As the Stanford Band took its seat high up in the rafters
of California’s Haas Pavilion Saturday afternoon, they tellingly began playing a
rendition of 80s one hit wonder Madness’ “Our House.”
And so it was.
Stanford’s 82-77 win over the Bears was in many ways reminiscent of the
Card’s 67-52 win over then #22 Arizona State a week before. Sure, the score was
closer Saturday, but in both Brook Lopez took over the second half, Stanford was
able to lock down defensively and the Card crashed the boards while withstanding
the other teams’ runs.
“A couple times they got a couple lobs, a couple threes, a couple big plays
like that and I thought we did a good job of kind of countering their runs and
taking some big blows,” Mitch Johnson said after the game, “and [we were]
staying consistent in what we were doing, getting the ball down to Brook, and
not getting away from our game plan and not getting sped up.”
All this, and on the road to boot.
This was basketball just like Trent Johnson likes it. “Get it to the big boy
on the right block” was the plan, Johnson said, and in the second half the Card
executed to perfection. In the first half, despite Brook’s foul trouble, the
team still succeeded with defense (with both Lopez twins out for a brief spell
the Card went to a zone and got back-to-back steals) and patience on the
offensive end.
“I thought the tempo was to our liking,” Johnson said afterward. “We were
making them [Cal] work for whatever they got offensively.”
With that effort, combined with the performances from the Band and Dollies
during timeouts, one could easily confuse Haas with Maples East. I’ve never seen
a visiting team’s mascot take the court during breaks in the action, but there
was the Tree Saturday doing his usual routine, adding insult to injury for the
Bears’ bruised egos.
But back to the hardwood. Any time a team is able to dictate the tempo on the
road like that, things are looking good. We saw Stanford fail to slow down the
pace earlier this month at Oregon, to disastrous results. Yes, Oregon presented
more match-up problems for the Card, but a win is a win—and a road win is even
sweeter.
Looking ahead
Speaking of the road, the Cardinal will put their recent winning streak to
the test at the Washington schools this weekend. This time Stanford won’t have
anywhere near the fan support as they did Saturday, and the competition will be
anything but easy. Washington State is unbeaten at home this season, while the
Card hasn’t won at Washington in recent memory. Fred Washington told me today
he’s never won in Seattle, which means it’s definitely been a while.
The Huskies bring junior big man Jon Brockman and his averages of 19 points
and 11 rebounds over the last 11 games. Stanford’s strength has been on the
boards this season, but Brockman has the potential to mitigate that advantage.
Strong games from the guards will be a must, but while Mitch Johnson is coming
off a career game at Cal, Anthony Goods' shooting woes seem to be compounded on
the road.
Washington State is undefeated at home for two good reasons: stifling defense
and an efficient offense that isn’t flashy but limits turnovers. It’s not pretty
(they are at the bottom of the Pac-10 in home attendance) but they get the job
done. While the Card boast a slightly more prolific offensive attack, both teams
are atop the conference in scoring defense. Stanford’s recent spate of ugly
games, combined with the Cougars’s trademark style, could make this all but
unbearable.
Stanford is 1-7 on the Washington trip the last four years. Even a split
would be huge to keep momentum going. Go Card.
Overheard in the 6th Man
By the end of Saturday’s game at Cal, the Stanford contingent in the rafters
easily overpowered the Berkeley fans in the building, despite my seat right
behind the Cal student section. While I couldn’t hear any individual insults, I
could still hear the more boisterous chants. Some highlights:
“We’ve got the Axe!” poignantly performed during the pre-game “Hail
California.” Damn, it feels good to say that.
“N-I-T! N-I-T!” I still remember Chris Hernandez scolding the 6th
Man for employing this chant against some disappointing opponent a couple years
ago. This year, Cal may be lucky to even make the NIT.
“Just like foot-ball!” The obvious. Also used during the USC game over break.
I can’t believe I just typed that.
Band Aid
LSJUMB quickly wore out its welcome Saturday after it continued to play
during the national anthem. I’m not sure whether it was an intentional irritant
or if they just couldn’t hear from way up at the top of Haas (it’s that big). In
either case, they shut up after a few bars, but were unsurprisingly met with
resounding boos.
Of course, playing over the good ol Star Spangled Banner is never a classy
move, but it was interesting to hear the criticism from the Cal faithful. After
all, these are the same Cal fans that yell their own chants, something like
“blue” and “gold,” over various parts of the anthem. With fans, like referees,
consistency is all I ask for…
Where’s that draft coming from?
Brook Lopez’s recent surge (21.7 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks in Stanford’s
last four games) has been rightfully garnering attention nationwide, especially
among NBA draft circles. Some mock drafts I’ve seen since Saturday have him a
lock for the top-10, and some even have him in the top five! Nice to see our guy
getting recognition, but it’s always tough to see them leave early (unless, of
course, he gets drafted by my Sacramento Kings).
Like my colleague Dan Novinson, I sat next to a couple of NBA scouts Saturday
at Cal. The scout to my left, from the Utah Jazz, was very tight-lipped about
Lopez’s draft prospects, only saying that Brook was a first-round lock but it
was too early to tell how high he would go.
If the draft were tomorrow, Utah would have the 14th pick. At this
point, I think it’s safe to say Brook will be off the board by then…
Poll progress
Stanford as a team is getting national attention, too. The Cardinal continues
its meteoric rise up the rankings, and this week sits at #14 in both the AP and
USA Today/ESPN polls—its highest ranking since then #13 Stanford lost its season
opener to UC Irvine Nov. 2005.
Trent cares more about conference standings than national rankings. He must
be pretty happy, then, considering the Cardinal is now tied with # 9 Washington
State for second place in the Pac-10.
“We're getting to where we need to be,” Johnson said Saturday night after the
game, “and that's staying within striking distance.”
Patrick Fitzgerald covers men's basketball as well as the occasional news
story for The Stanford Daily. Have some dirt on an opposing player or a
good idea for a 6th Man chant? Email him at patfitz@stanford.edu.
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