Ebuka Okorie looks to stay hot and keep Stanford out of the loss column as the Cardinal welcome Seattle University to Maples Pavilion on Friday.
Okorie ranks third in the country and first among freshmen averaging 25.5 points per game. He is coming off a 26-point outing in a 93-66 win against Louisiana on Tuesday, his fourth straight game posting over 20 points to begin his collegiate career.
“(That) was probably his best floor game,” Stanford head coach Kyle Smith said. “Obviously he scored, he seems to score all the time. But you’re starting to see the extra pass, starting to see the guys on a roll. … The better he gets, the better the next guy gets. It’s been fun to watch.”
Chisom Okpara added 22 points and five rebounds, and Cameron Grant had 15 points while going 5-for-11 from 3-point range on Tuesday for the Cardinal (4-0), who wrap up a five-game homestand on Friday.
“I was very pleased with the way we played tonight,” Smith said after the win against Louisiana. “The first 10 minutes were very competitive, and they’re tough.”
The Redhawks (3-1) have won two straight heading into their first road game of the season. They secured a 94-67 win against Eastern Washington on Nov. 12 and are coming off an 83-74 win Saturday against Idaho State, a game in which both teams scored 40 points in the second half.
“We went up 19 (points), and I think there were 11 minutes to go and a timeout, and I was talking to the guys about how the next three or four minutes would be the difference in the game,” Seattle head coach Chris Victor said. “Idaho State, we’ve got to give them credit, they fought the whole game. Thirteen offensive rebounds, which kicked our butts down low, but I’m proud of how we finished.”
Brayden Maldonado, who leads Seattle with 23.3 points per game, had 22 points, two rebounds and six assists against the Bengals, and Jojo Murphy added 14 points off the bench.
“Brayden made some free throws down the stretch to get us the stops that we needed,” Victor said. “And Jojo played great. … Good to see Jojo come in and score some points.”
Seattle went 4-11 on the road last season. Stanford went 17-3 at home after winning five straight at Maples Pavilion to kick off the 2024-25 campaign.
