Ebuka Okorie Goes Off in Stanford's Win Over Pitt

After a pair of weeks where Stanford had to play away from their home court, the Cardinal finally got back in town to take on Pitt at Maples Pavilion, and freshman Ebuka Okorie was up for some home cooking.

Stanford came in at 16-11, coming off back-to-back losses at Wake Forest and at Cal. However, a win against Pitt would be massive at home, helping them better their seeding in the ACC Tournament, and also better their chances at qualifying for the NIT as well.

For Pitt, the game was a big one as well. At just 10-17 and 15th in the ACC, the Panthers entered the game on the brink of qualifying for the ACC Tournament, as only the top 15 out of the 18 programs make it. A win would put them in a great spot, with more wins than both Notre Dame and Boston College, while a loss would leave the three teams tied at 3-12 in ACC play.

Things started out great for the Panthers, who got out to an early 4-0 start before leading 13-7. Stanford couldn’t match Pitt’s physicality, and simply couldn’t keep up. But the Panthers could only keep up that pace for so long.

Stanford’s mix of shooting and inside scoring helped them get right back in the game. At halftime, the Cardinal trailed by just two points, 34-32. Regardless, it was a game Stanford expected to be dominating, and they just simply weren’t. They were competitive, but this looked like a game where Stanford could pull away early.

The beginning of the second half was all about Ebuka Okorie. He was hitting shots, facilitating, and doing everything that a guard needs to do on the court to get the offense moving. The second half included a lot of back-and-forth basketball that included seven lead changes, but in the end, Okorie helped Stanford to pull away in this one, scoring 13 of his team's final 15 points.

Stanford was able to keep the lead throughout the entire game, getting the win 75-67.

Okorie led the team in scoring, putting up 34 points, his sixth game of scoring 30 or more on the year, and going 11-of-19 from the field and 3-of-6 from three, including dominating down the stretch.

Jaylen Thompson, who started his first game of the year, put up eight points, going 4-of-6 from the field. In addition, his great defense helped the Cardinal crack down on the Panthers. Benny Gealer put up 12 points, going 2-of-6 from three in the win. Aidan Cammann’s recent great play continued as he put up 11 in the victory.

Pitt was led by Cameron Corhen, who put up a big 22 points in the loss. Barry Dunning Jr. had 19 points as well, hitting four threes to keep the Panthers in the game late.

Stanford will now host SMU on senior night, hoping to get one final home win on the season over a bubble team. Pitt will take on Cal on Saturday with hopes of avenging their first loss of the week against the Cardinal.