Late Wake Forest Run May Have Ended Stanford's Season

Stanford's latest loss may have be the one that keeps them out of the NCAA tournament

Feb 14, 2026; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Tre'von Spillers (25) handles the ball defended by Stanford Cardinal forward Oskar Giltay (15) during the second half at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Coming into Saturday’s game, it looked like Stanford had truly built a team that was ready to play in the NCAA tournament. They were 16-9, coming off back-to-back victories, and had four Quad 1 wins under their belts. While March Madness seemed a bit far-fetched, a few 50/50 wins could put the Cardinal into that conversation.

Unfortunately for them, Saturday wasn’t their night, and hat may end up being the official nail in their season.

Stanford took on Wake Forest on the road, and despite being slight underdogs, it seemed like they could potentially overcome those odds. In fact, early on Stanford was in complete control of the contest.

The Cardinal pulled out to an early 17-9 lead, looking like they were in complete control. In road conference games, that’s not easy to do. Unfortunately for Stanford, the lead only held a few minutes, as a 12-4 run pulled the Demon Deacons right back into the mix, as they ended up tying the game with eight minutes left in the first half.

Stanford ended the half strong, as Benny Gealer, Ebuka Okorie, and Aidan Cammann went off, giving the Cardinal a large nine point lead entering the break.

Stanford controlled the majority of the second half as well. They led almost the entire half, playing in full control of the game. The players looked comfortable, and ready to earn the win. However, the success lasted just a few minutes short of the buzzer.

With just under two minutes left in the game, a Juke Harris layup tied the ballgame, and the momentum completely swung to the home team. No one could stop Harris, who scored the final nine points for the Demon Deacons. Stanford had just two points in that timespan.

The story of this game was simple. A basketball game is 40 minutes, not 36, and if a team can’t play 40 minutes of good basketball, they simply aren’t going to win, especially on the road in a tough conference like the ACC. Wake Forest rode two key runs to the win in this one.

The game was awfully similar to a few weeks prior, when the Cardinal took on Miami. They were doubted at the start, looked comfortable early, dominated for the majority of the game, but an inability to score or defend down the stretch is what ended up costing them in that one.

Stanford is certainly making strides of playing on the road after their road meltdowns in 2024-25, but it’s still an incomplete project that needs a few more years to really fine tune.

Okorie led the Cardinal in points with a strong 26 on 10-21 shooting, and ended up setting the single-season scoring record for Stanford freshmen in the process. Gealer helped with 11 points of his own, and some big moments late in the first half. Cammann’s recent success continued, as he put up 10 points off the bench.

While Tre’Von Spillers and Mekhi Mason helped, it was all Harris for the Demon Deacons. He put up 25 points and seven rebounds in the victory.

Stanford now returns to the West Coast but will remain on the road, taking on rival Cal on February 21 in Berkeley. Wake Forest hosts No. 20 Clemson, hoping to spoil the Tigers' success over the last few weeks. They catch them at a good time though, as they are coming off a loss in Durham against No. 4 Duke.