Feb. 26, 2000
SEATTLE (AP) - Another Stanford win, another frustrated opponent. Mark Madsen scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds as No. 1Stanford shut down Washington in a 77-52 win on Saturday.
The Cardinal, who lead the nation in field goal percentage defense, held theHuskies to 32 percent shooting.
"That's kind of been our mantra all season - play defense, rebound andyou're going to win," Madsen said.
"The thing that has been so good for us has been our defense," Stanfordcoach Mike Montgomery said. "We have sold the team on the idea that defensecan keep you in every game."
David Moseley scored 13 points and Jarron Collins had 12 and 12 rebounds forStanford (24-1, 13-1 Pac-10).
Chris Walcott scored 10 points for Washington (9-18, 4-11).
"Our offense can come and go, but it's the defense that's going to make thedifference if we're going to do well in the NCAA tournament," Collins said.
Walcott's 3-pointer with 13:54 remaining in the game capped a 12-4Washington run that pulled the Huskies to within 46-35, but they got no closer.
Ryan Mendez scored five points as Stanford responded with a 13-4 run thatput the game away.
Stanford has won six straight over the Huskies, the longest Cardinal streakin the history of the series.
Washington is 1-24 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams.
"They are a total basketball team," Washington coach Bob Bender said.
"Stanford is very strong in the post," Walcott said. "They have depth anda lot of talent, and that's what makes them so good."
The Cardinal jumped out to a 17-2 lead 6:05 into the game. During thatstretch the Huskies hit just one of their first nine shots from the field andwere outrebounded by Madsen 7-5.
With Stanford leading by 12 points, Madsen scored four points as Stanfordoutscored Washington 12-6 during the final five minutes of the first half totake a 39-21 halftime lead.
"Mark plays so hard, we just follow his leadership and intensity," Collinssaid.
The Cardinal have won their last three games by a total of 113 points, aschool record.
For the season Stanford is holding opponents to 33.9 percent shooting. TheNCAA record for best defensive field goal percentage in a season is 35.8percent, set by Marquette during the 1993-94 campaign.
"We need to peak at the right time and we're doing that," Madsen said.