Stanford beats No. 13 Louisville, gets first ranked win in Kyle Smith era

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Stanford men's basketball had its first game of the new calendar year and opened it with a shocking 80-76 win against No. 13 Louisville on Jan. 2 at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, California.

It was the biggest victory for Stanford head coach Kyle Smith, who earned his first ranked win at Stanford. It was also the first time in program history that Stanford beat Louisville.

Freshman guard Ebuka Okorie led Stanford with 28 points, finishing 9-for-18 from the field and made 8-of-10 free throw attempts. Senior forward Chisom Okpara scored 17 points and notched a season-high eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

Redshirt junior Ryan Agarwal scored 12 points, making all four of his 3-point attempts.

"Great win for the program," Smith said told reporters after the game. "We needed it. Some guys made some big efforts. Obviously, Ebuka was tremendous. But you know, Ryan going 4-for-4 from 3 was very helpful."

Smith said after watching film, with some guys getting called out for their efforts and performance, the team responded.

"They really bought in to what we're trying to do," Smith said. "From the getgo I thought we were pretty competitive in trying to take away 3s from those guys. They're a really explosive offense and a good defensive team."

Okorie has scored at least 20 points in eight games for Stanford. He is ranked No. 10 in Division I basketball in points per game, averaging 21.5.

The 6-foot-2 guard is third out of all freshmen in scoring behind Duke forward Cameron Boozer and BYU forward AJ Dybantsa.

"After watching film, I noticed I needed to be more aggressive. Whether it's getting downhill, getting my teammates involved (or) creating for myself," Okorie told reporters after the game. "I feel like that's what I did today and it helped us get the win."

Stanford improves to 12-3 this season and 1-1 in the ACC. Its next game is on the road at Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 7. The game will be televised on ACC Network.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stanford basketball vs Louisville score, highlights

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