Tourney on the Brain

This is usually the point at which I blog about the impending tip-off of the NCAA men's tournament and what it means for my boys in Cardinal red.  This season has been pretty amazing for the Stanford men's basketball team thus far.  Collecting many wins in the Pac-10 conference and falling short every single game versus the UCLA Bruins, including a loss in the conference tournament final, the Cardinal has remained a solid second place finisher and earned enough credit to garner a 3-seed entering into today's opening day.  They will face a tough squad from Cornell, but no doubt the biggest challenge they face is expectation.

Last year, the expectation was quite low, as the Card was obliterated in their game versus Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals. 26 wins later, this season has stacked the deck in their favor.  The Lopez twins have blossomed into a dominant force on both ends of the floor and Mitch Johnson has matured into a solid floor leader.  Gone are the days in which I would cringe at Johnson dribbling into open court, but sadly, with the advent of the Lopez twins and growth at the point, both Anthony Goods and Laurence Hill have gone missing.  Goods has shown up on occasion, but former All-Pac-10 forward Hill is a shadow of his former self.  No doubt his knee injury has taken away much of his ability to create off the dribble and penetrate, but his reduced role in the offense has crushed the confidence his jumper used to possess.  When both of these players show up, however, the team is as elite as can be.

My fears are thus for the tournament.  Both Lopezes are rendered ineffective by crushing pressure defense and athletic guard play from the high seeds slices and dices the vaunted Stanford defense to ribbons. 

My hopes for the the tournament are that the interior dominance exhibited by the twins carries over and above the crowd and both Goods and Hill come alive.  This is probably the only way the team can hope to make it past the first weekend and maybe even into the Elite Eight (one round better than the experts projected Sweet 16 finish). 

Despite any outcome, I will be watching the tournament patiently and praying the bracket lines up with the stars.  Game on!