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Stanford's AD Let Trent Johnson Walk

Ty Keenan — 2008-04-09T16:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Pac-10 Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches, NCAA Basketball Rumors, Stanford Basketball

Trent Johnson's decision to leave Stanford for LSU is not just a case of a coach leaving a program on the slide for more money and a new opportunity. As Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News explains, Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby delayed extending Johnson's contract for unclear reasons, creating a situation in which he felt underappreciated and open to looking for other jobs.

If these reports are to be believed, then Bowlsby handled this situation extremely poorly. He said throughout the season that he would absolutely get a contract worked out right when the season ended, but nothing has happened in the two weeks since Stanford was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament. Bowlsby had several opportunities to get this deal done in the fall or during the season, but he kept delaying it and then didn't even get the work done when no more excuses could be made.

Now, it's important to note that these are still rumors. However, these rumors come from people very close to the program and have some pretty clear validity. Johnson often stated that Stanford was his dream job. It's obviously possible that he was lying, but almost everyone who's ever come in contact with the man has characterized him as a straight shooter who believes in Stanford's true commitment to academic excellence from athletes. Put simply, it would have taken a lot of ill will to get him to leave the school. Bowlsby showing no love for the Pac-10 Coach of the Year probably would have been enough.

More on Bowlsby's huge error after the jump.

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Jerryd Bayless Declares for NBA Draft

Ty Keenan — 2008-04-05T20:45:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Arizona Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, NBA Draft, NBA Prospects

Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless, who led the Wildcats in scoring and made several All-American teams, will declare for the NBA Draft. The likely high-lottery pick has hired an agent and will therefore lose his remaining three years of eligibility. Bayless leaves Tucson without having played for Lute Olson, the coach who recruited him to Point Guard U.

This isn't too much of a surprise for anyone who watched Bayless this season. He's able to get into the paint at will, has one of the best pull-up jumpers in the nation, and has the skills to excel at point guard at the next level. Both DraftExpress.com and NBADraft.net have him as a Top 5 pick, and it's hard to believe that his workouts would drop him much lower than that.

The Wildcats will obviously miss Bayless's presence in Tucson, but the arrival of freshman point guard (and flat-top enthusiast) Brandon Jennings should offset some of the damage. The real issue here will come if Bayless's decision opens the floodgates in Arizona. Both Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill would go in the first round of the draft, so it's possible that they would declare before the deadline. Those three players carried Arizona this season and would be sorely missed. If Budinger and Hill return, then the Wildcats should be one of the best teams in the Pac-10 next year.

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Cal Fans Should Temper Their Expectations for Montgomery

Ty Keenan — 2008-04-04T21:09:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: California Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

Cal's high-profile hiring of Mike Montgomery is a huge one for a program that has seen some mediocre coaching and play over the last few seasons. Monty deserves every bit of his reputation as a top-shelf teacher who gets everything out of his players. But he also comes with some baggage that could limit the effect that he will have on the Bears.

The most important of these issues is his willingness to recruit. Towards the end of his time at Stanford, Montgomery didn't put a ton of energy into recruiting, and the team suffered for it. His last two recruiting classes of Fred Washington, Tim Morris, Taj Finger, Peter Prowitt, and walk-on Kenny Brown produced some important contributors, but none of these players never showed the promise of being anything more than key role players. Now, much of the reason for Monty's lack of vigor can be attributed to very high admissions standards for athletes that won't be present in Berkeley; he won't ever lose out on a player like David Padgett because of grades. Nevertheless, this issue remains an important question mark that could limit his success.

More analysis after the jump.

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Lopez Twins Going Pro

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-31T20:25:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Pac-10 Basketball, NBA Prospects, Stanford Basketball

Stanford's going to look a whole lot different next season. Janie McCauley of the AP reports that twin big men Brook and Robin Lopez have decided to declare for the NBA Draft. Nothing has been specified about whether they have hired agents, but, given that the brothers are joined at the hip and Top 20 prospects, it's difficult to imagine either coming back to school.

