Stanford Falls to Notre Dame in Heartbreaker

Stanford men's basketball dropped a crucial road game on Wednesday night.

The Cardinal travelled north to South Bend, Indiana, where they took on Notre Dame, a rivalry that has spread through football since the inaugural game in 1975. This game lived up to the hype.

Although both teams are not in a great position to make the NCAA tournament and participate in March Madness, both still had a lot to play for.

For Stanford, a 20-win season under new head coach Kyle Smith would mean a lot to the program, which has struggled in recent years. Also, a road win would boost team morale heading into the final conference game at Louisville, as well as adding onto a three game winning streak that they had going. A loss would burn momentum, and add onto an already poor road record on the season.

For Notre Dame, a win would clinch a spot in the ACC tournament, as well as putting an end to a streak that involved eight losses in 10 games. On the other hand, a loss would move them closer to the fence when it comes to making the ACC tournament. It would turn push into shove, after an already underwhelming season.

In a hard fought, defensive-minded battle, the Fighting Irish won the rivalry game, 56-54, and picked up a massive win for their season. Following the loss, Stanford sits at 19-11 on the year, with an 11-8 record in ACC play. They're also 3-7 on the road after finishing with a 16-2 mark at home.

Late in the game, the Cardinal took a nine point lead, but Markus Burton wouldn’t let his Irish go away, as they continued to stay in it. With just 30 seconds left, and the Cardinal up just one, the ball was inbounded, driven, and kicked out to the corner, where Cole Certa stood, waiting for a pass. He received it, and pulled off a beautiful catch and shoot masterpiece that propelled the Irish to victory.

Markus Burton led the charge for the Irish, putting up 24 points, and continuing to establish himself as an all-ACC candidate at the end of the season. Tae Davis made his mark too, putting up nine, as well as eight rebounds, and four assists.

Cole Certa came off the bench, hitting two threes: The farthest three all night, as well as the most clutch three all night, both helping Notre Dame pick up the win.

Stanford’s top scorer was Raynaud once again, who put up 20 points, and brought his rebounding numbers up, after a few off games when it comes to getting boards. He finished with ten boards, giving him his 22nd double-double on the season.

Jaylen Blakes put up 13, a bounce back game after a tough senior night performance. Benny Gealer had a massive game off the bench, where he hit three threes on 3-of-4 shooting from deep, and put up 11, continuing his dominance from the SMU game last Saturday.

Stanford will face Louisville on the road on Saturday, wrapping up their regular season before heading straight to Charlotte for the ACC tournament. The Cardinal have a tough stretch coming up to finish off their already incredible season, where they hope to continue to overachieve, and come back from tough loss in a strong manner.