Stanford Tips Off ACC Play Against Notre Dame

On Tuesday night, Stanford will begin an 18-game ACC stretch to end the 2025-26 season. With a daunting schedule ahead, the Cardinal have a tough but doable path to success this season. And that all starts on December 30th, when Stanford hosts Notre Dame.

Stanford has had a somewhat successful season thus far, where they have taken down St. Louis, Minnesota, and Colorado en route to an 11-2 start. However, losses to Seattle and UNLV prove that the Cardinal are beatable, and they're not invincible at home, where they lost both contests.

Notre Dame has had a season that is potentially collapsing pretty early on, despite a great start. The Fighting Irish began the year 3-0, but fell in their first important game of the year, to Ohio State. Over the next four games, they also lost to Kansas and Houston.

After a poor 5-3 start, the Irish picked up steam, winning back-to-back games over big-time opponents, Mizzou and TCU. After, they took down Idaho and Evansville without star player Markus Burton to improve to 9-3.

But that’s when it all went downhill. Without Burton, the Irish looked lost, and that turned into another loss—in fact an awful one. Notre Dame lost to Purdue Fort Wayne at home to fall to 9-4 and erase all the momentum they once built. Now, they have to come across the country to Palo Alto, CA to play Stanford, a tough game in itself.

Notre Dame and Stanford have a lot of history. The Cardinal and Irish have been matched up in football consistently, and have played 39 times since their inaugural matchup in 1939. While the basketball history isn’t quite on that level, the two did meet up last season due to Stanford’s arrival in the ACC.

They played in South Bend, IN last season, with the Irish squeaking out a close 56-54 defensive battle to essentially ruin Stanford’s season. But this year, they are out to get revenge.

Stanford freshman Ebuka Okorie is coming off of back-to-back 30-point performances, the first Cardinal to do so in 15 years. Their star is riding high, and a great supporting cast of Chisom Okpara, Benny Gealer, Ryan Agarwal, AJ Rohosy, and Jeremy Dent-Smith, as well as elite depth has been the key to Stanford’s success this season.

Jalen Haralson has led Notre Dame this season in the absence of Burton, averaging 14.7 points per game. Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa help with 12.2 and 8.8 points respectively.

Okorie and Burton are two of the ACC’s best, and would provide for a great matchup. But at the end of the day, one is playing and one is not, and that’s why Stanford should have a leg up on their road to victory.

Stanford comes in with a 49.9% chance to win per ESPN, which makes it essentially a pick-em game. The spread though is -5.5 points in favor of the Cardinal.

We'll pick Stanford to win 74-69, with the Irish keeping it close, but the Cardinal showing that they;ve added some resolve over the course of the season. The Cardinal appear to be the better team and are hotter and healthier when it matters.

Seasons could be altered, and bragging rights can be earned tonight at Maples.

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