. His scoring output this season has moved him into eighth place on Stanford’s single-season scoring list.
Jaylen Thompson added a career-high 15 points along with six rebounds. AJ Rohosy contributed 14 points and seven rebounds—his best scoring performance during ACC play. Jeremy Dent-Smith finished with 10 points, including seven of Stanford’s final nine points to secure the win.
Benny Gealer scored eight points, making two three-pointers to move into seventh place on Stanford’s single-season three-pointers list. He also recorded two steals, tying for 14th on the school’s single-season steals list.
Stanford led for most of the first half behind Okorie’s strong performance but saw NC State narrow the gap to three points at halftime. In the second half, NC State briefly took control before Stanford responded with a decisive run. Dent-Smith made key plays late in the game, including a crucial three-pointer and four free throws that sealed the victory.
Stanford will enter the ACC Tournament as the No. 10 seed and is scheduled to face No. 15 seed Pittsburgh on Tuesday, March 10 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.
