Stanford Men's Basketball Makes History Against UNC

Jan 18, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Jaylen Blakes (21) reacts after hitting the game winning shot in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Jaylen Blakes (21) reacts after hitting the game winning shot in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Stanford men's basketball program entered Saturday having gone 0-13 against the North Carolina Tar Heels, but when Jaylen Blakes put the Cardinal up 72-71 with less than two seconds to play, that was the shot that ended up snapping that 13-game losing streak for Stanford. It also seems perfect that with was a former Duke player that held the dagger.

The Cardinal's win also snapped a four-game win streak for North Carolina, and the Stanford win marked North Carolina’s first loss while leading at the half since Feb. 8, 2020.

That all said, UNC is 12-7 on the season and aren't the dominant program that they have typically been, but for a Cardinal team that is attempting to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade, this win still holds a lot of weight. UNC isn't ranked, but this is still an ACC victory for Stanford, who are now 4-3 in conference play and 12-6 overall.

The ACC's leading scorer and rebounder, Maxime Raynaud, led the way with 25 points in this one, adding 13 rebounds and four blocked shots. In a recent NBA mock draft, the Indiana Pacers were projected to land the Stanford star.

New addition to the starting lineup, freshman Donavin Young, added three blocks of his own, and went 3-for-3 from three, finishing with nine points, four rebounds, and a steal. He has been adding a jolt to the Cardinal of late as well.

The Cardinal received just one point from their bench, a Chisom Okpara free throw, and Benny Gealer was the only bench player to put up a shot. The trio of Okpara, Gealer, and Aidan Cammann totaled just 21 minutes of floor time between them, with Gealer and Okpara each recording an assist, and Gealer adding a steal.

The hero for the day, Blakes, scored 20 points and had a game-high seven assists. His addition to the roster has given first-year Cardinal coach Kyle Smith a productive number two player to pair with Raynaud, and his ability to attack the basket and draw contact has been extremely helpful all year, but it especially shows up in a game like this. Blakes went 6-for-6 from the free throw line, matching Raynaud.

Okpara, who went 1-for-2 from the line, was the only other Stanford player to attempt a free throw in this game. UNC had six players attempt free throws, and they went 20-for-24 as a team.

This game that included 14 lead changes and 12 ties, and each time one program would go on a run, the other team would go on a run of their own to keep things close. It was back and forth all game long, and if there had been one more full possession, there could have been a different outcome.

This is the type of back-and-forth contest that Stanford needs to be able to claim victory in as they continue to grow, and with coach Smith leading the charge, this team has looked invigorated all season.

Stanford has played five of their seven conference games on the road so far this season, but that will change a bit in the coming weeks. Their next game will be against Miami at home on Wednesday, January 22 and will air on ESPNU. They'll face Florida State at Maples later in the week, followed by a home matchup with Syracuse a week from Wednesday, also on ESPNU or ESPN2.

Stanford will begin February back on the road to face SMU in Dallas, Texas.


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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.