Brook's departure is not exactly a shocker -- the Cardinal staff expected it and even (unsuccessfully) recruited players to fill his spot for next season. Brook is more polished offensively than his brother and should be a Top 5 pick. NBADraft.net currently has him at #3, while DraftExpress.com rates him at #4 in the draft. Brook is so skilled that it's hard to imagine his workouts being anything less than stellar, so it's unlikely that he will fall any lower than 5th. Both sites have him as the first big man chosen.

Robin, a defensive specialist, took a backseat to his brother at the offensive end in Palo Alto. However, his post moves have developed nicely over the course of the season, and his superior explosiveness makes some people think that he has a higher ceiling. In their latest rankings, NBADraft.net has him at #18, although DraftExpress.com has not yet moved him higher than #20.

This is not good news for Stanford. Everything they did at both ends this season revolved around the twins, but next year's roster won't have a player taller than 6-9. Furthermore, rising sophomores Josh Owens and Will Paul, the only two true post players on the team, have little experience and will need to grow up in a hurry. The Cardinal perimeter players were inconsistent this year, but they will have to carry the team in 2008-09.

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Memphis Blowouts Are Not Boring

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-30T20:28:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Texas Basketball, Memphis Basketball, Big 12 Basketball, Conference USA Basketball, March Madness, South

Earlier today, my esteemed colleagues Charles Rich and Michael David Smith labeled Memphis's vicious blowout of Texas as yet another boring game in a string of second-weekend snoozers. Now, I like a close game as much as anyone else does, but I fail to see what is so boring about the most athletic team in the country playing at the height of their powers against another Top 10 team.

When Memphis is on, they're quite simply awesome to watch. Their superb athleticism at every position creates countless alley-oops, blocks, and transition opportunities. Derrick Rose, a certain Top 3 pick in June's NBA Draft, dominated DJ Augustin, a player most experts call the best point guard in the country. The Tigers used their insane quickness to make one of the quickest, steadiest backcourts in the country look out of control and outclassed. From my point of view, these accomplishments are rarer and more noteworthy than a tight finish. No matter the score, Memphis will always make a few plays that make your draw drop.

Exciting endings are obviously great and memorable, but they often come at the end of mediocre games. For instance, it's hard to argue that either Kansas or Davidson looked particularly stellar in today's admittedly exciting second game. As cool as it was to see the Wildcats nearly nip the Jayhawks, I have to admit that I had more fun watching Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts dismantle the Longhorns.

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Cal Fires Ben Braun

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-26T19:45:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: California Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

Cal Athletic Director Sandy Barbour made perhaps the most popular move of her tenure today when she announced the firing of Ben Braun, who leaves Berkeley after 12 seasons of modest success. Braun's overall record and accomplishments are certainly not embarrassing, but his teams -- particularly the recent ones -- had a knack for underachieving and failing in crunch time.

A solid recruiter, Braun went 219-154 and led the Golden Bears to five NCAA appearances (including a Sweet Sixteen in 1997, his first season) and an NIT Championship, so it's impossible to say that he was a complete failure as coach. However, his teams rarely outperformed expectations, which could be seen throughout this season. Cal had two probable NBA first-rounders in Ryan Anderson and DeVon Hardin and a wealth of offensive talent, but the Bears finished 17-16, went a poor 6-12 in an admittedly tough Pac-10, and lost to Ohio State in the second round of the NIT. Cal rarely looked interested in playing defense and dropped several games in the closing moments.

Analysis of possible replacements after the jump.

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Lopez Twins Save Trent Johnson, Push Stanford into Sweet Sixteen

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-22T23:15:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Marquette Basketball, Big East Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, NCAA Basketball Coaches, Stanford Basketball, South

Trent Johnson's questionable ejection from today's Stanford/Marquette game could have sunk Stanford's season, but the team's two best players simply wouldn't allow it to happen. The Brothers Lopez combined for 48 of Stanford's 82 points in their overtime win over Marquette, including Brook Lopez's difficult leaner with 1.3 seconds left that gave the Cardinal the win.

Referee Curtis Shaw's ejection of Johnson had a huge effect on this game, although it's difficult to say who was given the bigger edge. The Cardinal got a lot of calls in the second half of this game, which gave them 20 free throws (in comparison to three for Marquette) in the second half. The twins certainly force their fair share of fouls in any game, but this large disparity suggests that the referee's might have made some makeup calls after the break.

