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| Stanford takes a two-game lead into the meeting with defending Pac-10 champ Arizona. |  |
Men's Basketball Squad Aiming to Make History
Cardinal needs win over Arizona for first Pac-10 crown.
February 26, 1999
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Cardinal and white banners hanging from theraftersat Maples Pavilion celebrate the greatness of Stanford women's basketball andvolleyball teams.
And now the Stanford men are within one win of hanging a conferencebasketball championship banner up there for the first time in more than athirdof a century.
With a win Saturday night against defending Pac-10 champion Arizona, thesixth-ranked Cardinal would clinch their first title since the conferenceexpanded to 10 teams in 1978-79.
In the past 20 years, only UCLA, Arizona, Washington and Oregon Statehavewon the conference title.
"Any time you haven't done something, it's important," Stanford coachMikeMontgomery said. "If you look at the Pac-10, it's been incredibly hard forother teams to break through and win this thing. The conference championshipobviously is very important for us."
Stanford (23-5, 13-2 Pac-10) took a two-game lead atop the conference bydefeating Arizona State 87-77 in overtime Thursday night while No. 7 Arizonawas losing at California.
Even if the Wildcats win Saturday night, the Cardinal still can clinchthetitle by winning at Oregon and Oregon State next week.
"Stanford hasn't had a title like this for a long time. It would mean agreat deal to us," point guard Arthur Lee said. "The ball is now in ourcourt. We have an opportunity to lock it down Saturday, and if not we'll go upto Oregon and get it."
Stanford has not finished first in its league since the 1962-63season, whenit shared the title with UCLA with a record of 7-5 in the AAWU - the five-teampredecessor of the Pac-10.
And Stanford has not won a league title outright since 1941-42, whenit wonthe Pacific Coast Conference championship and went on to capture the NCAAcrown.
Though the Cardinal are starting to do the things that got them to theFinalFour last year - hitting key free throws, falling behind but then rallying bywearing down teams - there still are reasons for concern as the NCAAtournamentapproaches.
Center Tim Young did have a season-high 14 rebounds against ArizonaState,but he was 3-for-13 from the field and has struggled offensively all season.His shooting percentage is below .500 for the first time in his collegecareer,and he is averaging career lows in points, rebounds and blocks this year.
Lee, too, is struggling with his shooting. He also was 3-for-13 on fieldgoals Thursday, and has not hit half his shots in a game since Jan. 21.
But such statistics have done little to dampen the enthusiasm of Stanfordstudents. There were three tents set up Thursday night, before the win overArizona State was completed, with students waiting for prime seats forSaturday's game.
Arizona coach Lute Olson also pointed to the significance of Saturdaynight's contest, saying that winning the Pac-10 title can be a betterindication of a team's greatness than a national title.
"When you play 18 games and you play everybody home and away, that'sindicative of who the best team is," Olson said. "When you get into thetournament, it's if you get on a roll and who gets the luck. In a way it'sunfortunate that a whole lot of people don't realize how important theconference title is."
By ROB GLOSTER
AP Sports Writer