In Spokane, too, one lopsided win, and one serious contest: the lopsided win came first.

1. The Terps made the Commodores look simply out of their depth: you pretty much had to be a Maryland fan to stay tuned for the entire game. The high-octane team from the East Coast even played defense.

Brenda says this team reminds her of the Terps who won it all two years ago. (It should: it's got almost everybody, except Shay Doron, who saw big minutes in that big win.)

2. Pitt had the power, and the one-on-one players, but Stanford had the patience, and the Cardinal's stars had more help. Appel and Pederson worked together to control the paint; the Pac-10 champions doubled up the Panthers in assists and rebounds, though the Cardinal needed most of the second half before it could pull away.

"We knew it was going to be a 40-minute game," said Candice Wiggins, who didn't get going till late. "We stayed together."

Maryland and Stanford play the late game tonight. Spokane's daily paper note that both teams still wince at the way their '07 tourneys ended: both teams spent the rest of the weekend meeting Hollywood actors who ended up in Spokane.

ESPN's Miller talks up the bicoastal matchup. Expect the old-school Cardinal to favor a half-court game; expect Brenda's team to run as much as they can. If there's a consistent tempo-- and there may not be-- that will determine the game.