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At this point in the season, it's all about rebounding for the Stanford men's basketball. Rebounding, as in grabbing loose ball and bouncing back from defeat.

The Cardinal needs to do both this week as it heads into the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Nationally No. 11-ranked Stanford (26-7) is the third seed in the South Regional and will open against No. 14 seed Cornell (22-5) on Thursday in a nationally televised game (CBS) in Anaheim at approximately 2 p.m.

The Cardinal is coming off a 67-64 loss to UCLA last Saturday in the Pac-10 Tournament, where Stanford was out-rebounded, 43-35, despite the imposing presence of 7-foot twins Brook and Robin Lopez.

Thus, the Cardinal must rebound from that loss and rebound, in general, much better as it heads down a familiar road for its 16th trip to the Big Dance.

Stanford will face a Cornell lineup that ranges from 7-foot Jeff Foote to 5-11 Louis Dale, whose starters average from 15.4 points a game to 8.2 and shoot primarily from the perimeter, where the Big Red ranks third nationally at 41.4 percent.

While Cornell did go 14-0 to win the Ivy League and currently owns the nation's second-longest winning streak at 16 in a row, one thing remains very clear: Cornell is no UCLA. And Louis Dale is no Darren Collison.

Despite its loss to UCLA, where Stanford's Anthony Goods missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer, the Cardinal beat two very good teams (Arizona and Washington State) in the tournament. That, says Stanford coach Trent Johnson, is worth something.

"It allows us to believe we can beat anybody," he said.

Perhaps Stanford can. The Cardinal has the size, depth and talent to go a long way. And, while Cornell is making only its third appearance ever in the tournament <0x2014> the first since 1988 <0x2014> Stanford is a regular visitor.

In the modern era (only the 1942 NCAA championship team is excluded), Stanford has been invited to dance 14 times, with seeds ranging for No. 1 to No. 12. Studying its NCAA history is downright perplexing. The Cardinal has won at least once when seeded 10th or higher and is 4-2 as the third seed.

The Cardinal picked up its third No. 3 seed during Sunday's selection show and will play in the South (Houston) Regional. UCLA is the No. 1 seed in the West Regional and will also be playing in Anaheim on Thursday.

Stanford must remember that Anaheim is not Los Angeles (site of the Pac-10 Tournament and previous losses to the Bruins), so it shouldn't be feeling the creeps having to play in the southern half of the state. Anaheim, in fact, is about as far from L.A. as it can be in just about every conceivable way; even if they are so close geographically.

After all, Disneyland is in Anaheim <0x2014> the La Brea Tar Pits are in Los Angeles. Anaheim is where Stanford can go to fulfill its dreams. L.A. is where the Cardinal finds itself sucked into the nightmarish landscape.

Should Stanford advance past the second round for the first time since the 200-01 season, there's a possible last stand in Houston against second-seeded Texas on March 28. The regional finals on March 30 could offer up No. 1 seed Memphis State.

What Stanford has is a chance to chase some of the ghosts from its closet and dust off the more memorable achievements in the men's basketball vault.

The 1997-98 version of the Cardinal basketball team was talented, blue-collared and gritty. Stanford earned a No. 3 seed and rattled off victories over Charlotte, Western Michigan, and Purdue and then fought tooth and nail to beat Rhode Island and earn a trip to the Final Four . . . in San Antonio!

If you ever want to see just how misty-eyed Stanford coach Trent Johnson (an assistant coach at Stanford that season) can get, walk into his office (no, not Maples Pavilion, the other one) and ask about that giant picture on his wall.

That's a picture of Stanford's game against Kentucky in the 1998 national semifinals. Yes, the Cardinal lost in overtime, but it remains one of the most exhilarating, frustrating, wildly entertaining and, ultimately, draining games in Stanford history. And there's old Peter Sauer, Johnson might point out, playing on one leg.

There are players this year who might remind Johnson of those days <0x2014> seniors Taj Finger and Fred Washington, the Lopez brothers, juniors Anthony Goods, Lawrence Hill and Mitch Johnson.

It's been 10 years since Stanford reached the Final Four, and seven years since the Cardinal played more than two postseason contests.

Stanford was also a third seed in the 1989 NCAA tournament, a team comprised of three future NBA players. The Cardinal finished with a 26-7 record, still considered one of the best teams in the school's history.

Stanford, however, lost to Siena in the first round. Coincidently, the Cardinal's first loss this season was to Siena, a team that Cornell defeated this year, 83-77.

The Big Red is making its first NCAA appearance in 20 years. Cornell was 4-4 at one point, and then won 18 of 19 games since, the lone loss at Duke.

Cornell is the only team in the country ranked among the top 10 nationally in field goal, free-throw and 3-point percentage and is also the only team to improve its win totals both overall and in league play in each of the past six seasons.

"We kind of knew coming into the season that we had the potential to be a good team," Cornell co-captain Adam Gore said. "It wasn't until we got into the Ivy League season and got on a roll that our confidence really picked back up. Guys realize now that we have a chance to do some things."

The Ivy League, of course, is not the Pac-10.

The Big Red is also making its first trip out of the Eastern Time Zone. Stanford played in four time zones this year (though it's 0-1 in the East).

As for battle-tested, Stanford went 46 years between postseason appearances and apparently had enough of that. Since Cornell last received a postseason invitation, Stanford has become an old hand at filling up the dance card.

It's been a while, though, since the Cardinal actually won an NCAA contest, four years to be exact.

Stanford owns a 19-14 record in NCAA tournament competition, and has a 2-1 edge over Cornell in a series that dates to 1950.

The winner between Stanford and Cornell will play the winner between No. 6 Marquette and No. 11 Kentucky on Saturday.

Kentucky (18-12, 12-4 SEC) faces Marquette (24-9, 11-7 Big East) in the first round of the South Region. Marquette and the Wildcats have faced off 13 times since 1938, with UK owning a 7-6 record over the Golden Eagles. Their last seven meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament. Marquette is UK's most-played NCAA tournament foe. The Cats are 4-5 against Marquette in the NCAA tournament