Off the Ropes

After Thurday night's pathetic outing against Washington State, Stanford basketball seemed destined for the NIT. Such an unthinkable notion would become reality barring an upset over Washington, who have inexplicably become a Pac 10 juggernaut. But as Chris Berman would say, that's why they play the games.

I attended the game at Maples yesterday, which was a true privelege. Washington's #10 ranking notswithstanding, I especially wanted to attend this game because it was Senior Day. This is one of the great, underappreciated features of the sport and I have a soft spot for all the mushy pageantry of it. Yesterday, an electric crowd said goodbye to Rob Little and Nick Robinson and it just feels good to be there giving an ovation to two guys who gave four solid years to the program. That "Thank-You-Sen-iors" chant gets me every year.

The game itself was terrific, as the Cardinal rose to the occasion after the WSU debacle on Thursday. Hernandez led the team like a general, Haas picked a great time for a career-high 18 points and Haryasz looks more and more like an NBA player. It's clear now that this Stanford team is different from those in previous years, in that we generally play to the level of the opponent. In previous years, we have played with robotic consistency, no matter the opponent or the location. But this year's games against Oregon State, Wazzu, ASU, the first Arizona game and yesterday's game reveal a much more volatile team. Assuming we make the NCAAs, I could see this team losing by 10 in the first round, or pulling off two upsets to make the Sweet 16. It all depends on the matchups doled out by the Bracket Gods.