Stanford Falls to Miami Late, Drops Third in a Row

Stanford basketball's hopes of reaching the NCAA tournament continue to drop

Jan 24, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Donavin Young (2) looks to pass the ball during the first half against California Golden Bears forward John Camden (2) at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Road trips are tough, especially in conference play of college basketball. And there may be no harder road trip than going on the road from the West Coast of California, down to Miami, Florida. For Stanford, they once again became the victim of a conference they have elected to join.

It was a late night start in Coral Gables, beginning at 9:00 PM local time. And for a solid portion of the game, it severely affected Miami. The Canes came in as almost double digit favorites, but just couldn’t pull away early.

Miami took an early 7-0 lead over Stanford, and even led 14-5. But the lead didn’t last as long as they would have liked. Stanford’s inside-outside game allowed them to pull back in just a few minutes later.

The star power and effectiveness Ebuka Okorie gave them the lead with just a few minutes to go in the half. Ryan Agarwal, who had an incredible night, finished off the first half with a 28-foot three, giving Stanford a 40-35 lead into the half.

The second half started great for the Cardinal, whose hopes of a huge, upset road win just kept increasing. Okorie’s early domination gave Stanford near a double digit lead. Stanford had a tight grip on the game, locking down defensively, and staying strong offensively. It seemed like Miami just couldn’t come back.

Then just under the six minute mark, Stanford’s hopes started to fall. They lost their defensive stability, and all of a sudden Miami was in the driver’s seat to win the conference battle.

All season, Stanford has been great in late game situations, often navigating them to wins. But on Wednesday, it just didn’t go their way. It seemed like the Cardinal had just lost all the momentum they had built up over the course of the game. It seemed awfully similar to the story of Stanford’s season thus far.

Benny Gealer’s heroics kept Stanford fighting, but Dante Allen’s final two free throws officially sealed the deal, and Miami earned the victory, 79-70.

Offensively, both teams looked great, especially from deep. Stanford went 11-of-24 from three, while Miami went 6-of-15. That’s a total of 17-of-39, a 43.5% three point percentage throughout the game, further showcasing the massive swings that the game delivered.

As expected, Okorie led the Cardinal in points with 19, grabbing 5 rebounds, and adding 4 assists. Gealer added 17, with most coming from deep three point land, especially late in the contest. Agarwal added 11 himself, as well as a crucial 6 rebounds in a big game for the junior.

Miami’s two-headed monster of Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson struck once again. Reneau’s 20 and Donaldson’s 18 points helped the Canes seal the victory late.

The Cardinal have now lost three games in a row, and all the momentum they had seemed to have built is leaving slowly but surely. They need to win a number of games if they want to be a tournament team, and they have to win them soon.

Stanford remains in Florida, travelling up north to Tallahassee for a matchup on Saturday against Florida State in a pivotal matchup. Miami will host Stanford’s rival, Cal, at home on Saturday as well.