Wildcat big men cut Cardinal down to size

As it turned out, Arizona had the best of both.

Stanford was supposed to give Arizona problems with its superior size, but it was the Arizona post players giving the Cardinal frontcourt fits in Arizona's 93-75 win at Maples Pavilion.

"They say that every damn game," Arizona forward Bennett Davison said of the questions about UA's size.

Clearly, though, the Wildcat post men delivered.

Bramlett had 12 points and four rebounds, but his physical play got Stanford's Tim Young into foul trouble, ultimately limiting the Cardinal center to 11 points and five rebounds.

Bennett Davison battled Pete Van Elswyk all night in a matchup that sometimes got ugly. Early in the first half, Davison took Van Elswyk to the floor with an elbow toss that would make Hulk Hogan proud.

"He was face guarding me," Davison said.

Center Donnell Harris was quick to Davison's defense as well.

"The way we retaliated was not even a percent of what they were doing," said Harris, who was limited by foul trouble. "If you're going to allow that, you might as well let us go out with baseball bats."

That won't happen anytime ... well, ever. But it wasn't needed.

Van Elswyk was held scoreless and grabbed just two rebounds. Freshman reserve Jarron Collins fared a little better with five rebounds, but six of his eight points came at the free-throw line.

"A lot of times our inside (players) don't get the credit they deserve," Arizona head coach Lute Olson said. "But defensively they mean as much to us as the perimeter guys."

Offensively, Davison tallied four points and seven rebounds. The fourth man in Arizona's interior rotation, Eugene Edgerson, finished with four points and two rebounds.

"We were motivated all week," Edgerson said. "Everybody said their inside guys would dominate us and it was the total opposite."

Bramlett was quick to credit his teammates on the perimeter as being a big part of the team's performance.

"That's what we needed," Bramlett said. "We had a good inside game and outside game. It was totally a team effort tonight."

Now, Arizona's focus shifts to California, a winner over Arizona State, 82-77, last night.

Any chance of a letdown?

"No," Edgerson said. "We're so focused and I know coach will keep us focused."