 Why No. 4?: OK, so the Cardinal lose Mark Madsen inside and David Moseley on the perimeter, but they gained Justin Davis off a redshirt year making the Cardinal even more athletic than a year ago. Stanford should have its most athletic and versatile frontcourt under Mike Montgomery with Jason and Jarron Collins and Davis. The Cardinal will have scorers, rebounders and guys to run a quicker fast break, even though Madsen could hoof it down court. Casey Jacobsen might be the best set-up shooter in the nation. If point Mike McDonald can create shots for Jacobsen, he's usually money to knock down the 3-pointer. Ryan Mendez gives the Cardinal a different look on the perimeter with his ability to rebound and shoot off screens. Montgomery has plenty of options on a loaded, but unknown bench, especially behind McDonald where a more mature Julius Barnes will get a serious look. The Cardinal are also stewing over their early exit a year ago, losing to North Carolina in the second round after earning a No. 1 seed.
Will Climb If: McDonald can be more of a scoring threat. He needs to command more attention offensively to free up the Collins twins and Davis, as well as Jacobsen. McDonald can hang with the top point guards defensively, but he has to make them respect his offensive skills. Beating Utah in the Puerto Rico Invitational and taking down Duke in the Pete Newell Challenge will help Stanford's psyche in the Pac-10 and national title chances.
Will Fall If: Stanford loses one frontcourt starter. Stanford has depth but not productive depth. Stanford gained a season's worth of confidence by beating Duke in the season-opener last season. The Cardinal may need some sort of similar confidence boost before New Year's and a date at Arizona Jan. 6.
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