Stanford Shocks No. 16 Louisville in Biggest Win of Kyle Smith Era

College basketball is weird sometimes. Sometimes you will see a team drop just 40 points in a basketball game against a disorganized team without their star player. Then a few nights later, you might see them taking down a top ranked team in the country. Welcome to Stanford basketball.

After a very weird performance on Tuesday against Notre Dame, many fans considered Stanford season to be over, in the sense that they wouldn’t be playing for much. But after Friday night's upset over Louisville, everything has changed.

Stanford hosted No. 16 Louisville in their biggest home game of the Kyle Smith era. The stands were as packed as ever seen in Maples, and the crowd was roaring right from tip.

As the game started, the Cardinal found their rhythm almost instantly. Stanford went up a quick 4-0 to get things going. While the Cardinals held it tight, Stanford wouldn’t let go. Both teams matched scores not only throughout the first half, but the entire game. It seemed like neither team could truly pull away at any moment. Stanford's largest lead of the entire game was just nine.

As Louisville would cut into the deficit, they'd make it close, even taken a slim lead at times—but Stanford always answered back and pushed their lead back up to two scores. Big shots kept falling all night long.

As the last few minutes approached, the Cardinal went on a quick run to take the lead, but it definitely wasn’t over, as Louisville did everything they could to keep it close. Every single Stanford point was matched with a Louisville one as well. But after Benny Gealer hit two free throws down the stretch, the final horn sounded, and Stanford had pulled off a historic victory 80-76.

As has become custom, it was Ebuka Okorie lighting up the stat sheet. He led the Cardinal with 28 points, scoring in all types of ways. Chisom Okpara had a quiet 17 that immensely helped the Cardinal. But it was Ryan Agarwal who was the x-factor, going 4-of-4 from three for a huge 12 points. His play recently has been nothing short of phenomenal after a slow start to the year.

While only a few are highlights on the stat sheet, every single player helped them to a much needed victory. Freshman Oscar Giltay also received his first start of the season, playing a total of 26 minutes and putting up four rebounds, two blocks and a steal, doing most of his work on the defensive end.

Louisville was led by duo Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely, who were both hoisting up tons of shots, but hit many as well. They combined for 35 of Louisville’s 76 points, with Conwell going 6-of-21 from the field and McKneely hitting 5-of-11. Their ability to score down the stretch kept the Cardinals alive in the contest.

This is a huge win for Stanford. Coming off of an awful loss, keeping the season alive in such a dramatic way should do wonders for their tournament chances. The win came at a perfect time as well. Players such as Agarwal and Okorie succeeding in the way they did was great for the future of Stanford, and they are now gaining momentum going into their toughest stretch of the year.

Stanford now goes on a tough road trip to Virginia, where they will have to play both the Hokies and Cavaliers. If the Cardinal can escape with a victory, it will be massive as they then prepare for three straight home games against North Carolina, Duke, and Cal in mid-to-late January.

Louisville will now have to rebound quickly, as they host Duke on Tuesday in their biggest game of the year.

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