Texas vs. Stanford Preview: First One to 100 Wins

The combined IQ of the starting five of the Cardinal probably trumps the entire Texas squad but that's beside the point. Texas has some talented players that the Cardinal must contend with, while the Horns must corral and hook the Lopez double-threat inside. Whatever way you choose to look at it, something has to give and it will be the scoreboard. In this game, the first to 100 wins.

Texas could have very easily gotten a No. 1 seed if not for some weirdness with the RPI ratings system. The Cardinal need a great game from the Batman and Robin, uh, Lopez duo of Brook and Robin. If Texas lets the big two big boys from Palo Alto loose, the Horns will be in for a long day.

While the 'Horns have size, they do not have a bonafide big man as a superstar. Connor Atchley is the closest Texas has and though he is a great shot-blocker he is not a scorer. Damion James is Texas' big go-getter, notching 16 boards in the 75-72 win over Miami, the game the Horns nearly gave away. Once again, though, Texas does not have a scorer inside. The other three bangers on the Texas roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

That said, Texas has already topped their performance in last year's NCAA tournament and that's without the services of Kevin Durant. Their guard line is what makes them special, with D.J. and A.J. (That's Augustin and Abrams for the disinclined) going bombs away from Treyville. They can also handle the pressure well and not get forced into turnovers, a necessity for any team at this stage of the tournament.

The Cardinal come into this game having watched their normally milquetoast coach Trent Johnson get thrown out of his last game. That had to thrill the Stanford administration to no end, I'm sure. As far as basketball goes though, Stanford can play up front. The Lopez brothers make sure of that, with Brook being the stronger of the Batman and Robin duo, scoring 30 points in his last game, an overtime thriller over Marquette.

The guard play is the question mark, though and while Mitch Johnson (coach's son) did dish out 16 assists against Marquette, the team is not exactly the kind that bombs away. It's only gunner from Treyville is Anthony Goods and while Goods has the goods from behind the arc, the pickings after Goods are not that good.

When you add to the equation Stanford's poor free-throw shooting you have a recipe for Hack-a-Shaq and you can guarantee the Cardinal will see the free throw line more than they care to. This game has the makings of a classic, with two teams playing different styles.

ANALYSIS: It's just that Texas has so much firepower that it's hard to see this game going the way of Stanford, unless the Horns guards are forced into terrible shooting nights and their normally solid defense takes a night off. You know Stanford will have its usual awesome rebounding effort. What you don't know is whether or not the Stanford guards will be able to do something on their own.

FINAL SCORE: TEXAS 102, STANFORD 96 (2OT)