Then again, Trent Johnson might have made some better coaching decisions in this game than the ones by assistant Doug Oliver. With Stanford up six points with 11:18, Oliver sat both Brook and Robin Lopez for the next 4:18. When they returned, Marquette had a one-point lead. Now, the decision to take them out was probably a good one given that they seemed on the verge of picking up technical fouls (and Robin had already picked up one of them), but sitting them for so long turned the momentum back to the Golden Eagles. It's tempting to think that Johnson would have brought at least one of them back sooner.

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NCAA Previews: Recognize the Oregon Ducks

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-17T08:46:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Oregon Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, South

Conference: Pac-10
Record: 18-13, 9-10 Pac-10
RPI: 58
How They Got In: At-Large Bid
Seed/Bracket: #9 in the South

Mascot: Ducks. Despite wearing a handkerchief around his neck, this mascot is known to get in sideline fights and wear his costume out to bars. It's safe to say that no mascot has ever been this cool while looking this silly.

Big Wins: Stanford, at Kansas State, Arizona (home/away), Arizona State

Notable Losses: at Nebraska, at Oakland, at Washington

Player You Should Know: The Ducks have a number of talented guards, but Maarty Leunen poses the most difficult matchup for opponents. Leunen is a face-up forward who shoots a great percentage from outside, so he pulls out bigger defenders and opens up driving lanes for the Oregon guards.

Outlook: Let me be blunt: I don't think Oregon deserved to get in ahead of Arizona State. The Sun Devils were a much more competitive team overall in the Pac-10 and actually beat the truly terrible teams on their non-conference schedule. The Ducks, on the other hand, struggled away from Eugene the whole season and regularly blow games in crunch time. Oregon can be very tough to beat when their athletic guards hit their shots, but that hasn't been common this year. Look for an early exit.

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NCAA Previews: Recognize the Arizona Wildcats

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-17T08:35:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Arizona Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, West

Conference: Pac-10
Record: 18-14, 9-11 Pac-10
RPI: 40
How They Got In: At-Large Bid
Seed/Bracket: #10 in the West

Mascot: Wildcats. The name caught on in 1914 when a Los Angeles Times article stated that the team "showed the fight of Wildcats" in a football game against Occidental College.

Big Wins: Texas A&M, at USC, Washington State (home/away)

Notable Losses: at Kansas, at Memphis, Arizona State (home/away), Oregon (home/away)

Player You Should Know: Jerryd Bayless is one of the most dynamic guards in the country and a sure-fire lottery pick in June's NBA Draft. He's fantastic off the dribble and has one of the best pull-up jumpers in the game. Some people are surprised that the Wildcats got into the tournament, but it'll be worth it just to see Bayless on the game's biggest stage.

Outlook: Arizona lost both games to Arizona State this season, but this team legitimately deserves to be in the field. They had some horrible injury luck with both Bayless and Nic Wise going down for significant stretches of the season. Having the highest strength of schedule in the country doesn't hurt either. The Wildcats look very impressive at full strength and can be a handful when their stars are at their best. Arizona's not tremendously deep, but they have enough talent to win in the first round and give someone a serious scare in Round Two.

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NCAA Previews: Recognize the Washington State Cougars

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-17T08:25:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, Washington State Basketball, East

Conference: Pac-10
Record: 24-8, 12-8 Pac-10
RPI: 20
How They Got In: At-Large Bid
Seed/Bracket: #4 in the East

Mascot: Cougars. The Wazzu homepage proudly announces that Butch T. Cougar won 2006's Capital One Mascot of the Year competition.

Big Wins: at Gonzaga, USC (home/away), Oregon (home/away), Arizona State (home/away),

Notable Loss: at Cal. The Cougs also dropped all five of their games to conference Stanford and UCLA

Player You Should Know: Guard Derrick Low leads the team in scoring, but wing Kyle Weaver is the team's most athletic and best player overall. He's one of the best perimeter defenders in the Pac-10 and a great playmaker off the dribble.

Outlook: Simply put, Washington State is overseeded. They had some solid non-conference wins, but they failed too register a signature win in the Pac-10. They're not very deep and have questionable athleticism overall. A Sweet 16 now seems like a possibility given the draw, but don't be surprised to see them go out in the second round.

