Mar 27, 2008

Next-to-last Dance begins

By Gordon Kass / Daily News Correspondent

Donna Summer sang, "The last dance. Last chance for romance." This weekend's NCAA tourney action is the last pair of games that decides everlasting love (the Final Four) or heartbreak (tournament exit) for four teams, the men of UCLA, Stanford and Washington State and the women of Stanford. It is technically the next-to-last weekend of the tournament, but these matchups define the true feeling in the heart that will remain and define the seasons for these four teams.

The drama of this weekend mostly applies to the Bruin boys and the Cardinal girls. Both have such high hopes that the Final Four is nearly a requirement. UCLA will try to ride center Kevin Love and guard Darren Collison to San Antonio (site of the Final Four) but their ticket to Texas depends heavily on the rest of the team contributing a lot more than they did in the 51-49 squeaker last Saturday over Texas A&M. Look for the Westwooders to rebound and bash Western Kentucky and Xavier. Yes, the UCLA men will reach true love (the Final Four) and they will do so via Kevin Love.

Tara's team is in a similar spot on the floor. Dance to the Final Four in Tampa or feel sad. SU roared past weak Cleveland State and UTEP, but the competition is a lot tougher in Spokane, Wash., this weekend. Candice Wiggins is hot and Jayne Appel leads a solid frontcourt, but opponents Pitt and Maryland are solid. Can Stanford keep its feet in rhythm or will it trip before the last notes of the last song? It is no crime to lose to a team as good as Maryland, but doing so on Monday and falling short of the Final Four will still be a disappointing heartbreaker for a Cardinal unit with great talent (especially as Candice Wiggins graduates). The pic here is that the music will stop a little early, with Spokane heartbreak at the hands and feet of a tough spin with the Terps.

The Stanford men and WSU men have lovelorn dreams of two-stepping in San Antonio, but monumental roadblocks will probably send them to the sidelines soon. Yet that won't tear up their hearts as both have accomplished a lot this season. A defeat would halt the dancing, but both would feel good about how far they reached in the tourney.

SU avoided a disaster last Saturday (Trent ejected; Cardinal loses to worse seed again, etc.) when Brook Lopez made an incredibly difficult last-second shot to beat feisty Marquette. And don't overlook the other Johnson in the scoresheet, point guard Mitch who dished 16 assists with just one turnover. Maybe the Cardinal backcourt ain't so bad after all.

But the next couple of opponents look ugly. Terribly tough Texas (in Houston, no less!) and if the Cardinal somehow survives, it's powerhouse Memphis.

WSU first faces powerhouse North Carolina in what should be a fun game to watch. It's the nation's second-ranked defense (Cougs) against the nation's second-ranked offense (Tar Heels). WSU's Tony Bennett has much less talent than UNC's Roy Williams, but he won't be outcoached. WSU will likely not see the Elite Eight, but will provide the Heels a big battle.



Pac-10 Men's Basketball Pics

- Thursday: North Carolina over Washington State by 8; UCLA over Western Kentucky by 10.

- Friday: Texas over Stanford by 9.

- Saturday: UCLA over Xavier by 8.



Pac-10 Women's Basketball Pics

- Saturday: Stanford over Pittsburgh by 7.

- Monday: Maryland over Stanford by 8.