It’s Big Mac versus Ricky Henderson. The Hulk against the Flash. The Earth taking on a hurtling meteor.

But of all the hyperbole that could describe tonight’s game between a Stanford team whose members could model for Big and Tall and a small, speedy No. 9 Oregon lineup, an actual example might be even more jaw-dropping.

Stanford’s 6-foot-5 Fred Washington, who played power forward for much of last season, will be asked to guard Oregon sharpshooter Tajuan Porter, a freshman who stands nearly a foot shorter at 5-foot-6.

“I’m going to be guarding a [5-foot-6] guy, aren’t I?” Washington said at Monday’s press conference, when he realized that he would probably be matched up against Porter. “This is going to be interesting.”

Cardinal head coach Trent Johnson will start the lineup he has used in the last two weeks. It compares favorably with those of many NBA teams, featuring two 7-footers in freshmen Brook and Robin Lopez, 6-foot-8 sophomore Lawrence Hill, Washington and 6-foot-3 sophomore Anthony Goods.

In contrast, 6-foot-9 Maarty Leunen is the only player in Ducks coach Ernie Kent’s starting lineup who stands over 6-foot-6.

But what Oregon lacks in size, it more than makes up for in speed.

“If there’s a quicker team in the country, I can’t imagine it,” Johnson said. “They’re explosive.”

Point guard Aaron Brooks, second in the conference in scoring with 18.2 points per game — an eight-point improvement over his average last season — leads Oregon’s fast-break attack. Johnson applied his praise of the Ducks specifically to Brooks, calling him perhaps the fastest player in the nation.

“He’s the fastest player I’ve ever seen on tape,” added a wry Goods, who watched Brooks from the bench in Stanford’s two games against Oregon last season. “He’ll be tough to guard. He’s attacking more this year and shooting better. He causes a lot of problems for us.”

Trent Johnson said sophomore point guard Mitch Johnson will probably see more minutes tonight than he has in the past few games, guarding Brooks and bringing the ball up the court against Oregon’s press. An under-the-weather Mitch Johnson watched most of the games against the Washington schools from the bench, and felt so woozy against Washington State that he had to excuse himself from his coach’s half-time locker room speech.

The Cardinal (11-4, 3-2 Pacific-10 Conference) will rely on him to counter Oregon’s transition game, likely the biggest challenge for Stanford’s oversized lineup.

“They get the ball and go,” Washington said in admiration. “All five of them push.”

“They’re like a track team,” Goods added.

The Cardinal will try to slow the game down and run a half-court offense, a plan that will depend on careful shot selection and good ball control. Trent Johnson said that the team will also try to exploit potential mismatches and pound the ball inside, where 7-foot Brook Lopez will be posting up on 6-foot-6 Oregon forward Malik Hairston.

On the other side of the ball, Stanford’s big men will be forced to defend the perimeter. All of Oregon’s starters shoot well from behind the arc — all make over 40 percent, in fact, except Brooks, who has converted “only” 38 percent of his attempts.

“We don’t want to have one of the Lopez twins matched up against a guard,” Johnson said.

Oregon (16-1, 4-1) has turned heads by eking out wins over Pac-10 rivals after breezing through a light non-conference schedule. After losing to USC on Jan. 4, the team beat UCLA, 68-66, then swept a road trip at Arizona, defeating Arizona State, 60-55, and No. 11 Arizona, 79-77.

The explanation for Ducks’ improvement — they have already won more games this season than they did in last year’s 15-18 showing — can be largely attributed to the fact that the team is a year older and wiser. Oregon retained all of the players in its rotation last year and added an impact player in the freshman Porter, who averages 12.7 points and leads the Pac-10 in three-pointers per game.

The team also shares the ball and shot opportunities like a group that has been playing together for several years. All five starters average 12 or more points per game, led by Brooks. Junior Bryce Taylor is second on the team in scoring with 16.2 points per contest.

Oregon’s run seems even more impressive when one considers that last season’s leading scorer, Hairston, has been sidelined for much of the season with injuries. He missed the first five games with a pulled groin, then lost five more to an unusual tear in the soft tissue in his heel. Oregon beat UCLA without Hairston before he rejoined the team for the Arizona trip.

Stanford’s entire roster is also healthy, with the possible exceptions of Mitch Johnson and Washington, who is nursing a tender hamstring.

Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30.