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Cardinal on Bumpy Road to Final Four
Second round West Regional update.
March 12, 1999
SEATTLE, Wash. - A year ago, Stanford marched to the Final Four as a No. 3 seed beforelosingin overtime to eventual champion Kentucky. This time around, its stride looksmore like a stutter step.
On Saturday the Cardinal hope to get back on track when Stanford takes onGonzaga in Seattle's Key Arena.
Stanford (26-6) had hoped to enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed, butwasassigned a No. 2 after a season-ending loss to Oregon State.
The Cardinal then escaped a first-round flop by making 10 of 11 foulshotsduring a late spurt that carried Stanford to a 69-57 victory over pesky AlcornState in the NCAA West Regional on Thursday.
The Pac-10 champion, which finished 23-of-26 from the line, outscored theBraves 14-2 over the final four minutes after Alcorn State had rallied from 14points down at halftime to tie it at 55.
Alcorn State outscored the Cardinal 27-13 to pull even as Stanfordcommitteda dozen turnovers and made just five field goals during the stretch. Overall,Stanford shot 43 percent and was 4-for-14 from 3-point range.
If the Cardinal are to match last season's run, they will have tosignificantly step up their play.
"We've been here before," junior guard Arthur Lee said. "When it comesdown to it, the vast majority of the time, we'll do something to pull it out."
Mark Madsen, who led the Cardinal with 23 points and also grabbed 13rebounds, scored five during the late run, including a three-point play to capan 8-0 spurt that put Stanford up 63-55.
Lee, who made all six of his free throws in the last two-and-a-halfminutes,finished with 13 points.
Stanford had expected to take on Minnesota, the seventh seed, but thedepleted Gophers were eliminated by Gonzaga, 75-63, on Thursday.
Minnesota was without four players who were ruled ineligible because ofallegations of academic fraud.
In addition to missing Kevin Clark, Miles Tarver, Jason Stanford andAntoineBroxsie through suspension, Kyle Sanden of the Gophers could not play becauseof a sprained ankle he suffered in practice Wednesday.
And two of the remaining eight players - Joel Przybilla and KevinNathiel -fouled out.
Gonzaga, playing in front of a friendly crowd in its home state, had fourplayers in double figures.
Richie Frahm scored 26 points, including five 3-pointers, while MattSantangelo added 14 points, Jeremy Eaton got 12 and Quentin Hall 10. CaseyCalvary had 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs (26-6), the 10th seed, are making their second NCAAtournamentappearance after winning the Big West regular-season and tournament titles.
The winner takes on either No. 6 seed Florida or 14th-seeded Weber State,who shocked North Carolina, in Phoenix on Thursday.