Stanford Beats NC State to Get Back on the Bubble

Coming into Saturday’s crucial matchup between the Stanford Cardinal and NC State Wolfpack, Stanford was in need of a win if they wanted any chance at staying in the hunt for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Stanford entered the game at 19-11, sitting at 8-9 in ACC play. The Cardinal had a successful season despite low expectations, following the departure of Maxime Raynaud to the NBA. They took down big time teams like North Carolina, Louisville, St. Louis, and SMU. Adding one final quad one win over NC State would be a fantastic ending for the Cardinal's regular season.

NC State was in a similar place. The Wolfpack entered also at 19-11, but 10-7 in conference play. NC State was certainly on the right side of the bubble compared to Stanford, but a loss at home would have the potential to severely impact that.

Stanford and NC State went back and forth

The entire game was back and forth all morning. Stanford would grab a lead, then NC State would hit a couple of clutch shots to pull right back to even. On one end, it was Ebuka Okorie dominating both on the outside as well as on the inside. It was also AJ Rohosy, who couldn’t miss a shot down low. NC State saw a mix of stars score, but none could get into too much of a rhythm throughout the game.

Stanford led 37-34 at halftime, but even that lead didn't seem to be the confidence booster it should have been for the Cardinal. When the second half began, the Wolfpack showed why, jumping back in front quickly.

However, Stanford stole the lead right back, and held it throughout the rest of the game. Down the stretch, Tre Holloman carried NC State to late buckets inside, drawing multiple fouls, but he wasn’t enough for the clutch genes of Jeremy Dent-Smith and Okorie.

As the buzzer sounded, Paul McNeil hit a three for the Wolfpack to bring the final score a bit closer, but their run came just short. Stanford had picked up a massive victory over NC State, winning 85-84. This is now Stanford's fifth quad one win, which could end up being what gets them into the NCAA tournament.

Kyle Smith took the job at Stanford after the Cardinal had just one 20 win season in nine years. After their win today against NC State, Stanford has now had two straight 20 win seasons in Smith’s first two years.
— Lucca Mazzie (@luccamazzie11) March 7, 2026

It was Okorie who once again showed out. He put up 33 points, with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the victory. Jaylen Thompson, who averaged just 1.4 points per game coming into this one, put up 15 points and six rebounds in the victory. It was by far his best game of his career. The sophomore had scored 24 points all season before this 15-point outburst.

Rohosy was dominant down low working to get to the rim over and over again, and Dent-Smith hit some big free throws down the stretch to ice the victory.

NC State was led by Ven-Allen Lubin, who put up 17 points and five rebounds in the loss. Quadir Copeland helped with 16 points, while Holloman added 15 himself. It was a team effort, but they came up just short in the end.

Stanford is officially a No. 10 seed in the ACC tournament, and will now take on the No. 15 Pitt Panthers in the first round of the tournament.

Interestingly enough, the winner of that first-round matchup will take on NC State, the seven seed, in the second round. If Stanford wins their first-round game, the second round against NC State could be an a pivotal deciding game of who makes March Madness and who doesn’t.

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