By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 29, 1998

First place on the line at Stanford

Leigh-Anne Brown Arizona Daily Wildcat Basketball head coach Lute Olson directs his players in Sunday's game against Oregon State. Olson is presently 7-7 in his career at Stanford's Maple Pavilion, where the biggest game in the Pac-10 this year will be played tonight.

It will most certainly be a study in contrasts.

Arizona has experience, speed, a strong perimeter game and a scoring punch that produces 95.9 points per game on the season. Stanford has youth, size, a strong inside game and a defense that is holding opponents to just 63.4 points per game.

So with first place in the Pacific 10 Conference on the line, the Wildcats travel to Stanford tonight for a game where the winner will most likely be decided by which team copes best with the other's strengths.

The fun begins at 8:30 p.m. Tucson time.

"It's going to be tough," Arizona center A.J. Bramlett said. "It will be another tough game on the inside. I think we'll be able to handle it."

Handling Arizona's quickness will be Stanford's task.

"I don't think there is any question that they prefer a halfcourt game to fullcourt," Arizona head coach Lute Olson said.

If you're looking for comparisons beyond size, look at the schedules. Each team has hosted UCLA and each has traveled to Seattle. Sixth-ranked UA topped UCLA by 12, Stanford beat the Bruins by 13. Stanford needed a Kris Weems jumper at the buzzer to beat Washington while the Wildcats cruised to a 110-91 win over the Huskies.

All that, though, should go out the window in what has been one of the most contested series in the conference.

"It has been an unbelievable series," Olson said. "I think it will come down to the final possession."

That's exactly what happened in both games last year. Stanford's Brevin Knight missed a shot at the buzzer to give UA a win in Tucson. At Stanford, Pete Sauer nailed a jumper to lift the Cardinal on the last weekend of the season.

"The loss at Stanford was not because we didn't play well," Olson said.

Needless to say, each team has a lot riding on tonight's contest. Stanford is still trying to silence the critics despite its 18-0 start - the best in school history.

The Wildcats have a bit to prove, too. Their 17-3 record (7-0 in the conference) looks respectable enough but not for a team that had visions of an undefeated season just a few months ago.

"You kind of need a reality check sometimes," Bramlett said.

Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said the Cardinal must deal with UA's quartet of perimeter players - Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Michael Dickerson and Jason Terry - if they have a chance to keep its undefeated season hopes alive.

"I have seen them on television and they look very good," he said. "J.T. is the equal of any starter."

Stanford will most likely be without Mark Madsen, who has been hobbled by a stress fracture in his foot. He finally ran on it earlier this week but he is not expected to play.

As with any big game, talk helps fuel the fire.

But it was perhaps Simon who summed up the players' emotions best Tuesday.

"I would have been disappointed (had Stanford lost to UW)," he said. "I wanted us to be the first to beat them. We want to go in there, handle our business and get first place for ourselves."

#6 Arizona vs. #4 Stanford

(17-3,7-0 Pac-10)(18-0,7-0)

When: Tonight at 8:30 p.m.

Where: Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif.

TV/Radio: The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net and broadcast live by KNST (AM 790).

What: This is a battle of the Pac-10's two first place and unbeaten teams...The Wildcats have dropped the last three of four contests against the Cardinal...Stanford is coming off a 74-72 win over Washington, where the outcome was decided on a last-second shot...Miles Simon leads both teams in scoring, averaging 18.3 points a game