Publication Date: Friday, March 12, 2004
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Stanford passes the test
Stanford passes the test
(March 12, 2004) Cardinal bounce back from first loss in big way
by Rick Eymer
Everything went Stanford's way on Thursday as the Cardinal men's basketball team enjoyed an easy 68-47 victory over Washington State in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The victory sends top-seeded and nationally No. 2-ranked Stanford (27-1) into today's semifinal round against either California or Oregon at 6 p.m.
The Cardinal could also enter the NCAA tournament next week as the No. 1 team in the nation. Should Stanford go on to win the conference tournament title on Saturday, it will have faced a stiff enough test to warrant the nation's top ranking.
Xavier helped by beating previously undefeated and top-ranked St. Joseph's on Thursday. The Hawks were the final unbeaten team remaining in the nation. Xavier, a familiar opponent to Stanford fans, knocked off St. Joseph's, 87-67, in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic-10 tournament.
The Hawks came in with a 27-0 record, three victories from becoming the first team since 1991 to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated. But they trailed Xavier by as many as 37 points.
"We're not worried about St. Joseph's," said Cardinal senior guard Matt Lottich. "We're focused on winning the Pac-10 tournament."
Also good news for Stanford on Thursday: junior forward Josh Childress was named first-team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. That's his second first-team selection of the week. He was also named to the Adolph F. Rupp team last Friday.
Childress made the selection look easy on Thursday, smoothly shooting his way to a game-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting as Stanford took the early lead and never looked back.
The Cardinal took control of the game early, taking an 11-1 lead in the first nine minutes. A few minutes later and Stanford led, 22-5, before putting itself on cruise control the rest of the way. Stanford won the rebounding battle, 33-22.
"We wanted to set the tone defensively from the get-go and it worked out well for us," said Childress. "We want to leave no doubt we're a No. 1 seed."
Justin Davis' return to action was also great news for the Cardinal. Though he had some problems with the Velcro on his knee brace, just his presence in the middle was a huge lift. He'll be needed if Stanford plans to make a deep run into the NCAA tournament.
"Hopefully our team can play at full strength," said Childress. "We'll see how good we can really be with him back in the puzzle."
Davis played 14 minutes, scoring seven points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line. He also grabbed four rebounds as Stanford beat Washington State for the 16th straight time.
"It's emotional for me to play with Justin," said Stanford center Rob Little, who ended with seven points and four rebounds. "He is one of the best defensive boarders."
Chris Hernandez added 11 points, making all four of his shots, and three assists.
Coach Mike Montgomery used all 13 players on the bench, and 11 of them scored.
Washington State (13-16), which threw a scare into Stanford a week ago in Pullman before the Cardinal pulled out a 63-61 victory at the buzzer, was within seven at one point in the second half, but Stanford made 12 of its first 16 shots in the second half and began to steadily pull away on the strength of a 14-2 run.
Stanford twice led by 19 points before a basket by Fred Washington gave the Cardinal a 60-39 advantage.
The Cardinal held WSU to just 23 percent field-goal shooting in the first half as the Cougars missed their first nine shots as Stanford grabbed an 11-1 lead.
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