Men's Basketball Associated Press

Minor’s Late Putback Gives 15-seed Pitt 64-63 Win Over Stanford in Opener of ACC Tournament

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Damarco Minor followed his own miss to score with 0.7 seconds left and gave 15th-seed Pittsburgh a 64-63 win over 10-seed Stanford in the opening game of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday. 

Minor finished just 2-of-10 shooting, missing all seven of his 3-point attempts, but sent the Panthers (13-19) into the second round against seventh-seeded NC State on Wednesday. 

After Ebuka Okorie gave Stanford the lead on a three-point play with 26.2 seconds remaining, Minor missed a 3-pointer, but the Panthers came up with the ball after a scramble. Minor missed a short jumper in the paint but put in the game-winner. 

Okorie, coming in as the nation’s second-leading freshman scorer at 23.1 points per game, finished with 14 for Stanford (20-12). Benny Gealer scored 11 points and AJ Rohosy had 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. 

There were 11 lead changes and four ties, with Pitt prevailing on the strength of a 20-7 advantage on the offensive boards, outscoring Stanford 25-7 in second-chance points and by 12 in the paint. 

Pitt broke a tie by scoring the final eight points of the first half for a 31-23 lead. Stanford rallied to take a lead five times in the second half. 

The Cardinal had beaten the Panthers 75-67 on Feb. 25 at home to start a four-game win streak heading into the tournament. 

Of Note 

  • Pitt’s win was just the third time that the No. 15 seed has defeated the No. 10 seed in the first round of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, joining 2019 and 2025. 

  • The one-point game marked the second consecutive year in which the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament has opened with a one-point victory. No. 12-seed Notre Dame defeated No. 13-seed Pitt 55-54 in 2025. 

  • Pitt moves to 4-4 in the first round of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, while Stanford made its first-ever First Round appearance.  

  • Pitt is now 2-2 in ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament games in Charlotte. Stanford falls to 1-2.  

  • Tuesday’s contest was the first ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament meeting between the Cardinal and Panthers.  

  • Pitt had four players score in double figures on Tuesday, its most in an ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament game since March 8, 2023, vs. Georgia Tech.