January 18, 2006

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Palo Alto Online

Just expect the unexpected

by Rick Eymer

If there's anything post-Bruin men's basketball dynasty history has taught us about the Pac-10 it's that there's no sure thing on any weekend. Expect the unexpected. Three weeks into the conference season, the unexpected has again become the norm.

Stanford, which lost its first two conference games while California was winning its first two games, are now in a second-place tie with the Bears and Washington following weekend action. Get this: those second-place teams are a mere half-game behind conference leader UCLA.

Matt Haryasz matched his career high with 24 points and Chris Hernandez added 20 points as Stanford won its third straight in the Pac-10 with a 75-61 victory over visiting California on Friday before an announced sellout crowd in Maples Pavilion.

"After losing our first two in the Pac-10 and now we're one (half) game out of first - you can't ask for any more than that," Haryasz said. "The league is good but it's also balanced and a lot of teams are getting big wins."

Even last-place Arizona State has checked in with its "big win," handing Oregon State its first home loss two days after the Beavers upset Arizona. Washington lost twice at home after winning its first 12, and then won twice on the road last week, including a nifty four-point win over the Bruins.

And those Wildcats, who were picked to win the conference? They just lost twice in Oregon and are a half-game behind the Cardinal.

Stanford travels to Arizona for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Thursday. The Cardinal visit Arizona State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Stanford has yet to win on the road in four games.

The Sun Devils are the only team in the conference with more than three home losses on the year, though no one is unbeaten at home any longer.

It used to be Stanford could count on winning at least once - and usually twice - during its trip to the desert. Last year the Cardinal was swept in Arizona for the first time since 2000, and came home without a win in the state for the first time since 1995.

If Stanford has turned the corner, like many observers feel it has after beating Cal, than this trip will be telling.

The Cardinal is riding a high while Arizona has to be reeling after suffering its third conference loss, matching last year's total.

"We played as well as we have all year and probably played the best basketball team we've played," Cardinal coach Trent Johnson said. "We were as consistent as we could be considering who we were up against."

Hernandez, two points off his season-high, made all six of his shots - five from long range - and become the 34th player in Stanford history to go over the 1,000-point plateau. He also became just the fourth player to record over 1,000 points and 300 assists in Stanford history, joining former greats Todd Lichti, Brevin Knight and Arthur Lee.

Hernandez has 1,011 points and 342 assists. He reached the 1,000-point in typical fashion. With 16:18 remaining and the shot clock running down to zero, Hernandez let go a three-pointer that hit nothing but net.

Haryasz, who sustained a sprained ankle in the loss to USC, came back with his Pac-10 leading sixth double-double of the season, and the 16th of his career. He had 10 rebounds to go with his 24 points.

"That's the best game all year for him," Johnson said. "In his own way he's always fired up."

Haryasz's final points came with 4:17 left to play on a slam dunk that gave Stanford a 70-57 lead, its largest margin to that point.

"This was our chance to get over .500, where we haven't been for a while," Haryasz said. "We're starting to play better; the way we need to play. Cal is solid at every position and we had everybody step up and playing together."

Hernandez credited a few new plays introduced just for the Bears that allowed him to get a few more open looks.

"Then it's just a matter of putting them down," he said. "It's a matter of getting into rhythm."

Dan Grunfeld added 10 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and Taj Finger received praise for his defense on Cal's All-American candidate Leon Powe, who wound up with 19 points and 10 rebounds but was limited to seven points in the first half.

"My focus was on defense and rebounding," said Finger. "I watched a lot of film on Powe and I knew what he wanted to do. I just tried to use my quickness and not let him get the ball where he likes it."

Stanford has beaten Cal six straight times, and 16 of the last 18. The Cardinal also extended its home streak against the Bears to 13 games. Stanford has won four of its past five games at Arizona's McKale Center.

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