For Stanford, the Final Four Is No. 1 Priority

The players clipped the nets, celebrated an outright Pacific 10 Conference championship and said goodbye to three seniors playing their last home game.

Stanford’s 99-75 victory over Arizona State on Saturday, before a crowd of 7,391 fans at Maples Pavilion, had the look of finality.

Ryan Mendez said that wasn’t so.

“This isn’t the end of our careers, this is the beginning,” the senior guard said. “We’ve got a lot to prove the next three weeks. We’re energized and we’re hungry.”

The Cardinal exhibited no hangover symptoms from Thursday night’s one-point loss to Arizona.

Top-ranked Stanford (28-2, 16-2) easily dispatched overmatched Arizona State (13-16, 5-13) and staked its claim to the perks that await.

Stanford, a school that once went 47 years between NCAA tournaments, now could be the pace car.

The Cardinal probably will learn tonight it is the No. 1-seeded team in the West Region and will open first-round play Thursday in San Diego.

Two victories there and Stanford moves up the road to Anaheim for the regional finals.

“Years ago we talked about just getting into the doggone tournament,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said.

Now, the talk is about raised expectations.

Stanford has completed a remarkable season, losing only twice and going unbeaten on the road.

The Cardinal has won three consecutive conference titles for the first time since 1935 through 1938.

But this is only the end of Act II.

After reaching the Final Four in 1998, Stanford has gone out in the second round each of the last two NCAA tournaments, losing to Gonzaga in 1999 and last year to North Carolina.

Anything less than a Final Four run this season would be viewed as a disappointment by many.

“It is a sense of urgency for us, as seniors,” Mendez said.

Mendez was a sophomore on the 1998 Final Four team, redshirting the next season because of a knee injury.

“When we went to the Final Four, you didn’t understand what it really means,” he said.

Senior guard Mike McDonald, in his second season as the starting point guard, said he was blinded by last year’s tournament lights.

“This year we have big targets on our chests,” he said. “We accept that this year.

The only drama to Saturday’s game was seeing whether Mendez would set the Pac-10 record for consecutive free throws made. He entered the game needing to make his first to break the record of 41 he shared with USC’s David Bluthenthal.

Mendez ended the suspense with 17:05 left in the half, when he sank the first of two free throws.

Mendez extended the streak to 49 before he missed.

Arizona State had a 5-4 lead when McDonald made a three-point basket and Stanford never trailed again, extending its lead to as many as 22 points, 50-28, in the first half.

The Cardinal looked invincible, but may not be.

There are concerns about the status of forward Justin Davis, who sat out both games against the Arizona schools because of irritated cartilage in his left ankle.

Davis is an athletic player and an important cog in the Cardinal’s substitution rotation.

“Obviously, we needed to get Justin back,” Montgomery said.

Arizona State Coach Rob Evans said Davis’ loss could leave Stanford vulnerable.

“If they have a weakness, they’re not really deep on the front line,” Evans said. “They were, but not now. But as long as they stay out of foul trouble, they can go a long way.”

Casey Jacobsen led Stanford with 20 points. Senior Jarron Collins added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Arizona State guard Alton Mason led all scorers and 23 while forward Awvee Storey had 16 points and 16 rebounds.