Stanford University’s men’s basketball team will begin a three-game homestand with a matchup against No. 14/15 North Carolina on Wednesday, January 14 at 6 p.m. The game, which will be held at Maples Pavilion, is set to air on the ACC Network.
Stanford has started the season with a 13-4 record, its best since the 2019-20 campaign. The team has recorded neutral-site wins over Colorado, Minnesota, and Saint Louis and also secured ACC victories against ranked opponents Louisville and Virginia Tech.
Freshman Ebuka Okorie currently ranks eighth nationally in scoring at 22.1 points per game and is third among freshmen in that category. He joins Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa as the only freshmen averaging more than 20 points per game nationwide. Chisom Okpara adds an average of 13.9 points per night, placing him among the top scorers in the ACC.
The Cardinal achieved their first ACC win and first victory over a ranked opponent since December 31, 2023, by defeating No. 16/13 Louisville to open the year. Stanford has won its last three games against ranked teams at Maples Pavilion and will face two more this week: North Carolina and Duke.
Earlier this season, Stanford won the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert after Benny Gealer hit a buzzer-beater on November 28 to secure victory over Saint Louis.
Maxime Raynaud graduated from Stanford in 2025 following one of the strongest seasons in program history and was selected by the Sacramento Kings in June’s NBA Draft. Since December 1, Raynaud along with Brook Lopez, Spencer Jones, and Ziaire Williams have each scored at least 20 points in NBA games. Raynaud is currently averaging 13.2 points and nine rebounds across fourteen starts for Sacramento; Jones averages 8.6 points while shooting forty-two percent from three-point range for Denver; Williams contributes an average of nine point three points per game this season.
In their recent road win over Virginia Tech, Stanford overcame a twelve-point deficit with just over two minutes remaining by finishing on a fourteen-to-one run to claim a narrow victory (69-68). Okorie led all scorers with thirty-one points—his third time topping thirty points in five games—and matched his career-high six assists during that contest. Donavin Young contributed eleven points (a career high), while Oskar Giltay added eight points and thirteen rebounds. Okorie played a central role down the stretch by scoring or assisting on forty of Stanford’s final forty-two points—including making the decisive three-pointer with just over three seconds left.
Stanford made history last year by earning its first-ever win against North Carolina when Jaylen Blakes hit a jumper with less than one second remaining. This upcoming meeting marks only the fifteenth time these programs have faced each other—their third encounter at Maples Pavilion—and is their second as members of the ACC since first meeting during the 1967-68 season.
As part of “Nerdball Night,” fans attending Wednesday’s game can receive a complimentary Stanford Men’s Basketball puzzle while supplies last.
