SETTING THE SCENE
Stanford men's basketball looks for its first road trip sweep as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, traveling to Wake Forest on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET) on ACC Network.
THE STARTING FIVE
• Stanford is out to a 16-9 start, including four quadrant one NET victories and notable ACC wins vs. No. 14/15 North Carolina, No. 16/13 Louisville and at Virginia Tech. A 16-9 start is the second in a row through 25 games under head coach Kyle Smith.
• Ebuka Okorie ranks seventh in the country in scoring at 22.4 points per game and third among freshmen. He joins only Duke's Cameron Boozer and BYU's AJ Dybantsa as qualified freshmen nationally north of 21 points per night, and he was named in the top-10 rankings for national freshman of the year by ESPN, Bleacher Report, Field of 68 and Hoops HQ.
• Stanford won the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert with wins over Minnesota and Saint Louis, with Benny Gealer's buzzer beater on Nov. 28 sending the Cardinal home victorious.
• Only 31 teams nationwide have at least four quadrant one wins, with Stanford one of seven ACC teams to reach the threshold. Three of Stanford's wins are over current AP top-25 opponents, two are Q1A.
• Maxime Raynaud graduated from Stanford in 2025 after posting one of the top seasons in program history, and the All-American was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in June. Stanford's NBA alumni are shining above expectations, with Raynaud scoring 9.8 points per game, Ziaire Williams 9.7, Brook Lopez 6.8, Spencer Jones 6.0. and Dwight Powell 2.9. Raynaud is posting 11.6 points per game across 30 starts, while Jones increases his number to 7.5 a night in 34 starting appearances.
BOSTON THREE PARTY
Stanford opened the road trip with a 70-64 victory at Boston College on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Ebuka Okorie scored 22 points while Benny Gealer added career highs of 21 points and eight rebounds, including six 3-pointers. Stanford improved to 6-3 away from home this season, and 2-3 on the road in ACC games, and 2-0 against Boston College in program history.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
In a position to rewrite the Cardinal's freshman record book, Ebuka Okorie already ranks second in points, passing Casey Jacobsen (1999-00) against Clemson (Feb. 1), Tyrell Terry (2019-20) against Georgia Tech and Chasson Randle (2011-12) against Boston College (Feb. 11). Okorie is just one point away from matching Todd Lichti (1985-86) in first with 516 points, and two to set a new standard. His scoring average is on pace to top Lichti (17.2) for the top spot.
Okorie has already broken the Stanford freshman record for free throws made (152) and free throw attempts (182) in a season. He has moved into third in field goals made (160) and seventh in 3-pointers made (43), six makes away from the top five. Not just a scorer, Okorie ranks seventh in assists and seventh in steals.
In Stanford's overall season history, Okorie is 17 points away from the top-20 while his current scoring average of 22.4 points per game would rank second all-time, trailing only Adam Keefe (25.3, 1991-92) and just ahead of Landry Fields (22.0, 2009-20) and Casey Jacobsen (21.9, 2001-02). He is also ranks 16th in a single-season in made free throws, 12 away from entering the top-10.