Stanford Gets Last Shot Vs. Arizona
In order to keep any Pacific-10 men’s basketball championship hopes alive, Stanford must beat Arizona today. That is splashwater-in-the-face reality. A loss and the Wildcats clinch the title.
But is the Cardinal capable?
Second-ranked Arizona (25-3, 15-0 Pac-10) has won 18 consecutive games, tops in the nation. The Wildcats are 14-0 this season in McKale Center. In the teams’ previous meeting Jan. 29, the Wildcats snapped Stanford’s 18-game winning streak with an impressive 93-75 win at Maples Pavilion.
The No. 8 Cardinal (24-3, 13-2) couldn’t compete with Arizona’s quickness and couldn’t contain the Wildcats’ deadly array of perimeter shooters.
“But that was the best I’ve ever seen Arizona play,” Stanford point guard Arthur Lee said. “They were hitting the vast majority of their shots and clicking on all cylinders.”
Arizona point guard Mike Bibby and swingman Michael Dickerson scored 26 points apiece and were a combined 23 of 33 from the field. It is unlikely they can repeat that other-worldly performance.
“We feel like their players in our place were throwing in all their shots,” Cardinal power forward Mark Madsen said. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
Madsen likely holds the key to Stanford’s fortune. He missed the first meeting because of a stress fracture in his right foot. When center Tim Young got into foul trouble, the Cardinal lost the one advantage it held - at the low post.
“They probably have the best inside-outside combination in the league,” Arizona coach Lute Olson said. “Our obvious strength is the perimeter and theirs is the inside.”
If the Wildcats have a weakness, it’s in the front court. Center A.J. Bramlett and forward Bennett Davison are certainly capable, but they aren’t physical bangers. Both are thin and rely on quickness, not strength.
“Offensively, I have to let the game come to me,” Madsen said. “We have to be as aggressive as we can in the interior and get them in foul trouble.”
Beating the Wildcats inside is Stanford’s best - perhaps lone - hope. It was extremely effective inside in an 86-73 win over a smaller Arizona State team Thursday. Young and Madsen combined for 36 points and 27 rebounds.
“What we’re hoping for - and we stressed this against Arizona State - is we have to take the advantage low,” Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. “That is an integral part of what we do. If we don’t establish pressure there, we aren’t as good.”
The Cardinal can’t expect Lee and shooting guard Kris Weems to beat Bibby, Dickerson and Miles Simon in a jump-shot contest, especially on the road. Besides, Lee and Weems are effective from the perimeter because there is a threat Stanford will take it inside.
Madsen, one of the most physical players in the conference and arguably the nation, and Young, at 7-foot-1, must beat up the Wildcats.
“Mark is a monster in there on the boards and inside the paint and that’s what we need,” Lee said. “He’s out there giving 120 percent and working hard and that’s what allows everyone else to get their shots.”
Said Olson: “(Madsen) is just relentless. I don’t think there is a harder-working guy in the country. (His return) gives Stanford two big-time threats inside and that’s cause for concern.”