Dec 27, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Ebuka Okorie (1) shoots against CSUN Matadors guard Jordan Brinson (right) during the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
On Saturday at 3:00 PM PT on ACC Network, Stanford men’s basketball will take on Florida State on the road in Tallahassee. Stanford comes in at 14-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC while Florida State comes in at 9-12 overall and 2-6 in the ACC.
Last time out: On Wednesday, Stanford fell to Miami on the road by a final score of 79-70. Ebuka Okorie had 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Cardinal. Stanford led 40-35 at halftime but wasn’t able to finish the job.
RECAP: Stanford Men’s Basketball fades at Miami
Student-Athlete Availability Report: Per the ACC Student-Athlete Availability Report, the following guys are out for Stanford: Tallis Toure, Chisom Okpara, and Kristers Skrinda. The following guys are out for Florida State: Shahid Muhammad and Xavier Osceola.
On Florida State: The Seminoles are having a rough season. They are especially bad away from home with a 1-5 record on the road and an 0-3 record on neutral floors. Their two wins in ACC play are over Miami on the road (65-63) and Cal at home (63-61). They do have a narrow 91-87 loss at home to No. 4 Duke and a narrow 78-76 loss on the road to No. 19 Florida. So, they’ve shown that they can hang with really good teams.
Senior guard Robert McCray V leads the way for the Seminoles with 14.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 44.6% shooting from the field, 27.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.1% shooting from the foul line. Senior forward Chauncey Wiggins (12.0 points & 4.1 rebounds) and senior guard Lajae Jones (11.0 points & 5.6 rebounds) are also scoring in double figures on average while senior guard Kobe MaGee is knocking on the door with 9.8 points per game.
In ACC play, the Seminoles are averaging 73.0 points per game on 41.7% shooting from the field, 30.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.2% shooting from the foul line. They average 31.4 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 6.6 steals, 3.4 blocks, and 11.3 turnovers per game. They also average a -2.9 rebound differential and a -1.0 turnover differential per game. Their opponents in ACC play average 81.6 points per game on 46.7% shooting from the field, 35.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 75.7% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is win the rebound battle. Stanford averages a -6.4 rebound differential per game. In their win over Cal, Florida State won the rebound battle 42-41. If Stanford can be the team that gets more rebounds, that would go a long way towards winning this game.
Secondly, Stanford needs to get their threes to fall. Cal hit 10 threes against Florida State on Wednesday, which really allowed them to stay in the game. If Stanford can make more threes than Florida State and get guys like Ebuka Okorie, Benny Gealer, Ryan Agarwal, and Jeremy Dent-Smith to knock down their threes, that would be big. Stanford has the weapons to make it rain from the perimeter. They just gotta create good looks and knock them down.
Finally, Ebuka Okorie needs to stay in attack mode. He’s the top player on this Cardinal team, averaging 21.5 points per game. When he is attacking the rim and getting to the foul line (81.8%), he is difficult to stop as is the entire Stanford team. If he is able to attack the rim and get to the foul line, Stanford will be in a good position to steal this game.
Prediction: I like Stanford’s odds of winning this game. On paper, they’re the better team and in their last road trip, they got a split by winning at Virginia Tech. I’ll say Stanford wins 70-68. Should be close, but I think Stanford finds a way to pull it out behind a strong outing from Okorie.
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