GAME: No. 16 Texas-San Antonio (19-13) vs. No. 1 Stanford (29-1).
REGIONAL: Phoenix, First Round.
TIME: Thursday, 5:10 p.m. EST.
SITE: KeyArena; Seattle.
Stanford has a No. 1 ranking, a No. 1 seed and a '1' in the loss column.
Just one win in the NCAA tournament won't be nearly enough this time.
Usually an early upset victim in recent years, the Cardinal will embark on what appears to be a challenging path to the Final Four after taking on 16th-seeded Texas-San Antonio.
Despite being back atop the polls after winning the Pac-10 tournament, Stanford was placed below fellow No. 1s Kentucky and Duke when the seedings were announced Sunday.
"The first initial response is that they're disrespecting us," Cardinal guard Chris Hernandez said, referring to the selection committee. "But until we prove we can win in the tournament, maybe they're right. There's no use blaming anybody."
Stanford has been ousted in the second round in four of the last five years, including a loss to North Carolina as a top seed in 2000. The Cardinal also were a No. 1 seed the following year, falling to Maryland in a regional final.
This starting five, however, is among the best coach Mike Montgomery has had in 18 years at Stanford.
Pac-10 player of the year Josh Childress led the Cardinal in scoring and rebounding and won tournament MVP honors. The junior forward is part of a big and talented front line, along with Justin Davis and center Rob Little, that led the conference in rebounding margin.
Davis returned for the Pac-10 tournament after missing 10 games with a torn knee ligament.
"Justin's such a physical presence as well as an emotional presence," said guard Matt Lottich, who had 20 points in Saturday's win over Washington.
Lottich, the team leader with 61 3-pointers and its second-leading scorer, joins Hernandez in giving the Cardinal good options on the perimeter to complement the frontcourt.
Partly because this was considered a down year for the Pac-10, the Cardinal's strength of schedule barely ranked among the nation's top 100. That, along with some of the competition it should face in this region, are big reasons why Stanford has its share of detractors.
Assuming they get by Texas-San Antonio, the Cardinal next face either a quick Alabama team that played a tough SEC schedule or a tournament-tested Southern Illinois squad which lost four games all season. One of the last two defending national champions - Syracuse or Maryland - could be awaiting the Cardinal in the round of 16, and Connecticut, a popular Final Four pick, could be their opponent in the regional final.
"I've said all along that I thought there were 20 teams that were really capable of winning the whole thing, which puts you in a lot of competition," Montgomery said.
"I think you are going to run into a good opponent really early, so I don't look ahead very much."
Before the Cardinal can get to San Antonio for the Final Four, they have to beat the team from its host city.
The Roadrunners won their seventh in a row and reached the field of 65 by beating Stephen F. Austin 74-70 on Friday to win the Southland Conference tournament title.
Despite being hampered by injuries and academic ineligibility, Texas-San Antonio notched the third NCAA tournament berth in school history and first since 1999.
"We have shown the ability to stick together through a lot of tough times," coach Tim Carter said. "We know a No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed. But why not us?"
LeRoy Hurd scored 23 points in the league title game and was the Southland's player of the year.
"We have hopes of winning the game, not just playing the game," Hurd said.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Texas-San Antonio - F Hurd (19.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg), F John Millsap (8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), C Anthony Fuqua (6.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg), F Justin Harbert (10.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg), G Kurt Attaway (7.6 ppg, 3.3 apg). Stanford - F Childress (15.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg), F Davis (11.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg), C Little (9.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg), G Hernandez (10.1 ppg, 4.5 apg), G Lottich (12.4 ppg, 3.6 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Texas-San Antonio - Automatic bid, Southland Conference champion. Stanford - Automatic bid, Pac-10 Conference champion.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Texas-San Antonio - 0-2, 2 years. Stanford - 18-11, 12 years.
