Conference Tournaments: PAC-10
2006-03-09
Posted by: badanov
Stanford has been one of those teams you like so much, that it is easy to say when a real game is coming up, such as the conference tournament opener tonight, that Stanford will win big.
But then, their opponent, Arizona, long a leader in the PAC-10 will have something to say about all that.
Of the four second round games tonight, the Stanford Arizona game should have some of the best basketball.
By every measure we can find, both teams are mediocre. Stanford did well on the road in the PAC-10, dropping half their road games. They also beat Washington and California at home, not an easy series to win. Their 80-76 loss at Gonzaga impressed us the most, and one of the reasons we don't see Gonzaga advancing past the third round in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cardinals had a rough non-conference schedule, dropping half their games against some lightweight opponents, losing a two game road trip before entering conference games.
By contrast, Arizona had an even tougher non-conference schedule splitting four games against ranked/better non conference majors, winning at Kansas and against Virginia, while losing against Uconn and at Michigan State. Arizona also took a mid-season pounding at the hands of North Carolina.
It appears to us the only tossup will be Arizona Stanford. We expect all the other home teams, California UCLA and Washington to win.
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