Stanford, Arizona: Different, but Similar

Unbeaten Stanford. That’s what Miles Simon wanted, and that’s what he and the Arizona Wildcats get tonight at Maples Pavilion.

Simon didn’t want anything to get in the way of that, least of all Washington, which had Stanford all but beaten Saturday only to see Kris Weems wind his way upcourt to make a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 74-72 victory that allowed tonight’s game to remain all that it is.

“Yeah, I would have been disappointed,” Simon said. “I was rooting for Stanford to win that game. We want to be the first to beat them.

“I wouldn’t say I was cheering at the end, but I was pretty happy. My other two roommates wanted Washington to win so we’d be in first place by ourselves. But I want us to be able to go up there and handle our business and put ourselves in first place.”

To say Stanford against Arizona is only size versus speed is too simple, of course. The Stanford front line anchored by 7-foot-1 Tim Young is imposing, and Arizona guards Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson and Simon--and even sixth man Jason Terry--are terrific.

But Stanford (18-0) also has depth, three-point shooting, defense and solid guards in Weems and Arthur Lee. And Arizona (17-3) has phenomenal explosiveness that leads to things like 17-0 scoring runs--as well as a proven ability to fight from behind and all the experience of that national championship run.

Who can handicap this game? How about some of the coaches who have been beaten by both?

UCLA Coach Steve Lavin’s team lost by 12 at Arizona and by 13 at Stanford.

“I think Arizona has the advantage in terms of quickness and experience. Those are two big factors. I think Stanford has the advantage in size, strength and the home-court advantage of Maples Pavilion,” Lavin said. “It will be which strength wins out. . . . Maples is a big factor--not that Arizona will be intimidated, after the way they beat [Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky, college basketball’s three winningest programs, on the way to the NCAA championship].”

Washington Coach Bob Bender’s team lost to Arizona by 19 at home, then fell to Stanford by two on that last-second shot, also at home.

“Boy, you’ve got two teams, I think, that have really different ways they attack you, yet they have some similarities,” Bender said. “The three-point line . . . will be critical. Which team has success from three-point range will be the team that has the opportunity to take control . . . and the best opportunity to win.

“When three-point shots are falling, it opens things up inside. Stanford’s size is obvious, and with the athleticism Arizona has inside, they’re able to score when things are opened up because of the three.

“Also, defensively, both are very, very quick on the perimeter. This wouldn’t be a game where I’d expect a lot of turnovers. I think the one team that handles it better against the quickness on the perimeter and the pressure both teams apply probably will have a better chance to win the basketball game.”

Winning at Maples is no easy task. Stanford has won 20 in a row there, including an 81-80 victory over Arizona on Pete Sauer’s baseline jumper with six seconds left last March--shortly before the Wildcats began their unexpected run to the NCAA title.

“I still contend our best basketball last season may have been at Stanford and Cal, and we dropped two games,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said. “Looking back at the tape of last year, to have a chance to beat Stanford on their home court, which is next to impossible. . . . We played extremely well. People don’t realize how hard it is to beat teams on their home court.”

LAST ONES STANDING

Anyone who picked Stanford and Utah to be the last unbeaten teams in the country after losing their best players, please stand up.

Stanford lost point guard Brevin Knight, a first-round NBA draft pick.

Utah lost the best player in its history, Keith Van Horn, the second pick overall by the New Jersey Nets and the leading rookie scorer in the NBA.

Unbeaten, yes, but are Stanford and Utah really better? Stanford probably is.

“I think even though they lost Brevin Knight, a tremendous player, Stanford is better now, with the experience they have,” Olson said.

Utah?

“There is no comparison,” Utah Coach Rick Majerus said. “I tell everybody, ‘We are not the No. 3 team in the country.’ ”

Majerus’ team--which was pretty convincing in taking a 20-point halftime lead against Nevada Las Vegas recently--has center Michael Doleac, an underrated point guard in Andre Miller from Verbum Dei, and an intriguing but inconsistent Finnish forward, Hanno Mottola.