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NCAA Previews: Recognize the USC Trojans

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-17T08:15:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, USC Basketball, East

Conference: Pac-10
Record: 21-11, 12-8 Pac-10
RPI: 29
How They Got In: At-Large Bid
Seed/Bracket: #6 in the East

Mascot: Trojan. In 1912, sportswriter Los Angeles Times sportswriter Owen Bird often compared USC's athletes to Trojan warriors for the great spirit and honor they showed in defeat. It bears mentioning that most opponents' fans now use the name to make jokes about contraceptives, which probably isn't what Bird had in mind.

Big Wins: at UCLA, Stanford, Oregon (home/away), Arizona State (home/away), Oklahoma.

Notable Loss: A shocking home loss to Mercer in the season opener. The Trojans were also swept by Washington State.

Player You Should Know: If you don't already know OJ Mayo, then you probably haven't read many articles about college basketball this season. He entered school as one of the most hyped players in recent memory, and, unfortunately, he disappointed a bit during the first half of the year. In the last few weeks, though, Mayo has curtailed his annoying tendency to settle for jumpers and and become the dynamic scorer everyone expected him to be.

Outlook: Despite the Pac-10 semifinal loss to UCLA, the Trojans have been playing very well lately. Their overall athleticism can cause problems for lots of teams and they're an underrated defensive team. Their youth occasionally gets the better of them, but expect USC to win a game and have an outside shot at their second trip to the Sweet 16 in a row.

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UCLA Locks Up #1 Seed with Pac-10 Final Win

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-15T22:01:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: UCLA Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, Stanford Basketball

UCLA and Stanford are two of the most physical teams in the country, and on Saturday they played a Pac-10 Tournament final that lived up to that reputation. The Bruins defeated the Cardinal 67-64 in an ugly game in which both teams looked flat-out tired. UCLA will almost certainly pick up the #1 seed in the West after winning the Pac-10 regular season and tournament titles.

Darren Collison was really the only player who looked to be his normal self in this game. He ran circles around Stanford defenders all day and scored 28 points on 12/22 shooting. The Bruins needed every point, too, because Kevin Love was rendered mostly ineffective after suffering a back injury in the game's opening moments. Love toughed it out, but he had trouble bending the entire game and went just 4/13 from the field. His health will obviously be of huge importance for the Bruins moving forward, although his back seemed to loosen up considerably in the second half.

Stanford doesn't have much to be upset about in this game. Their players were slow to the ball the entire game and gave up 18 offensive rebounds, but that's an anomaly for a team with this kind of strength inside. The Cardinal scrambled defensively the whole game and never really seemed to have their defensive rotations set. After playing two consecutive night games (including one that ended at 11pm in Los Angeles last night), it's not surprising that they lacked their usual energy. Frankly, it's a bit shocking that they had a chance to tie this game at the end before an Anthony Goods desperation three at the buzzer hit front iron.

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NCAA Previews: Recognize the Stanford Cardinal

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-15T09:20:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, Stanford Basketball, South

Conference: Pac-10
Record: 26-6, 15-5 Pac-10
RPI: 15
How They Got In: At-Large Bid
Seed/Bracket: #3 in the South

Mascot: The Tree, sort of. Everyone identifies the mascot with the school, but it's actually just the mascot of the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band, presumably because it's a bit hard to represent a color in mascot form. In recent years, two incarnations of the Tree have been suspended for performing under the influence (blood-alcohol level of .157) and inappropriate dancing, respectively. A few weeks ago, during this year's Tree selection process, a candidate was disqualified for endangering himself after being struck with several fluorescent light bulbs. The Tree truly defines fun for the whole family.

Big Wins: Washington State (home/away/neutral), USC, Arizona State, Arizona (home/away/neutral), Oregon. Plus, depending on who you talk to, at UCLA.

Notable Losses: at Siena (without Brook Lopez). The Cardinal haven't had any truly horrible losses since Lopez's return from academic suspension in December, but they have lost winnable road games to Arizona State and Oregon.

Player You Should Know: It's hard to exaggerate just how much Brook Lopez means to Stanford at both ends of the floor. Offensively, they try to feed him the ball on more than half of their total possessions, and he usually responds by getting to the line, scoring over double teams, or passing out to an open shooter. Defensively, he pairs up with his twin brother Robin to lock down the lane. Expect Lopez to be a high lottery pick in June's NBA Draft.

