-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
Stanford eyeing No. 1 seed after
gaining redemption Huskies
Archive
Comments
Story
LOS ANGELES – Well, that settles that.
Any doubt about the best team in the league ended Saturday at
Staples Center, as Stanford used a balanced attack and lock-down
defense to power past Washington, 77-66, for its first Pacific-10
Conference tournament title. Afterward, the Cardinal donned victory
caps, accepted trophies and appeared to enjoy itself.
“I used to hate this tournament,” center Joe Kirchofer
said, “but now I think it’s pretty fun.”
Any doubt about Stanford being worthy of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA
tournament vanished with a convincing victory over the hottest team
in the West – a victory that boosted the Cardinal’s
record against NCAA-bound teams to 6-1.
Any doubt about Stanford’s psyche one week before March
Madness disappeared with its most authoritative victory in weeks.
The Cardinal arrived Wednesday reeling from its first loss of the
season (at Washington) and left town Saturday night having regained
its midseason swagger. And because St. Joseph’s lost
Thursday, the second-ranked Cardinal (29-1) is expected to be No. 1
entering the NCAA tournament for the first time in school
history.
“This gives us some momentum heading into the NCAAs, and
that’s what we wanted,” center Rob Little said.
And any doubt about power forward Justin Davis’ importance
ended with a game-changing performance from the fifth-year senior.
The Huskies could not stop Davis two months ago at Maples Pavilion
(17 points, 13 rebounds), and they could not stop him Saturday.
In his first start since returning from a knee injury Thursday,
Davis scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 27 minutes _
five more than he played the previous two days combined. He also
gave Stanford the physical, athletic presence it desperately needs
to make a deep run in the NCAAs.
“He’s another guy you have to lay a body on,”
Huskies Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “He’s just
relentless.”
Davis’ return also allows Stanford to maximize Nick
Robinson’s versatility. Instead of starting at power forward,
where he was often physically overmatched, Robinson is free to come
off the bench at any of three positions.
When Coach Mike Montgomery needs an extra ball-handler, as he did
in the closing minutes Saturday, Robinson is available at power
forward. When he needs to spell small forward Josh Childress or
shooting guard Matt Lottich, he can use Robinson on the
perimeter.
“We’re best when we’re big and flexible, with
Nick there to change up and handle pressure,” Montgomery
said.
But Davis wasn’t the only difference.
Last week in Seattle, the Cardinal allowed Washington to dictate
style and tempo. It did not contain the Huskies’ penetration
or challenge their three-point shooters. And it let
Washington’s aggressive man-to-man defense disrupt its
attack. Instead of attacking the rim against a smaller team, the
Cardinal settled for jumpers.
All that changed Saturday, as the Cardinal enforced its will on
Washington. It sealed off penetration lanes, harassed shooters and
dominated underneath with a 42-33 rebounding advantage. It also
used patience to counteract the Huskies’ overplay defense.
Once Stanford pierced the exterior, it was every man to the rim:
Fifteen of its 20 baskets in the first half were dunks, layups or
chippies.
The penetration softened the Huskies and opened the perimeter for
Lottich, who hit 4 of 10 three-pointers and finished with a
game-high 20 points.
“I think that was the difference in the game, that they were
able to get so many easy baskets in the first half,” Romar
said.
“We felt like we dominated the regular season,”
Kirchofer said, referring to Stanford’s 17-1 record in Pac-10
play, “so we should win the tournament to finish it off
right.”
Jon Wilner
Knight Ridder Newspapers