After the events of last weekend, the season
has new life for Stanford. With a thrilling 100-97 overtime
victory over Oregon and a methodical 77-55 victory over Oregon
State, a fourth straight Pac-10 title is in sight. The way this
season is going, teams ranked 3-15 in the polls seem to lose
routinely. With Stanford’s sudden surge to 12th
in the AP poll, a team that looked like it could be heading to
the bubble could now be thinking of a four, three and hey maybe a
one seed if a lot of things fall their way. As Jon Wilner has
told us all year, a team with 18 total victories and 11
conference victories seems to always make the tournament. With
the Pac-10 so competitive it is a near-must to get wins from the
two teams that are once again having poor seasons. The Huskies
have been somewhat impressive at home with close a game against
Arizona and a victory against Oregon. While they have been
completely non-competitive on the road, the Huskies usually give
teams a game in their house. This will be a homecoming for three
Stanford players: Curtis Borchardt, Teyo Johnson and Tyler
Besecker. Here are the line-ups I expect to see with the
ever-adjusting Stanford starting five:
PG - Tony Giovacchini 6-2 180 lbs vs. Justin Allen 6-0 170 lbs 12 PPG
True, there have been many doubters of Tony
on the HoopsBoard, but last Thursday was a sight to see. I myself
have to admit that at times I have wondered why Tony starts
games, but I really felt good for him. There is a difference
between wondering why a guy gets minutes and rooting against a
guy. It seems people on the HoopsBoard have almost come to a
point of rooting against Tony, which just isn’t right. I was
able to talk to Tony after the game and this shot meant the world
to him. It has been very evident that he has been feeling a ton
of heat this season (maybe he reads the board?) and this shot
really took a lot of pressure off of him. He didn’t have a
great game against Oregon State, but he seemed to play a lot
looser, not trying to do too much and prove why he is starting.
He now faces Justin Allen who has had a decent season for
himself. He is rather quick and has been able to score 12 points
per game against some good Pac-10 point guards. He could be a
tough matchup for Tony, as are all quicker guards. Allen didn’t
play much of a role in the other Washington game but has been a
good player this season. Advantage: Justin Allen
SG- Julius Barnes 6-1 180 lbs 10.4 PPG vs
Erroll Knight 6-7 205 lbs 6.6 PPG
This was an interesting matchup the first
time these teams met. Knight has six inches on Julius but not
much more weight. Knight is a very skinny freshman who seemed to
be constantly out of control. He also lost his cool a couple
times at Maples and committed some bad fouls. He made some pretty
nice plays, which shows that he has some real upside. Barnes has
once again been up and down, but has brought energy to the
defensive end. Julius has been playing more point guard, which
has produced mixed results. Sometimes the team looks like it can
play with anyone, and other times it looks very flat. The bottom
line here is that in the matchup tomorrow, Barnes had has the
advantage as a playmaker. Advantage: Julius Barnes
SF - Casey Jacobsen 6-6 210 lbs 22
PPG vs. Doug Wrenn 6-8 220 lbs 20.4 PPG 6.2 RPG
This is by far the marquee matchup of the
game. Wrenn and Jacobsen at this point are playing the best out
of anyone in the Pac-10. That should equal a lot of points for
both players in this game, as both of their teams have almost
relied on them to keep them afloat. Wrenn is coming off two solid
games in Arizona, scoring 25+ each time. He is very slippery in
the lane and can break almost anyone down. I couldn’t
believe that he is only a sophomore (transfer aside), definitely
NBA 1st round material when he feels like leaving
Seattle. This could be the best matchup in college basketball
this weekend with two 20+-point scorers going at it. Jacobsen has
been playing at a level that made him look like another number 23
of late. He has been scoring all over the court, hitting driving
lay-ups and long three’s. He cooled off a bit in the Oregon
State game but will most likely hit his stride again against the
Washington schools. Advantage: Casey Jacobsen
PF - Teyo Johnson 6-7 240 lbs vs. Grant Leep 6-7 230 lbs 8 PPG
This is a matchup that will most likely be
forgotten. Montgomery has started a revolving door of power
forwards and it seems like one steps up each game. Against Oregon
it was Joe Kirchofer and against Oregon State it was definitely
Teyo. Two guys who seem to be falling out of the rotation are Rob
Little and Justin Davis. Davis played only four minutes against
Oregon State and they were the final two minutes of each half.
Little just doesn’t seem to bring much off the bench lately,
and isn’t playing too much either as a result. Hopefully
those guys can get it going because Stanford will need them now
and in March!! Anyway, Teyo came off the bench against the
Beavers and made a big impact. He scored 15 points and grabbed
four offensive rebounds. He hasn’t put together two
impressive games in a row yet this season, which hopefully will
change Thursday. Leep is a guy who also hasn’t made a huge
impact this season. He is a good three-point shooter but isn’t
a big low post threat or rebounder. Hard to say who will win this
matchup, as you don’t really know who will even play!! Advantage:
Push
C - Curtis Borchardt 7-1 240 lbs
16.3 PPG 11 RPG vs. David Dixon 6-11 270 lbs 8 PPG 8 RPG
Curtis once again put together back to
back double double’s this weekend and showed why he is a top
post player in the country. It is a real shame that Nick Collison
got nominated for player of the year over Borchardt. Taking
nothing away from Collison, but Borchardt does average more
points, rebounds, assists, and blocks. Other than that they are
about equal. Anyway, Dixon has been a decent low post threat this
year as he shed about 40 lbs over this past off-season. He as a
result has been more active and more athletic in the post. He is
a rebounding threat but still is having trouble with his back to
the basket. He will get a few baskets a game but isn’t
usually a difference maker. Advantage: Curtis Borchardt
Overall this is a big weekend for Stanford.
Holding the number 12 ranking, they could probably crack the top
10 this week with two Washington victories. Washington has been
competitive occasionally, but ever since their Elite 8 game in
'98 they have fallen off the basketball map. Doug Wrenn has
turned into a great player but he can only take them so far. Look
for this game to potentially stay close for a short time, but for
Stanford to take it handily in the second half. Advantage:
Stanford 89-72