Outlook: The Cardinal should be seeded high enough to make the Sweet 16, but their chances from there on depend almost entirely on matchups. Their guard play has been somewhere between inconsistent and consistently poor this season. When Stanford gets any sort of perimeter contribution, they're awfully tough to beat, but that doesn't happen as often as you'd expect from a team with their record. The Cardinal's excellent defense will keep them close in pretty much every game, but expect them to fall over the second weekend against a team with a top-shelf backcourt.

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NCAA Previews: Recognize the UCLA Bruins

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-15T09:00:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: UCLA Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, West

Conference: Pac-10
Record: 30-3, 18-2 in Pac-10
RPI: 6
How They Got In: Automatic Bid for winning the Pac-10 Tournament
Seed/Bracket: #1 in the West

Mascot: Bruins. The school uses both male (Joe) and female (Josephine) versions of the mascot. It's unclear if anyone has ever seen a real bear in Westwood.

Big Wins: Michigan State (neutral), Davidson (neutral in Anaheim), Stanford (home/away)

Notable Loss: The loss at Washington is something of anomaly. Their only other losses came at home to Texas and USC.

Player You Should Know: Pac-10 Player of the Year Kevin Love certainly earns his considerable publicity, but point guard Darren Collison might mean more to the team overall. Collison is a terrific shooter and playmaker who also keys UCLA's suffocating defense. He's taken over several games in the second half this year, including the conference-clinching win over Stanford.

Outlook: The Bruins seem destined to pick up the top seed in the West region, so it certainly wouldn't be a shock to see them make their third consecutive Final Four. They lack multiple post scorers and could face problems if Love hits foul trouble, but their defense never turns off and their guards are more than capable of picking up the slack. UCLA has to be one of the favorites to win the whole thing now that the Florida juggernaut's not around to get in there way. Personally, I see them making another Final Four and bowing out in the national semifinal due to cold shooting.

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Another Controversial Pac-10 Call Decides USC-ASU Game

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-13T19:21:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, USC Basketball, Arizona State Basketball

After last week's two controversial calls that helped give UCLA a weekend sweep and the conference title, you'd think that this week's Pac-10 Tournament would feature better officiating -- or, perhaps more accurately, a lack of anything but the most obvious whistles in a particular situation. Of course, if you think that, then you don't know the Pac-10.

Arizona State's Jeff Pendergraph was whistled for an over-the-back call on a huge follow-dunk with 16.9 seconds left that would have tied the game at 57-57. USC's Davon Jefferson was right under the basket on the play and Pendergraph clearly went for the ball and barely touched him, but that didn't stop the whistle. Jefferson hit his free throws at the other end, and the Trojans eventually won 59-55. To get an idea of just how bad this call was, one need only listen to FSN announcers Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini in the video above. At first, they rightfully praise the play, then try to decide if the whistle was for goaltending, and then finally understand that it was a foul call.

One thing's for certain: the conspiracy theories won't hold here. ASU is squarely on the bubble and needed this game to put them in the NCAA field. USC has a bid locked up and is really only interested in seeding from here on out. This call was just a case of gross incompetency on the part of the officials. Frankly, it's even hard to say this was a shocking turn of events.

The real shame is that calls like this one make this game -- and, by extension, the league -- look bad. This was a great game, with All-Conference freshman guards OJ Mayo (23 points) and James Harden (16 points) facing off in a terrific battle of future NBA lottery picks. Unfortunately, the quality of play will go largely untouched, and we'll all focus on how arguably the best conference in the country has the worst officials around.

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Four Days of Mutually Assured Destruction: Pac-10 Tournament Preview

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-12T10:00:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: UCLA Basketball, Arizona Basketball, Oregon Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, March Madness, Stanford Basketball, Washington State Basketball, USC Basketball, Arizona State Basketball

The Pac-10 had one of its best seasons ever this year, with every team (including UCLA) beating each other up for the entirety of the last few months. Nowhere is that parity more clear than in the fact that seven teams enter this week's conference tournament as locks or legitimate contenders for the NCAA Tournament.

