Stanford Men’s Basketball has come full circle. When I started following the team some 20 years ago, they were a team on the bubble - often in the NIT, occasionally in the NCAA tournament. In the 90’s, they became a perennial tournament team. And now, they’re back on the bubble.

After starting the season at 6-7 (0-3 in the Pac-10), Stanford has turned the ship around to reach 15-9 (9-5 in the Pac-10) with sole possession of 3rd place in the Pac-10. Wins over Cal, USC and UCLA have them back on track after losses to AU and ASU ended their 6 game winning streak and Dan Grunfeld blew out his ACL in the win against Cal.

It’s hard to follow a West Coast team from the wrong side of the country. The games are still underway when papers go to print and the local games dominate the television coverage. So it was a real treat to watch Stanford-UCLA on CBS yesterday. I didn’t even mind when they cut away to more competitive game midway through the second half.