Ebuka Okorie Dominates in Stanford's Big Win

Ebuka Okorie and Stanford are finding their groove at the right time

Dec 30, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Ebuka Okorie (1) brings the ball upcourt against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

All season, Stanford basketball has had a well kept secret. A guy that wasn’t highly ranked out of high school, a freshman, and an undersized guard, not expected to contribute too much for the Cardinal heading into this season. But now every college basketball fan knows who Ebuka Okorie is.

Okorie attended Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, where he dominated the scene amongst other future college basketball stars. But he was ranked as just the 117th best player in the class and didn’t have many offers outside of academic powerhouses such as Harvard and Stanford.

After committing to the Cardinal, Okorie stepped foot in Palo Alto and hasn't looked back. Not only was he a contributing player, he has become the star of the program in short order.

Okorie had four straight 20 point games to begin his impressive tenure on campus. Okorie put up 25 vs Minnesota, 18 vs UNLV, and 17 vs St. Louis. To end non-conference play, the freshman had back-to-back 30 point games, proving that he wasn’t just a top player on his team, but one of the best in the country.

However, ACC play has rolled around, and the returns were rough for Okorie and Stanford against Notre Dame. They lost to Notre Dame, scoring just 40 points as a team, with seven coming from Okorie.

Some started to wonder if Okorie was only dominating against bad teams in non-conference play. But he answered those questions just a couple of days later when the Cardinal welcomed No. 16 Louisville to Maples, which became the perfect opportunity to shine on the national stage.

Okorie scored just two minutes into the game, hitting 2-of-3 free throw attempts. The freshman continued his scoring with a big three around the 12 minute mark to give the Cardinal a six point lead.

Okorie got subbed out, but came right back in with seven minutes left in the half, converting a tough layup to give Stanford the biggest lead they would have all night at nine. He added five more points to end the half, finishing with 12, and carrying the Cardinal to a halftime lead.

He continued to dominate in the second half, hitting threes, free throws, layups, and floaters routinely. He continues to show that he is one of the best three level scorers in the nation. With under two minutes left, Okorie hit two big free throws to give the Cardinal a four point lead. While Louisville kept it close, Stanford pulled away with a memorable victory, 80-76.

Stanford now has a tough schedule in front of them. They travel for a tough week in Virginia, where they will play both the Hokies and Cavaliers, two terrific programs. They'll line up with Tech on Wednesday, followed by Virginia on Saturday morning.

After, they come home to continue their most important stretch of the year, playing North Carolina, Duke, and then Cal.

The Cardinal will need to win at least two of those five games to be in consideration for the tournament in March, and Stanford needs to continue to step up their game. The proven guy that can take Stanford to the next step is none other than their undersized, low-recruited freshman.