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Palo Alto Online

Stanford men earn respect despite loss to No. 1 Arizona

by Rick Chandler

Is there anyone on the planet who still takes Stanford's men's basketball team for granted? Perhaps some Siberian shepherd, or a remote tribe from the Amazon?

Certainly not Arizona coach Lute Olson, who just escaped with his life, and the Pac-10 regular-season championship, on Saturday. It was Olson, of all people, who first took offense when the Cardinal was picked to finish seventh at the Pac-10 media conference last fall.

"When it was my turn to talk, I looked at them and said 'You have got to be kidding me,' Olson said. 'This is Stanford we're talking about. Don't people get it yet? Don't they understand what they do here?' "

It's starting to dawn on them, Lute.

Even though suffering from one of its worst shooting nights ever, the Cardinal was still in position at the end to complete an improbable season sweep of the No. 1 Wildcats before finally falling, 72-69, at a sold-out Maples Pavilion. It was the 10th Pac-10 title for Arizona and ninth in Olson's 20 seasons at head coach, but it wasn't official until the final buzzer. That's when Stanford's Julius Barnes missed an open three-point attempt that would have sent the game to overtime.

And so the 19th-ranked Cardinal missed a chance to knock off the No. 1 team in the land, as they did on Jan. 30 when they topped the Wildcats, then also ranked No. 1, in Tucson, 82-77. The loss leaves Stanford (13-4, 22-7) deadlocked with California (13-4, 20-6) for possession of second place in the Pac-10 -- an issue that will be settled when the teams meet in their Pac-10 finale on Saturday at Maples at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on KRON (4).

The loss also shouldn't hurt the Cardinal in the NCAA Tournament, either. Stanford again played toe-to-toe with the Wildcats - the top team in the nation - and Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood is chairman of the tournament selection committee.

Stanford was unlikely to claim the regular-season title even if it had beaten Arizona. The Wildcats, who went into the game with a 15-1 conference mark, close their regular season at home against Oregon and Oregon State. But to those familiar with the big picture in college basketball, certain facts remain unaltered.

First and foremost, Stanford plays defense. Mike Montgomery's team is a throwback - a group of overachievers who wear you down with intensity, fundamentals and heart.

"This is a great group of kids," Montgomery said. "I never question their intensity. They play with a lot of heart; I always expect that, and I always get it. This was a tremendous challenge and I think we responded. We can build on this."

Except for those pesky shooting statistics, the Cardinal outplayed their prestigious opponent in practically every phase that had anything to do with effort. Stanford held the 'Cats to 29-of-68 shooting (42 percent), with Luke Walton struggling to a 4-for-14 night. Its 72 points was Arizona's second-lowest total of the season, only eclipsed by a 66-65 loss to Louisiana State.

"This was an all too typical game here," said Olson, who has won four straight at Maples Pavilion by an average of 4.5 points. "They (Stanford) are never going to beat themselves. You have to beat them."

Stanford outmuscled the Wildcats on the boards, got to loose balls, cut off passing lanes. While Arizona claims its usual edge in athletic ability, Stanford excels in knowledge of fundamentals and the ability to never lose its composure.

"Coach stresses that a lot," Barnes said of the composure factor. "He talks about the Wooden tradition, how to play within your structure, and never give up. We always feel that we're in the game."

But some nights, the shots don't fall. Credit Arizona for a portion of that ("their defense doesn't get enough credit," Montgomery said of the Wildcats). But Stanford also missed a lot of open looks. The Cardinal were horrific from the three-point line (4 for 22), and their starting guards, Barnes and Matt Lottich, were 5-for-24 overall. Barnes finished with 10 points, Lottich with 7.

"We also left 11 points on the foul line," Montgomery said. "We make some of those, and hit a shot down the stretch, and bang, bang, we win it. But it didn't happen."

Arizona gained the upper hand when Rick Anderson hit a three-pointer just before halftime to give the Wildcats a 33-30 lead at intermission, and Arizona scored the first four points of the second half to go up by seven. But Stanford wouldn't go away, and led by Josh Childress (20 points), were within one, 68-67, with less than a minute remaining.

But Arizona's Salim Stoudamire hit 15-foot, a fallaway jumper, and then made a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining. Rob Little's layin made it 72-69, and when Rick Anderson missed badly on the front end of a one-and-one with 18 seconds left, Stanford had another chance.

But Josh Childress missed a three-point attempt, and Barnes missed a second attempt - an open look from the left side.

"I'd like to play them again, no officials, no crowd, just tape up and see who's better once and for all," Barnes said. "Let's go out there right now."