For the fans at Maples Pavilion today, there may have been some serious
ambiguity as to whether they truly were watching seniors Chris Hernandez, Dan Grunfeld, Matt Haryasz and Jason Haas on their home floor for the last time.
This afternoon's contest against UCLA was marked as the annual "Senior Day" for
Stanford Basketball. The 75-54 defeat was not only an unsavory senior
send-off, it was also the worst home loss for a Cardinal squad in the last
decade. That infamous honor previously belonged to the 2001-02 team that
dropped a 19-point loss to USC (77-58) four years ago. The last time a
Stanford squad lost by 20 or more points at Maples Pavilion was an 86-61 defeat
to Jason Kidd and California in 1992-93, when the Cardinal finished with just
seven wins on the season.
Stanford now stands at 15-12 on the year, a decidedly mediocre record that is
even worse upon consideration of the abysmal preseason performance (4-5) and
overall dreadful road record (4-8). There is no chance that the Cardinal
can continue their streak of 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances with an
at-large bid. Instead, Stanford will have to win three games next week at
the Staples Center in the Pac-10 Tournament. Seeded #5 in the conference
postseason bracket, the Cardinal would likely have to defeat Arizona, UCLA and
Washington - teams against which they are a combined 1-5 this year.
So, we come to terms with a probable NIT fate for Stanford, missing the Big
Dance for the first time since 1993-94. The silver lining for
Cardinalmaniacs™ might be a chance for one or more home games in the
invitational postseason tournament, with their beloved seniors suiting up again
at Maples Pavilion. Unlike the NCAA Tournament, the NIT does not feature
games on neutral floors in the opening rounds. Surely, Stanford would be
smiled upon as a premier team in this secondary postseason tournament, and thus
earn a home assignment in their first NIT game.
However, the Stanford administration has told the NIT that should the Cardinal be an NIT participant this year, they would prefer not to host any games
at Maples Pavilion. That means Stanford fans will have to either travel or
watch their Cardinal seniors on television for the remainder of the 2005-06 season.
There is little obvious motivation for the Stanford administration to
unilaterally send the men's basketball team on the road for the NIT. The
games of the National Invitational Tournament played at non-neutral sites, from
the opening round through the quarterfinals, all take place during Stanford's
dead week and final exams week of the winter academic quarter.
Instead, this decision came from within the team. Though the comfort of
playing one or more games at home might give Stanford an advantage in their
putative NIT run, the shadow that could cast over today's ceremony for the players and their families was apparently too unpalatable.
"That was the idea - to have this Senior Day for the seniors and have that be
the last time on the court," says Haryasz. "It was the seniors and the
team, really. It was everybody's decision."
Thus, today was a true and final farewell to Stanford's seniors. There
apparently will be no postseason opportunity to watch #11, #20, #32 or #52 play
again in Maples Pavilion. That makes today's performance all the more
disheartening. Unable to defend, score, rebound or take care of the ball,
the Cardinal will have to live with this 21-point defeat as their final Maples
Pavilion memory for four beloved seniors.
"We just got thoroughly outplayed," Grunfeld laments. "I know that's
not how we wanted our last game to go at Maples. That's a little
disappointing."
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