But the Utes also have a schedule that is so weak the Utes’ RPI ranking--a key consideration for the NCAA tournament committee--is No. 23.

However, Utah gets its toughest test Sunday against No. 14 New Mexico at Albuquerque, N.M.

Majerus defends his schedule with typical aplomb--and another jab or two at UCLA for not agreeing to play the Utes.

“You might want to go out with Mel Gibson, but if you call and he doesn’t want to do it, it’s over,” Majerus said. “I might want to go out with Claudia Schiffer, but if David Copperfield is calling, my call is going unanswered.”

Utah played Loyola Marymount partly because Majerus recruits here and partly to give Miller a chance to play a game near his home.

The “players’ visit home” also explains a game against Oregon State, since Doleac is from Portland, Majerus said. Wisconsin Milwaukee? Majerus said that one was for him.

Azusa Pacific at home? Exam time.

Southern Utah, Utah State and Weber State are in-state games Majerus said are mandated by the Utah Legislature.

The Utes did play Wake Forest, and they were in the Great Eight in Chicago--but were assigned Providence instead of Kansas, Arizona or Kentucky.

And give Majerus some credit--he didn’t want to load up his schedule the year after losing Van Horn. Next season they’ll play in the Maui tournament.

“The amazing thing about this team is that of 13 scholarship players, 10 are freshmen and sophomores and only two are seniors,” Majerus said.

THE BATTLE OF BRITONS

They live 100 miles apart on the other side of the Atlantic, but the two 7-foot centers will meet for the first time Saturday at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

Pacific’s 7-foot-1 Michael Olowokandi was born in Nigeria but has lived in London much of his life.

Long Beach State’s Andrew Betts, also 7-1, is from Ibstock, England, 100 miles away.

“It’s a little farming village, really,” Betts said. “Eight pubs. Not much else.”

And how often do the good people of Ibstock get into London?

“People from Ibstock don’t go anywhere but Ibstock, really,” Betts said.

That only partially explains how they never met. Betts played on national teams but never ran into Olowokandi--who took up the game at 17 but has such quickness and athleticism he’ll be a first-round NBA draft pick.

Olowokandi leads the Big West Conference in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field-goal percentage, and nine NBA teams are showing up to watch him go against Betts.

When Olowokandi decided he wanted to play basketball, he picked Pacific out of a college guide and phoned the coaches’ offices. (Doesn’t Abilene Christian wish he started with the A’s?)

“The first time I picked up a ball I was probably 17 or 18. I would play with friends, two-on-two. I didn’t really learn the rules until I came here,” Olowokandi said.

“We’d find like an indoor place. Not really a basketball court, more a multipurpose court for badminton or indoor soccer. The floor wouldn’t be wood. It would be more like tile.

“It kind of happened overnight. Like my mind was set. I picked up a basketball and started dribbling it and felt I wanted to play.”

Olowokandi already has faced more polished players than Betts in Stanford’s Tim Young, Baylor’s Brian Skinner and Fresno State’s Avondre Jones, but he and Betts will go head to head twice in the Big West--and their numbers against the same competition are surprisingly similar.

Olowokandi averages 20 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 65% and blocking 2 1/2 shots a game. (He had seven blocks against UC Irvine and called it “all in a day’s work.”)

Betts doesn’t look intimidating and is rather slow, but you can’t argue with his numbers--19 points and 10 rebounds a game, with a season-high 36 points against North Texas. The only time he has been stopped was when teammates simply couldn’t get him the ball against Cal State Fullerton (he took three shots).

“I never had numbers anything like this, even at C.W. Post,” Betts said of the Division II school he played at before transferring to Long Beach.

There isn’t much doubt about which league Olowokandi will be playing in next season. Betts?

“I want to play professionally at the best level I can,” he said. “It depends on how much I improve.”