That sort of speculation isn't West Coast bias, either; Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology has six Pac-10 teams in the field, with Arizona State just outside of the field as part of the "Last Four Out" group. Lunardi's list obviously isn't gospel with a week of tournaments left, but the fact remains that this year's Pac-10 Tournament holds a lot of import for more than half of the field. With that in mind, let's take a look at what's at stake for all ten teams:

1. UCLA (28-3, 16-2 Pac-10): Making the championship game will probably lock down a top seed in the West region. An early exit like last season's quarterfinal loss to Cal could result in a drop down, but the Bruins might have too many quality wins to fall.

2. Stanford (24-6; 13-5 Pac-10): Last weekend's tough weekend in SoCal could knock the Cardinal out of a protected seed and pod placement in Anaheim, but one win this week would probably keep them in California for the opening weekend of the Big Dance. Their opening game will probably come against Arizona, a team they beat twice by a combined five points.

3. Washington State (23-7; 11-7 Pac-10): The Cougs already have an at-large taken care of, but they could improve their seeding up to a #5-seed (and maybe higher if they win the tournament) with a prolonged run. They'll start on Thursday against an Oregon team that usually struggles away from Eugene.

More analysis, including that of the conference's bubble teams, after the jump:

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Pac-10 Awards Announced, UCLA Wins Big

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-10T21:20:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: UCLA Basketball, Arizona Basketball, California Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, Stanford Basketball, USC Basketball, Arizona State Basketball

The Pac-10 announced its season awards today and, unsurprisingly, UCLA was the big winner. The Bruins picked up the hardware for Player of the Year (Kevin Love), Freshman of the Year (Love again), and Defensive Player of the Year (Russell Westbrook). The only trophy that failed to go to Westwood was Coach of the Year, which was won by Stanford's Trent Johnson. The Bruins also placed three people on the Pac-10's three All-Conference teams.

It's hard to argue with any of these choices. Love was pretty clearly the most consistent offensive player in the league this season, although his defense is not up to the level of likely runner-up Brook Lopez. Regardless, Love was a deserving winner of both his awards. Westbrook's win is a little easier to question, but he's certainly one of the two or three best wing defenders in the conference (although I prefer Washington State's Kyle Weaver), and Stanford center Robin Lopez's blocked shot totals probably weren't high enough to give him the trophy. As for Coach of the Year, that one's always emphasizes performance relative to expectations, so it's not surprising that the admittedly deserving Johnson beat out Ben Howland.

The Pac-10 recently changed their All-Conference team from one 10-person group to three five-man teams, and that was probably a good decision given the conference's strength this season. The first team included Love, Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson, OJ Mayo, and James Harden. I'm a little surprised that Jerryd Bayless didn't beat out Harden, but it's possible that the coaches wanted to honor Arizona State for their surprisingly solid season. Other than that, though, the rest of the All-Conference teams played to form.

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USC Punks Lifeless Stanford

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-09T03:47:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: Pac-10 Basketball, Stanford Basketball, USC Basketball

Anyone expecting Stanford to bounce back from Thursday's heartbreaking loss to UCLA and play with something to prove was horribly disappointed on Saturday morning. The Cardinal ran into a dynamic USC team and fell 77-64 at the Galen Center. The Trojans were quicker to the ball the entire game and simply looked like they wanted this one more.

USC got contributions from pretty much every player on their roster, but O.J. Mayo and Taj Gibson led the way in this one. Mayo finished with 25 points (9/19 FG), making this game another in a recent string of sterling performances. I criticized Mayo quite a bit earlier in the season, but no one can deny that he has been special lately. He seems to be looking for the drive more often than he did up until just a few weeks ago, and that area of his game has subsequently made it easier for him to get deep looks. Quite frankly, over the last few weeks Mayo's been the guy we all expected him to be when the season started in November.

Gibson scored 20 points (9/13 FG) and used his quickness advantage to negate the Lopez twins' height advantage inside. At the defensive end, he blocked five shots and helped limit Brook Lopez to one of his worst games of the season (4/13 FG for 11 points). As a team, the Trojans grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, a dominant performance on the glass given Stanford's position as one of the best rebounding teams in the country. The Cardinal looked incredibly slow to the ball and seemed to be suffering from an emotional letdown after the draining end of Thursday's UCLA game.

