It’s becoming more common to say, “There is Stanford, and then there is the rest of the Pac-10 Conference.”
After a buzzer-beater victory over Arizona on Saturday, Stanford improved its winning streak to 20 games, tying the Cardinal’s best start in school history.
“I’m starting to think this group is something special,” Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery said. “It was an unbelievable game. This is just another step in what’s turning out to be a doggone good season.”
That’s one way to put it.
Questions continue to surround the No. 2 team in the country. Can Stanford run the table?
Critics say it would be better for Stanford to lose its first game before it reaches the NCAA Tournament.
How many times can Stanford get lucky and pull out victories in the final minutes?
As of now, it seems like the Cardinal can do whatever it wants and whenever.
Stanford has to play five of its final seven games on the road. Stanford must face Bay Area rival California this week, which has won its past three games and moved into second place in the conference.

Cougars find rhythm
Dick Bennett’s offense averaged 57.5 points this past weekend.
Nothing new, right? Except that it worked.
Washington State defeated UCLA and USC this weekend for its first-ever sweep on the road of the Pacific-10 Conference’s Los Angeles teams.
The Cougars (10-9 overall, 5-6 Pac-10) are on the verge of climbing back to .500 in-conference and ended a 46-game losing streak against the Bruins in Los Angeles. Washington State had never won at Pauley Pavilion until Thursday.
“I told the team that if it is going to happen, it’s right now because they are a young team in a new program,” Bennett said. “This one is so important because it shows we are pointed in the right direction.”
Bennett rebounded well from a case of the flu that kept him from coaching in the Arizona game on Jan. 31.
“I have a number of health issues,” Bennett said. “My heart is still hard, but it’s healthy at least.”
Jeff Varem scored 13 points in the win for the Cougars. After the game, Varem said, “I heard a rumor we can’t win here.”
The Cougars used that momentum to upend the Trojans, who have lost their past two games. It was also Washington State’s first two-game home-and-away sweep of the Trojans since 1986.

Midgley gets recognized
California guard Richard Midgley was named the Pacific-10 Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week on Monday for the week of Feb. 2-8.
A native of Burgess Hill, England, Midgley averaged 19 points in the Bears’ home sweep of Arizona and Arizona State over the weekend. Midgley scored 18 points on
Thursday when he helped Cal break a 10-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
Midgley also played solid defense and held Arizona guard Salim Stoudamire to seven points. In Saturday’s 85-83 victory against ASU, Midgley scored all of his 20 points in the second half.
Midgley shot 11 of 12 on three-pointers for the week, shooting better than 90 percent. It is his first weekly honor.

Beavers far off track
Since beating Washington State on Jan. 15, Oregon State has lost six straight. The Beavers (8-12, 2-8) now sit in ninth place in the Pac-10 Conference.
After losing at McArthur Court on Saturday, where the Beavers haven’t won since 1993, Oregon State will head on the road to face Washington and Washington State this weekend.