Stanford (20-13) fell at the buzzer to #13 Louisville (26-6) in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, 75-73. But they made us all proud in the process.
“When you give your best, you can never be that disappointed,” said Kyle Smith. “I felt like our guys really did give their best.”
Only five days earlier, Louisville left no doubt in a 20 point victory over this same Stanford team in the KFC Yum! Center. Perhaps the highly-ranked Cardinals took Kyle Smith’s team for granted, or thought things would come easy. Whatever the reason, those expectations were quickly turned upside down.
“We just played them a week ago, and give them a lot of credit for how they responded to that loss, the adjustments they made, and how hard their kids played,” said Louisville coach Pat Kelsey. “They played their hearts out. They competed.”
After two early threes from Louisville, Stanford really put the clamps on. The Cardinal defense was active and aggressive. The bench continued to shout that it was “all about the next stop” and the players took that to heart.
Stanford came up with 6 first half steals and a pair of blocks, generally mucking things up. They took a lead on a 9-0 run, thanks to holding Louisville scoreless for nearly 6 minutes.
The first half was back and forth, with Stanford taking a 33-30 lead into the locker room after Ryan Agarwal found Chisom Okpara for an open three.
Stanford built upon that momentum in the second half, using an 11-0 run to take a 52-37 lead with 14 minutes to go. Much of that came after Maxime Raynaud picked up a third personal foul that was highly questionable. The Stanford bench protested the call and the referee merely told them “he’s gotta know his fouls.”
But good teams don’t go away, and Louisville has only lost one game since mid-December for a reason. They started to get things going offensively while the Cardinal offense began to stagnate. Kyle Smith brought Maxime Raynaud back in, but he quickly picked up his fourth personal.
Maxime was reinserted with 4 as Louisville drew even and then took the lead with 5 minutes to go, but he was not playing like the same player.
“[Maxime] was playing a little tentatively there,” said Kyle Smith. “I wanted him to play fearlessly in that situation.”
Louisville took advantage inside, knowing that Maxime Raynaud was not willing to be physical. They began to control the offensive glass and attack the rim. Then disaster struck, as he picked up his fifth foul on an illegal screen set in the back court.
“That last screen is ridiculous, I shouldn't have done that,” admitted Maxime.
Louisville built up an 8 point lead with under 2 minutes to go. But even without their star, and with senior guard Jaylen Blakes also on the bench, the team refused to go down without a fight. We’ve seen that all year from them, from every combination of five players.
Benny Gealer found Ryan Agarwal for a three to cut it to 5. After a Louisville miss, Stanford pushed the ball and Oziyah Sellers quickly drew a foul, making a pair of shots at the charity stripe. On the very next possession, Chisom Okpara came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for an and-one layup to knot the game up at 73.
Louisville called timeout with the game tied. Stanford blitzed their point guard Chucky Hepburn, forcing Louisville to abandon their play. Terrence Edwards missed a difficult jumpshot, and the rebound found its way to Chisom Okpara.
Chisom was hounded by multiple Louisville players, and seemingly fouled by at least one of them. At the same time, Kyle Smith was working to call a timeout, and Chisom was hoping to outlet it up the court for a potential desperation heave at the buzzer. Instead, Chisom’s arm was hit and the ball caromed straight to Hepburn, who made a mid-range shot at the buzzer for a win.
Stanford’s run in Charlotte was cut short on a controversial and miraculous play. But they played phenomenal basketball.
Oziyah Sellers led Stanford with 22 points on only 12 field goal attempts, constantly making plays when his team needed one. Maxime Raynaud had 17 points in only 23 minutes before fouling out, his first disqualification of the season and only his sixth game with more than 2 fouls. Chisom Okpara had 10 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, and Ryan Agarwal added 11. Aidan Cammann played admirable defense inside, finishing with 3 blocked shots.
Stanford is firmly in contention for a spot in the NIT, which would be a significant accomplishment in year one of the Kyle Smith regime. The players are eager to play more basketball together.
“I want to continue this legacy I've had for four years at Stanford,” said Maxime Raynaud. "It's our first 20 season win since I've been here, trying to extend it a little bit, and set the foundation for what is to come for all the juniors, sophomores and freshmen.”
Oziyah Sellers was in agreement on his desire to play in a postseason tournament
“No matter how many games or what tournament we're playing in next, if we've got another game, we're going to come back and give it our all,” said Oziyah. “No matter where we're playing, we're going to do the same thing we do every night, come out and compete.”