|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Letdown before showdown
Posted: Tuesday March 07, 2000 10:24 PM
By Jim Moore, Special to CNNSI.com They planned to meet as the first- and third-best teams in the country, a showdown of monumental interest with so much at stake. Now Stanford and Arizona will tussle in Tucson, both coming off surprising losses. Stanford was shocked by UCLA 94-93 in overtime at Maples Pavilion on Saturday while Arizona dropped both of its weekend games in Oregon. The Arizona losses, coming without Loren Woods (sore back) and on the road at that, were not as surprising as the Cardinal's. Stanford rolled into the game as a 19-point favorite, having defeated its previous 13 opponents by an average of 25 points. UCLA showed up appearing somewhat rejuvenated but still looking much like a scruffy underdog against this kind of competition. The confounding Bruins managed to shoot 54 percent against the nation's best defense. They were led by JaRon Rush, returning from his shortened NCAA sentence, to score 19 points, including the game-winning hoop. The victory created a variety of emotions. Steve Lavin, the coach on the supposed hot seat for not coercing enough magic from the Bruins, began to cry. "Considering all the circumstances, it's very special," he said. "I was so happy for JaRon because of what he had gone through, having basketball taken away from him for the first time in his life. And then hitting the big shot at Maples Pavilion. It was kind of overwhelming emotionally to see our players experience a win against the No. 1 team in the country on the road after the kind of season we have had." After erasing a huge deficit at California and winning at Stanford, UCLA has suddenly thrust itself into the NCAA Tournament, barring an unexpected collapse against conference softies Washington State and Washington this week. The Bruins (8-8) are still one game behind fourth-place ASU (9-7) but will possibly force the selection committee to take five teams from the Pac-10 now. That's provided the Sun Devils split against Stanford and Cal this week. UCLA, in a tribute to the unpredictable nature of sports, went 0-for-14 from 3-point territory in a 78-63 loss to Stanford Feb. 3 at Pauley Pavilion. Then the Bruins turn around and hit 52 percent of their bombs on Saturday. "We let 'em score 94 points," said Stanford freshman Casey Jacobsen. "We counted on our defense most of the year and it let us down. We couldn't stop them." "They're great players," said Stanford's David Moseley. "They were making unbelievable shots." Besides Rush, UCLA got strong inside play from the tandem towers, Jerome Moiso and Dan Gadzuric, who have been criticized this season for being inconsistent. "Moiso and Gadzuric are bright, sensitive kids," Lavin said. "Unfortunately, people expect them to be like Walton and Jabbar right out of the gate." Stanford suddenly seems vulnerable, particularly when it plays an athletic team that harasses and pressures with abandon. The Cardinal also crumbled in a tight game, probably because it wasn't used to playing in those conditions. "We haven't faced a situation in a while where we had to think for 40 minutes," said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. Arizona has its own problems. The Wildcats enter Thursday's game with a strong likelihood that Pac-10 player-of-the-year candidate Woods will be watching from the sideline again. Arizona hopes to have him back for the tournament. Without Woods, Arizona is not as dominating. At least Richard Jefferson returned this week from a broken foot he suffered in the first Pac-10 game in January at Palo Alto. But he is not even close to 100 percent. The Pac-10 title is on the line for the 14-2 Cardinal and 13-3 Wildcats, who won the first meeting 68-65. Arizona has not lost a Pac-10 game at McKale Center in three years, but Stanford is unbeaten on the road this season. "We can still reach our goals," said Arizona's Justin Wessel. "Stanford is 10 times better than these two teams, Oregon and Oregon State, and we lost those two. We need to find that mental toughness."
