No. 18 Arizona at No. 15 Stanford

GAME TIME:	Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
LAST MEETING:	Virginia 91, Duke 89 (Feb. 14, 2001)
SERIES:	Arizona leads 40-20

	Casey Jacobsen went off for 49 Thursday against Arizona State.

Stanford has a very good team, but it is a different team than Mike Montgomery has had over the past three or four years.

First, there is no stable heir apparent to Michael McDonald to step in and seamlessly run the point. Since Brevin Knight, Montgomery has had an experienced understudy to step in and take over, like Arthur Lee did in 1998 and McDonald did in 2000.

Montgomery splits time among Tony Giovacchini, who understands the offense, Julius Barnes, an athletic scorer that doesn't have true point guard instincts, and Chris Hernandez, a freshman playmaker that has great ability but still needs time to adjust. Giovacchini has been starting, but defenses are laying off of him to focus on stopping Casey Jacobsen, and Giovacchini needs to step forward and take the shots the opposing defense is begging him to take.

Without stability at the point guard spot, Stanford is vulnerable to being pressured, and more focus can be put on stopping Jacobsen. Because of the double teams that Jacobsen is seeing on a regular basis, the junior sharpshooter has had to adjust his game. He is more often putting the ball on the floor to create shot opportunities, shooting on the move, and shooting runners and floaters. As a result, his shooting percentage was down early, but he has adjusted and is really playing well.

One area where Jacobsen has really improved is on the defensive end. Jacobsen averages almost 21 points per game, and broke out for 49 against Arizona State on Thursday. The near century mark effort from Jacobsen was one of the top five scoring efforts in Pac-10 history, and places Casey in a lofty class his commitment to the game richly deserves.

While Jacobsen is Stanford's prime time scorer, he cannot do it as well without the contributions of Curtis Borchardt, the nation's best true center. Borchardt is close to 7-feet tall, with long arms and great hands, and he is as skilled as any big man you will find. Borchardt can really get off of his feet, both quickly and with an impressive vertical, and he has wonderful timing. Borchardt leads the Pac-10 in rebounding and averages 16 points, 10.2 rebounds and almost 3 blocked shots per game. With Borchardt in the lineup, less attention can be paid to Jacobsen, and attacking the basket against the Cardinal comes with a price.

Barnes adds an outstanding scoring dimension, and has put up 27 points on Cal; 23 on UCLA; and 19 on Michigan State. He can go off the dribble or hit from 3-point range, but needs to take care of the ball and make sound decisions.

Stanford is tops in the Pac-10 in rebounding, overall and on both ends, and is in the top three in every defensive field goal percentage category. Arizona will get no tricks from Stanford, just straight up man-to-man defense out to the 3-point line, and the Wildcats will get one crack at it and usually be out.

What do Maryland, Florida, Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan State, Pepperdine and Connecticut all have in common? Well, all will be in the NCAA Tournament, and all are on the Arizona schedule this season.

Arizona is ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, and that is just too low. The Wildcats have played a brutal schedule, and have already played seven games against the Top 25 teams in the country, 12 games against the Top 50, and a remarkable 17 of its 20 games against the Top 100. This schedule would have beaten up Arenas, Jefferson and Wright, let alone Lute Olson's youthful crew. These kids barely have driver's licenses, but are taking on the best teams in the country and not blinking.

The youngsters -- especially Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye and Will Bynum -- have played very well. But the majority of the credit for this unlikely surge has to go to upperclassmen Jason Gardner, Luke Walton and Ricky Anderson. Gardner is having an extraordinary season, and has stepped into the leadership void like a champion. Gardner is as valuable to his team as any player in America, and no player in the nation has taken more responsibility on his shoulders.

Gardner is taking and hitting big shots, as evidenced by his 30 point outburst against Connecticut. Gardner averages 21 points, five assists and has scored over half of his field goals from 3-point territory. Gardner is not just relying upon his perimeter shot to score, but has attacked the basket off the dribble, in transition and halfcourt sets. He gets to the free-throw line an average of seven times per game.

While Gardner has been the team's leader, Luke Walton has been the glue. Walton is the consummate teammate, and simply knows how the game should be played. He is not quick, fast or overly athletic. But he is strong, skilled and keeps his feet. Walton scores 14 points per game, grabs a team high eight rebounds and dishes out a team best 6.1 assists. Walton is a good defender, and a great all-around college player.

Anderson, a product of basketball power Long Beach Poly High School, is another scorer who can hurt you in a variety of ways. With Walton and Anderson, Lute Olson has the most skilled frontcourt passing duo in the country.

Of the freshmen, Stoudamire and Frye are the two most impressive. Stoudamire averages 12 points on 42 percent 3-point shooting, and hit 6 of 9 3s for 20 points against UConn. Frye blocks shots, rebounds and scored 10 points per game, and is a very good offensive rebounder.

Key matchup: Gardner vs. Barnes

While Curtis Borchardt and Casey Jacobsen will be tough for Arizona to guard and must put up points and rebounds, the Cardinal has to hold its own at the point guard position to win. Giovacchini and Hernandez will play, but it will be Barnes who has to have the best game of the three. Barnes played well against UCLA, but struggled to get open looks against USC. Barnes has the size and athleticism to guard Gardner effectively, but must handle the pressure that Gardner is able to put on the ball.

Key stats: Turnovers

Stanford is not a team that forces a lot of turnovers, so the Cardinal cannot expect to score too many easy baskets off of its defense. However, Stanford reacted poorly to pressure against USC when pressed full-court in the second half. If Barnes can handle Arizona's pressure, the Cardinal will have a great chance of winning.

What to watch For: Watch Walton on both ends.

This guy understands the game. From passing angles to change of pace and direction, Walton knows how to play this game. He has a great shotfake, and gets defenders up without getting out of a stance, and can finish plays. Walton is a good rebounder and an extraordinary passer, and he makes the easy play, which not a lot of players can read or recognize.