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Monday, April 2
Stanford shaken, but still playing
By Ed Graney
Special to ESPN.com
Two rounds have been played in this year's NCAA Tournament. Stanford lives.
The question, however, remains: "For how long?"
Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery says there is a short and long answer to the question.
"It's a tough situation, because I think we deserve to keep playing in this tournament by virtue of the season we've had," Montgomery said. "When you get to this point and you're good, there is always a 'but' attached to your team.
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Not Like Mike
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Micheal Dunleavy's 21-point performance was unexpected based on his first five tournament games:
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Opponent
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FGs/Att.
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3pts/Att.
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Pts.
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Arizona
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8-17
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5-9
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21
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Maryland
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2-8
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0-2
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4
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USC
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4-6
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1-2
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11
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UCLA
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3-11
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0-6
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7
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Missouri
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5-9
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3-4
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15
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Monmouth
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6-9
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2-4
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14
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"It gets old, it gets tiring, but you have to deal with it. You know you have to deal with it. I thought we were prepared to handle this round and I think we're prepared to handle what comes next."
The top-seeded Cardinal (30-2) next plays fifth-seeded Cincinnati (25-9) in one West Regional semifinal on Thursday at the Anaheim Pond. The other Sweet 16 game out West matches No. 3 Maryland (23-10) against No. 10 Georgetown (25-7).
Montgomery, speaking minutes after his team survived St. Joseph's 90-83 in a second-round game on Saturday, will now prepare for a confident and capable Cincinnati team. The Bearcats looked every bit an NCAA contender in beating BYU and Kent State by a combined 150-102 in San Diego.
"Cincinnati is probably stronger physically than St. Joe's," Montgomery said. "They're big muscle guys and they have a lot of them. I expect they will play us with a lot of on-ball pressure. They run. They're a very athletic team."
In other words, more of the same.
St. Joe's couldn't defend the post well enough to actually upset Stanford, but its ability to penetrate offensively gave the Cardinal fits. The Hawks' starting guards combined for 51 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, suggesting a Cincy duo of Kenny Satterfield and Steve Logan might find great success off the dribble.
And then there is the "P" word. St. Joe's grabbed and tugged and held and bumped and dared Stanford to be tougher. Cincinnati will likely offer a similar approach.
"If a team plays physical and almost beats us like St. Joe's, you better believe we're going to see it again," Stanford sophomore wing Casey Jacobsen said. "Teams are going to get into us, try and get into our heads, try and beat us up. If we can learn from it and still keep winning games, that's fine."
This much is certain: Surviving the second round gives Stanford a huge psychological edge entering the week. The moment of truth against St. Joe's came with one minute left and the game tied at 80. Images of Gonzaga two years ago and North Carolina last season dancing through the heads of anyone wearing Stanford colors.
"The second round has been a heart-breaker for us," Stanford senior forward Jarron Collins said. "We didn't want to feel that way again. Now, it's all about preparing for Cincinnati."
A matchup to watch Thursday: Satterfield against Stanford senior Michael McDonald at the point. The latter had trouble with the quickness of St. Joe's super freshman Jameer Nelson and now must contain Cincinnati's explosive sophomore.
How critical is McDonald to Stanford's success?
A 10-point, second-half lead became a two-point deficit with him on the bench in foul trouble against St. Joe's.
"It seemed to be like he was the team," Nelson said.
Not quite, but how McDonald deals with Satterfield could mean a trip home or a spot in the Elite Eight.
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SEMIFINALS SKINNY
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No. 3 Maryland vs.
No. 10 Georgetown
Thursday, 7:55 p.m. ET
Reserves for each team have taken turns in starring roles this season, a major reason the Terrapins and Hoyas are thinking about reaching the Elite Eight and possibly a Final Four. Both teams can go big or small and alter lineups to be scoring- or defensive-oriented. "They're big, probably as big as any team we face -- North Carolina-big," said Maryland coach Gary Williams of the Hoyas, who feature three players at least 6-11. The rivals have not met in the NCAA tournament since 1980. Said Georgetown coach Craig Esherick with a smirk: "We're playing on Thursday. I scheduled it. We won our game. Gary won his game. The two of us got together and decided to play. We'll both be there. I can guarantee you that."
Mo. 1 Stanford
vs. No. 5 Cincinnati
Thursday, 10:15 p.m. ET
Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins shortly after watching Stanford beat St. Joe's, setting up this matchup with the Bearcats: "We'll have to play better probably than we've played all year. (Stanford) makes you pick your poison. If you don't double them inside, they score. And if we double them inside, they make 3-pointers. We've got to be intelligent with what we do, and we have to try to get some rebounds." Cincy post players are better at defending the post than St. Joe's, more capable of making plays without fouling. Keep an eye on Stanford senior forward Ryan Mendez, quiet offensively thus far in the tourney. He's capable of carrying the Cardinal on a night when others struggle.