Soaring DucksWhat a week for Oregon. The Ducks could have faded to 10-7 in conference play but emerged at 12-5 instead and will host Oregon State on Saturday looking for its 22nd win of the year and an improved seeding in the NCAA Tournament.The Ducks beat Arizona State 76-74 last Thursday on a night of wild finishes in Oregon. Eddie House had given his NCAA bubble team a 74-70 lead with two free throws with five seconds remaining, apparently securing victory. Oregon countered with a full-court pass from Ben Lindquist to Alex Scales, who drilled a quick 3-pointer. ASU threw the ball away on its ensuing possession but still seemed like it would escape since the Ducks had the ball under the Sun Devils' basket again. Lindquist, though, who played just one minute all night, heaved another touchdown pass, this time finding Darius Wright, who wheeled and connected with a three at the horn, producing pandemonium at McArthur Court. "I didn't really know it went in until everybody started jumping on me," said Wright, who, to that point, was 1-for-7 and guilty of seven turnovers. Two days later, Arizona arrived, smarting from a 70-69 buzzer-beating defeat at Oregon State. The Wildcats rolled to a 17-point lead with less than 13 minutes to go but were overtaken in the stretch by the Frederick Jones-led Ducks. The sophomore guard collected 27 points, six rebounds, six assists and praise from Ernie Kent. "This might be the biggest win in a long, long time," the Oregon coach said. Jones, who had played poorly in Oregon's previous two games against Arizona, recalled the two free throws he missed last year, hurting the Ducks' upset hopes. On Saturday, he got redemption, super-sizing his Mac attack. "I was just thinking about last year when we were at home and I slipped up," Jones said. "I wanted to show the real Freddie Jones."
Disbelief in CorvallisAn amazing week for Oregon, a troubling one for Arizona. Before heading to Eugene, the Wildcats were stunned in Corvallis by Deaundra Tanner, who hit a three at the overtime buzzer and was immediately mobbed."Biggest shot I ever made," Tanner said. "I feel really happy for the players," said Eddie Payne, coach of the 13-15 Beavers. "Most people have given up on us, and the players know it." There were no school records broken in the game, just a clipboard, the second this season by the frustrated Payne.
Wither USCThe Trojans resemble a game of 52-card pickup, the losses flying all over the place now. USC, which once led the conference at 5-0, is now 7-8 in Pac-10 play after being swept in the Bay Area.The Trojans embarrassed themselves in more ways than one in Palo Alto. They lost 111-68 last Thursday, allowing the most points in school history. In addition, the injured Jarvis Turner, seated on the bench in street clothes, reached out and grabbed the shorts of the driving Jacobsen in the first half, stopping and stunning the Stanford freshman. "That's never happened to me and I've never heard of it happening anywhere else," Jacobsen said. "We certainly don't condone that," said USC coach Henry Bibby, whose team has lost eight of its last nine games and is not even NIT worthy now. At least Sam Clancy is back. Clancy, who missed 11 games with a broken right foot, returned to score four points and pull down five rebounds, against Stanford. But Trojans leader Brian Scalabrine suffered a strained right hip in the same game. Before the next game at Cal, Jeff Trepagnier was given a technical foul for dunking in pre-game warmups and the Bears had a 2-0 lead before the game even began.
Worth notingOregon's A.D. Smith, who broke his cheekbone against USC, reappeared Saturday with a clear plastic faceguard and took several unintentional shots to the face. Oregon students, including football quarterback Joey Harrington, wore masks in support of Smith. ... The Ducks broke a school record, shooting 96 percent from the free-throw line (24-for-25) against Arizona. ... In a battle of bottom-feeders, Washington defeated Washington State 64-60 Saturday afternoon. The Huskies won their first and last Pac-10 games at KeyArena, and are looking forward to returning to renovated Hec Edmundson Pavilion on campus next year. The Cougars are just looking forward to next year period. In fitting Washington State fashion, the Cougars were trying to pull off the upset when, in the final minute, Deon Luton blocked Chris Crosby's shot. The ball then ricocheted off Crosby's head and went out of bounds.Jim Moore covers the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Check back each Tuesday for his latest CNNSI.com Insider.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
