The Sweet Profile: Stanford Cardinal

Team: Stanford Cardinal

Region: South

Last Weekend: Defeated #14 Cornell 77-53, defeated #6 Marquette 82-81.

Next Game: Vs. #2 Texas, 7:27 EST Friday

How Stanford Got Here: Brook Lopez. The Cardinal big man scored 28 of his 30 points against Marquette in the 2nd half Saturday. Including the game winner with 1.3 seconds left on the clock that sent the Cardinal to the Sweet 16. Brook, one half of the Cardinals twin towers has emerged as the go-to-guy in Palo Alto this season and if their to reach the final four he'll have to continue to cash in with the game on the line. Just as importantly, Mitch Johnson dished out a career-high 16 assists and hit 3-3 from three point land against the Golden Eagles. If he's doing that the Cardinal are going to be tough to beat.

What the Sweet 16 Means to the Cardinal: That they're back. After spending the last few years as a non-factor nationally Trent Johnson has the Cardinal back where they belong. Among the west coast's elite and national contenders. That said getting any further would be just a bonus for this Cardinal team whose most important players are underclassmen. Though they're far from likely to be back next year so they might want to make this run count.

Chances to Reach San Antonio: Roughly 25%, the Cardinal are a virtual pick 'em against Texas on Friday and their odds are likely to be the same regardless of who they'd meet next. The Longhorns provide a similar challenge to that of Marquette: great guard play. The Cardinal's biggest weakness. If their to get past this one they'll need similar performances form their big men and an equally good performance from Mitch Johnson. And this time I'd probably bee in the team's best interest if their coach wasn't sent to the showers before the first half even ended.