Leaning on Ebuka Okorie, Stanford opens ACC play vs. Notre Dame

Ebuka Okorie and Stanford hope to kick off ACC play on a high note as they host Notre Dame on Tuesday.

The Cardinal (11-2) are 7-2 at home this season and currently riding a four-game winning streak. Okorie posted 32 points in a 77-68 win against Colorado on Dec. 20 and had 30 points in an 88-80 victory against Cal State Northridge his last time out. Chisom Okpara had 20 points and Benny Gealer added 13 points in the come-from-behind win against the Matadors.

"He's just getting better," Stanford head coach Kyle Smith said of Okorie. "These are all good opportunities for him and you know, I was actually able to get mad at him. I have to find things to get mad at him, but he takes it, you know, so I don't want him -- it'd be easy just to give him his own rules and let him do, but he's like, ‘Now what?'

"This guy wants to be coached, wants to be great. Let's get great in all areas of the game and just appreciate everything he's doing."

It's also the ACC opener for the Fighting Irish (9-4), and they enter following a disappointing 72-69 loss to Purdue Fort Wayne. Jalen Haralson had 21 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame, which tied the score twice in the second half against the Mastodons but was never able to take the lead.

"Every bit of criticism is justified today," Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry said following the loss. "Total lack of leadership, and maybe that starts with me. Maybe I didn't talk about it enough, so that's on me that we came out and played that way."

Notre Dame had previously won four straight games despite playing the better part of three of them without star guard Markus Burton, who had surgery to repair an ankle injury this month.

Tuesday's game is the second in-conference meeting between these teams since Stanford joined the ACC in 2024. Notre Dame won the first meeting 56-54.

--Field Level Media