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Big man, big job
Cincinnati sophomore center B.J. Grove is a much different player now than when he first arrived to Bob Huggins' team.
With a much slimmer waistline.
"If you look at him right now, you can actually see muscle definition some places," Huggins said. "Before, it was a blob. He was over 300 pounds. He couldn't go very long and he couldn't go very hard. But he has really done a good job getting his body fat down."
Grove is listed at 6-foot-11, 260 pounds and will need all his newfound muscle to hold his own against the Collins twins, Jason and Jarron.
"They're some big dudes," Grove said. "You can't let them catch the ball where they want, because they're either going to score or get to the free-throw line. They're a lot bigger than anyone we've seen. They're two wide-bodies.
"It's as if people haven't guarded them correctly."
What is the correct way?
"We have a little scheme we're going to throw at them," Grove said.
Any hints?
"You have to wait until Thursday."
Williams stays, his team plays
Now that Gary Williams has officially become the 1,456th head coach (not counting those from the prep ranks) to shun interest in the UNLV job, the Maryland boss can concentrate on a pressing matter.
The Terrapins are built on size, depth and rebounding.
Like, uh, Georgetown.
Two teams that make it a habit of winning by wearing others down meet for the right to play in the Elite Eight. Virtual neighbors on a daily basis, the two will now meet some 2,500 miles away from home and for the first time in seven years.
"In terms of size, we match up with (Maryland) very well," Georgetown coach Craig Esherick said. "We play with two big kids (7-foot center Ruben Boumtje Boumtje and 6-8 forward Mike Sweetney) and so do they. I don't think either one of us will have a size advantage. I think it's going to be a very good game."
It is not a game only for post players. A key matchup offers Maryland shooting guard Juan Dixon against Hoyas' lead guard Kevin Braswell, buddies from their middle school days in Baltimore. Dixon lived with Braswell's family for about a year in the early 1990s, before Dixon lost both of his parents to drug-related bouts with AIDS while he was at Calvert Hall.
"When we were warming up (before Saturday's second-round game against Hampton), he came up and said we've got to get this one, because we've been wanting to play against each other for the longest time," Braswell said. "I know it's going to be fun."
Around the West Region
Know this: St. Joe's will be back. The Hawks started just one senior against Stanford and will offer one of the nation's best backcourts in Jameer Nelson and Marvin O'Connor next season.
O'Connor against Stanford: 37 points in 15-of-20 shooting. He made all 10 attempts inside the 3-point line. He scored 22 in the second half. He went crazy.
He fouled out with 11 seconds left to one of the more memorable standing ovations in tournament history.
"It's so hard, because you go out every night and we give 100 percent like everyone else in America, knowing we won't get the type of exposure and notoriety others do," O'Connor said. "I mean, there are over 300 Division I teams and you don't hear about half of them. I just think that everyone should get a chance to have an (ovation) like that."
A few Indiana players used a certain four-letter word after the Hoosiers were upset by Kent State:
Quit.
"There were some guys out there down the stretch who, you could tell, didn't want to be out there," junior guard Dane Fife said. "Next year, we'll just make sure that those guys aren't on the court in those situations.
"Look, I know (Trevor Huffman) kicked my tail (for 24 points). But nobody can say I didn't put out 100 percent for this team and for coach (Mike) Davis."
Pause.
"I don't know if everybody else can say that."
Who's Hot
Stanford free-throw shooting: Try 10-for-10 in the final minute and 31-of-37 overall against St. Joe's. What's that saying about great teams making plays when it counts most?
Lonny Baxter: Maryland's junior forward/center went from a no-show in the first round to a savior in the second.
Who's Not
Indiana: The Hoosiers bow out again in the first round and now the brain surgeons on campus are making Mike Davis interview for, well, his own job. A guess at the search committee's first question: Tell us what you've been doing the past six months?
Iowa State: a.k.a. TFSU ... "Thanks For Showing Up".
Quote to Note
"The only place we lost was the final score. We had to stand toe-to-toe and we did. We had to stand with our backs to each other and we did. So we lost, we go home and we collect uniforms. They move on – that's our level. But you know what you saw. We didn't lose."
– St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli after his team fell to Stanford by seven.
Thought for the Week
So this is why only one Mountain West Conference team made the field.
Yeah, thought so.
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