Stanford may be one of the least impressive 16-3 teams out there. Forget everything I just wrote except for the “16-3,” though. Because those numbers are all that matter.

Nearly halfway into the Pac-10 season, the Cardinal has simply got the job done; surprisingly enough, the team sits tied for second place with Washington State, just one game behind UCLA.

In an era which prefers flashiness to fundamentals, dunks to defense and O.J. Mayo to Kevin Love, this Stanford squad has been a throwback living up to the mantra of the esteemed Raiders owner, Al Davis: “Just win, baby.”

What may be even more remarkable is where the Cardinal’s production has come from. While Anthony Goods and Lawrence Hill carried the team to its NCAA berth last season with their hot shooting, both have been mired in season-long slumps. Instead of relying on spurts of shooting, however, the team has won the old-fashioned way this year with hard-nosed defense and big-time play in the post.

The Cardinal is not quicker than any of its opponents. They rarely have better shooting (at least this year), and it’s even rarer to see the team match up against a less athletic opponent. But steady point guard play, quality minutes from the bench and Brook Lopez have this team solidly ranked in the nation’s top 20.

Stanford has won nearly every game it was supposed to this year (save for the debacle at Siena, of course). In an age of college basketball filled with endless parity, a lot can be said for a team handling business when it’s supposed to.

Much of the credit simply has to go to coach Trent Johnson, however. While I’ve been skeptical of his coaching every since he set foot on campus and had a mediocre season with Mike Montgomery’s players, I certainly can’t complain about the team’s results this season. Although the play has looked ugly at times this year, he’s succeeded in the greatest mark of a coach: he’s just won.

The Cardinal is well on its way to 20 wins and another tournament berth for Trent Johnson. If the team continues to “just win,” they may find themselves with a five seed or better in the NCAA Tournament come March.

Around College Basketball

— This past weekend couldn’t have been better for Stanford basketball: both the men and women got wins over archrival California. While the men’s game went down to the wire, the No. 7 women won in convincing fashion, crushing the No. 8 Golden Bears by 20 in a revenge game that keeps them near the driver’s seat in the Pac-10. Stanford fans probably couldn’t have hoped for a better combined start to the year for the teams: both are currently second place in the Pac-10.

— The two undefeated teams remaining — No. 1 Memphis and No. 2 Kansas — have legitimate shots of going undefeated before the start of the NCAA Tournament. Memphis has a much better chance, seeing as they play in the abominable Conference USA. That being said, the Tigers have proven themselves with a tough non-conference schedule and are the most talented team in the country. Kansas may be just as good or even better, but I’d expect them to trip up somewhere down the road in the Big 12.

— Despite those who have claimed that the Pac-10 is the nation’s best conference (myself included), the conference only has three teams in the top 25 as of the latest polls. On top of that, UCLA is probably the conference’s only legitimate national title contender. I know that Washington State has been in the top 10 the whole year, but as evidenced by last year’s second-round loss to Vanderbilt, they’ll be in trouble in the NCAA Tournament when they face quicker, more athletic and better shooting teams (just look at their loss to Arizona this past weekend). The conference is still deep and will get a number of teams into the tournament, but I’m not confident that the conference’s top three teams could hold their own against the top three of the other major conferences.