National attention

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Dec. 20, 2002 | 10:27 a.m.

NEXT UP

What: Stanford at UNLV

When: Saturday, 9:30 p.m.

Where: Thomas & Mack

TV: ESPN (Ch. 30)

Radio: KBAD 920-AM

UNLV will try to play spoiler while also getting a gauge on just how good a team it has on Saturday night when its hosts No. 17 Stanford in the second game of the Las Vegas Showdown at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Rebels (6-1) will be trying to deny Stanford coach Mike Montgomery his 500th college coaching victory in the 9:30 p.m. contest which will be televised nationally by ESPN. Purdue and Arizona State will play in the 7 p.m. opener on ESPN2.

The Cardinal (6-3), despite losing back-to-back games earlier in the week to Montana and Richmond, will be arguably UNLV's toughest non-conference test this season. Stanford, which cruised to a 84-57 victory over UC Irvine on Thursday night, earlier this season advanced all the way to the championship game of the preseason NIT, upsetting Xavier (63-62) and Florida (68-65) in the process.

"It's our first game (this season) on national TV and against a ranked team," senior forward Dalron Johnson said. "If we win, it would be good for our progress as a team."

"I think it helps (gauge the team's progress), sure," UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "A game like this is good in that regard. So will be the games we play after Christmas. Our schedule has been tough enough and this is just another part of it."

The victory over UC Irvine helped the Cardinal bounce back from a very trying 24-hour period earlier this week which saw Stanford lose to 19 1/2-point underdog Montana, 70-68, on Monday night and then get upset again the following night in the consolation game of the Stanford Invitational by Richmond, 83-69. It was the first time since the tournament's inception in 1984 that Stanford lost both of its games.

A major reason for the Cardinal's struggles probably could be pinpointed to the loss of popular point guard Chris Hernandez for the year with a broken foot.

Hernandez, playing in just his second game of the season, had broken the same bone in the foot in October and had a screw inserted to provide stability. But he landed awkwardly in the Monday night loss to Montana and the bone broke again in a nearby location.

"We were all just sick when we found out," Montgomery said. "The news sucked the air out of us, but the team we have is what we have."

And that's still a pretty darn good team, as UC Irvine found out the hard way Thursday night at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal shot a season-high 67.4 percent from the floor in that one.

Julius Barnes, the team's only senior starter who scored 24 points against the Anteaters, has moved back to point guard from his natural shooting guard spot to take over for Hernandez. One of the quickest guards in the Pac-10 Conference, he should provide an interesting challenge for UNLV's Marcus Banks.

"The 'W' is all I care about," Banks said when asked about his matchup with Barnes. "Personal stats ... that's down the line. Getting a win is the main focus."

Another potential key battle figures to see Johnson going against 6-foot-8 sophomore Josh Childress (13.5 ppg), regarded as one of the West Coast's premier prospects two years ago at Mayfair High School in Bellflower, Calif.

Spoonhour, however, will be more interested to see how well his team handles Stanford's zone defense, especially when it comes to shot selection.

"We can't get in a deal where we take the first open look because that's not the answer," Spoonhour said. "We have to make them play at both ends of the floor.

"I think (Stanford) is a very, very good team. They didn't have Hernandez early in the year when they went to the (NIT) finals. Obviously they can play well without him. Barnes is awfully good, too. And they're a tough team. That's what I like about them."