February 25, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Stanford is still perfect

by Rick Eymer

The Stanford men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Maples Pavilion this week to continue its pursuit of excellence.

Having dispatched both USC (75-67 on Thursday) and UCLA (73-60 on Saturday) over the weekend, and having secured the Pac-10 regular-season title and the top seed in the upcoming Pac-10 tournament, the Cardinal actually could take a two-week snooze and wake up in pretty much the same position they're in today.

There is, however, just a small matter of staying unbeaten and defending their No. 1 ranking. Stanford coach Mike Montgomery has become a master at keeping his players focused on the next game, and not thinking down the line.

Still, the Cardinal have come too far this season to be thinking small.

"The goal is to be in San Antonio at the end of the season and win a national championship," said Rob Little.

Added Josh Childress: "If we keep doing what we do well, we'll be all right."

Oregon State is up first this week Thursday at 7 p.m. The Beavers are coming off a huge win over second-place Arizona on Saturday. Oregon, which was upset by Arizona State last weekend, follows the Beavers into Maples with a 4 p.m. reservation for two on Saturday in a televised (ABC-7) game at 4 p.m.

Oregon came as close as anyone to shoving Stanford (14-0, 23-0) off the top of the mountain, leading by as many as 19 points last month before the visiting Cardinal rallied for one of their patented cardiac comebacks.

In the Beavers, Stanford sees a team it has beaten nine straight times, and hasn't lost to in Maples since the dreadful 1992-93 season.

Still, Stanford players are clinging to their unblemished record as motivation these days.

"People are always asking us about going undefeated," said Stanford junior forward Josh Childress after scoring a career-high 36 points against the Trojans. "Our attitude has shifted to, 'Why should we lose one?'"

"We want to make history," said Stanford center Rob Little, who scored 18 points against the Bruins to match his career high. "Why not go out to win them all? It's a personal goal for everyone now, with four games left, to go undefeated. Why not?"

Little poses a tough question. Why not, indeed? The last time a team finished the season undefeated was back when Montgomery was earning his Masters degree in Physical Education at Colorado State. He hadn't even turned 30 yet when Indiana went 36-0 in 1976.

Stanford's game against USC last Thursday wasn't televised, so fans gathered around radios and computers to follow the action. It brought back images of President Roosevelt's Fireside Chats, when the family would come together to listen to good news.

The Cardinal have been delivering nothing but good news this season.

As a result of its successful trip to the Los Angeles region, Stanford will enjoy a 14th career week at the top of the 25.

Against USC, Childress scored the game's first points, on a 3-pointer 25 seconds into play, and also made the game's final points with a pair of free throws with 21 seconds remaining.

Oh yeah, he also scored a lot inbetween, nailing 12 of his 15 shots, and going 9-of-9 from the foul line. He also had 11 rebounds. He played all 40 minutes and was unquestionably the best player on the court.

"We needed somebody to stay aggressive and I tried to be that person," Childress said. "Then in the second half everyone else kind of came in."

The Cardinal fell behind by 13 points in the first half, rallied to an 11-point lead in the second half, and then had to out-score the Trojans 11-2 over the final 3:15 to manage the victory.

"That was a tough one," said Montgomery. "We fought, we battled and we made plays when we had to. We're not a team that's going to just blow people out. We have to mind our business and maybe it's a little bit of a reminder. Nothing has been easy. Every time we play a game it seems we're reminded of that."

Stanford trailed 36-28 at halftime, but the Cardinal outscored USC 27-8 to take a 55-44 lead with 10:48 remaining. Matt Lottich scored 12 of his 20 points during the run.

It's funny how life works sometimes. A simple schedule shift at the Pete Newell Challenge could have meant there would be only one undefeated team left standing. St. Joseph's and Stanford played on the same court on the same night, their spotless records intertwined only briefly in the pre-tournament press conference.

St. Joseph's edged Cal in the Pete Newell Challenge while Stanford beat Gonzaga. The Bulldogs, by the way, have a legitimate claim to the No. 3 spot in the nation. If it weren't for St. Joseph's and Stanford, Gonzaga would also be unbeaten.

These days, Stanford is more concerned about its future than its past.

UCLA was seemingly the last obstacle to an unbeaten regular season. The Bruins have beaten a No. 1 team in each of the past four seasons, and Stanford was their victim twice.

Instead Stanford conquered Pauley Pavilion for the seventh straight year, the only opponent that has controlled things there for that long, ever.

"I'm really proud of our guys," Montgomery said. "They came to L.A. to get a sweep to win the conference championship. That's pretty good stuff."

For now, the Cardinal would be happy to become the first team to go undefeated in the conference since UCLA in 1973.

Other than starting the second half with a big run that cut Stanford's lead to seven points, the Bruins weren't able to stay within striking distance of the Cardinal.

"They're really good. They don't make any mistakes," said UCLA's Jon Crispin. "The times we went on a nice little run, they stayed right with it."

UCLA led by two points midway through the first half before Stanford scored nine straight points to spark a 25-4 run that put the Cardinal ahead 42-23 at halftime.

"To be undefeated at this point in the season and have everybody trying to knock you off, they obviously have a lot of mental toughness," said Bruins coach Ben Howland.

Nick Robinson added a career-high 15 points and Lottich had 14 points, hitting all four of his 3-pointers. Childress, who had a career-high 36 points against USC two days earlier, also had 14 points.

"Anytime you score, you up your mojo as a player and that gives you a little spark," Lottich said. "We defend or adjust to any way teams attack and that is why we have been so successful."

Stanford senior forward Justin Davis missed his sixth straight game with a left knee injury.

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