AND ONE FOR ALL

Set the VCR and save your ticket stubs, because today’s UCLA-Stanford showdown could be the last meaningful regular-season game in college basketball history.

Sound overly dramatic?

Consider that the Pacific 10 is the only major conference that doesn’t decide its champion with a season-ending tournament. That all changes next season when the Pac-10 tournament is reinstated, leaving the Ivy League as the lone holdout.

” I guess that makes this game kind of historic,” said Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery, whose top-ranked team is looking to avenge its only loss of the season. “Isn’t that a shame? It could be a situation where you never play another game that actually means anything, because winning the conference will be secondary and the conference tournament is what it’s going to be about. That’s sad. I’m not a proponent of the conference tournament at all.”

Regardless, it’s coming. And that makes today’s game that much more significant. Not that it needs more hype. This will be the last home game for UCLA senior Earl Watson, on track to become the first player in school history to start every game for four years. The Bruins have a chance to knock off a top-ranked Stanford team for the third time in 13 months--and possibly collect a conference title in the process.

“This is something that will be played on Classic Sports for the next 10 or 20 years,” UCLA forward Jason Kapono said. “We’ve just got to come out and have fun.”

No. 12 UCLA, 20-6 overall and 13-2 in the Pac-10, has won 16 of 18 games and eight in a row, a streak that began last month with the victory at Palo Alto.

Stanford, vying for its third conference title in a row, has won four consecutive games at Pauley Pavilion.

“With Stanford, it’s not what they do, it’s how they do it,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said. “There are no real gimmicks with them.”

Playing on the road hasn’t bothered the Cardinal much in recent years. Since the 1997-98 season, Stanford is 62-10 when playing away from home.

“Sometimes, we’ve not played as well at home,” Montgomery said. “And I think it’s because there’s a subconscious feeling that everything’s going to work out. I just think on the road we kind of batten down the hatches and figure we’ll do anything we can to get a win.”

Since 1986, the Bruins are 1-3 when hosting No. 1 teams. They beat North Carolina (1986), then lost to Arizona (1989), Duke (1992) and Kansas (1996). It is believed that no team has ever beaten the same No. 1 twice in a season.

By Friday afternoon, dozens of UCLA students had set up camp outside Pauley Pavilion in hopes of claiming the best seats when the doors open. They set up tents, rolled out sleeping bags, huddled around TVs and broke out the video games.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said UCLA sophomore Ben Balding, who began camping out Wednesday afternoon and is No. 11 on the priority list. “This is pretty much as big as it gets besides the NCAA tournament.”

The game features plenty of subplots, ranging from how Stanford will handle UCLA’s press, to Watson’s farewell, to whether sharpshooting Bruin guard Billy Knight can keep alive his streak of scorching Saturdays.

Asked if he can remember playing in a bigger game, Watson said: “Nope. Not at all. There’s no bigger game than this.”

That’s not how Stanford’s coach feels. In the wake of a draining two-point victory over USC, he was careful Friday to keep things in perspective.

“We need to win two out of our next three games, it’s pretty much as simple as that,” said Montgomery, whose team finishes at home against the Arizona schools. “It would sure be nice to win [today] because that would give UCLA another loss, and they’re the team that’s one game behind. But we’re not trying to put that kind of pressure on ourselves.”

Stanford guard Ryan Mendez said Cardinal players will have “ a chip on our shoulders” for the rematch.

“We owe these guys some payback,” Mendez said.

The Bruins have plenty of reasons to be inspired, even though this time around they aren’t playing for their coach’s job or trying to pull out of a tailspin.

“Playing a game of this significance in March brings a heightened level of attention, interest and excitement,” UCLA assistant coach Michael Holton said. “To play a big-time game in March with the conference championship a factor, and for it to be the seniors’ last home game, makes it a special experience. Those lines don’t always intersect.”

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How They Stack Up

Comparing UCLA with Stanford this season:

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UCLA Category Stanford 20-6 Record 26-1 12 Rank 1 80.2 Points per game 83.0 75.0 Points allowed 63.0 .458 Field goal % .513 .442 Opponent field goal % .414 .672 Free throw % .730 +2.3 Rebound margin +8.6

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Pacific 10 Standings

School W-L

Stanford: 14-1

UCLA: 13-2

Arizona: 12-3

California: 10-5

USC: 8-7

Arizona St.: 4-11

Wash. St.: 4-11

Oregon: 4-12

Oregon St.: 4-12

Washington: 3-12

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Today’s Schedule

Stanford at UCLA, 1 p.m.

TV: Channel 2

California at USC, 5 p.m.

TV: Fox Sports Net 2

Oregon St. at Ariz. St., 3 p.m.

TV: Fox Sports Net 2

Wash. at Wash. St., 1 p.m.

Oregon at Arizona, 5 p.m.