USC had likely already locked up an at-large bid before this game, so it's unlikely that this win will do anything for them other than bump their seed up a spot. Stanford, however, could be in some trouble. The Cardinal are seeking a spot in the Anaheim pod, but this weekend's two losses and a first-round loss in next week's Pac-10 Tournament could knock them out of a Top 4 protected seed. If that happens, Stanford's placement could come down to how the selection committee views that UCLA game. If they conclude that the Cardinal got jobbed, then it's possible that nothing could move them out of Anaheim.

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Pac-10 Coordinator of Officiating Weighs in on UCLA-Stanford Controversy

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-07T17:45:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: UCLA Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, Stanford Basketball

The controversial end of last night's Stanford-UCLA game has drawn an opinion from nearly every college basketball pundit in the country, but now someone with a clear stake in the matter has weighed in on the matter. Andy Katz reports on his ESPN.com blog (subscription required to view content) that Pac-10 Coordinator of Officials Bill McCabe was not happy with the call by referee Kevin Brill:

"There was body contact, but it's not a strong call, not a game appropriate call,'' McCabe told ESPN.com Friday. "I think you want a strong call at the close of the game.'' [...] McCabe said he talked to Brill after the game. "Kevin came in and said 'I cracked the whistle. Was it too soon?' He had body contact, but it's not a strong call. It's not an incorrect call, and that doesn't make it wrong. But I want solid calls."

McCabe skirts around the issue a bit here, but it's a safe bet that he had some stronger words for Brill in private.

While McCabe's reaction somewhat validates much of the outrage over the call, any Pac-10 fan has to be very skeptical of whether or not the fallout here will have a tangible effect on officiating in the conference. People have been talking for years about how Pac-10 refs have too much of an effect on the game, so forgive me if I'm not optimistic that he's about to correct the greater problem. If McCabe and Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen really wanted to do something about plays like the one last night, then they would have done it years ago. Instead, we're all forced to watch refs like Dave Libbey put star players in early foul trouble and call unnecessary technical fouls. Sadly, I don't see that changing any time soon. This league deserves better.

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UCLA Wins the Pac-10 with Some Help from the Zebras

Ty Keenan — 2008-03-07T05:20:00 00:00

by Ty Keenan

Filed under: UCLA Basketball, Pac-10 Basketball, Stanford Basketball

It seems like UCLA can't win a game without being down by double-digits at the half, and Thursday's Pac-10-clinching overtime victory over Stanford was yet another example of that. The Cardinal held a 12-point lead at the break, but UCLA stormed back to win 77-67 in OT. Yet, while the Bruins certainly deserve a ton of credit for coming back, it bears mentioning that they had a good deal of help from the referees late.

First things first, though, let's take stock of what UCLA accomplished all on their own. Darren Collison was simply phenomenal after the first half, dicing up Stanford's guards for 19 of his 24 points. Kevin Love had his standard 17 and 10, although he missed a number of lay-ins that he usually makes. It's a testament to UCLA's hard work and resolve that they were able to beat a Top 10 team despite not playing their best game.

At the same time, Stanford played one heck of a game and deserved the win just as much -- if not more, but, again, we'll get to that later -- as the Bruins did. UCLA looked like they were on the verge of taking the lead many times in the second half, but Stanford fought back to get stops and buckets and had a five-point lead with a minute left to play. Stanford lost their halftime lead, but it's hard to say that they choked; UCLA came out of the locker room with a renewed sense of purpose and played like a team on the verge of clinching the deepest conference in the nation. There were some borderline calls in the final minutes that went UCLA's way, but those happen in every game, and it's not as if Stanford can complain much given that they didn't get whistled for similar plays earlier.

The Cardinal have every right to complain about the final play of regulation. After a tough Lawrence Hill finish at the other end to put Stanford up by two points, Collison put up a short jumper with 2.5 seconds left on the clock. Hill stonewalled him with a clean block, but the referee behind the play called a blocking foul to send Collison to the line. Now, Hill did bump him with some body, but if that's a foul then 80% of blocked shots in the history of basketball have been fouls. In that case, the referees simply have to acknowledge the game situation and swallow their whistles.

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