It was Monday afternoon and The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls had just been released; Stanford was ranked ninth in both, its highest showing since 2004’s number-one seeded squad.

What did head coach Trent Johnson do? Give them the day off? A pat on the back?

Not Johnson.

“I told them nothing changes,” Johnson said. “Yes, it’s a reward, and good to be thought of like that. But how did we get there?”

Coming off a rare road sweep of the Washington schools last weekend, Johnson’s team is at peak form in his four years at the helm of the Cardinal. No player has seen this much success in his collegiate career — save for senior forward Fred Washington, who was a freshman when the Card went 30-2 before bowing out in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Having been there before, Johnson told his players there is still plenty of work to be done.

“You can say all the coaching cliches you want,” he said, “but we’ve got to continue to work, worry about getting better. Nobody wants to hear that, but that’s the facts.”

Halfway through the Pac-10 schedule, Stanford (18-3, 7-2 Pac-10) sits squarely in second place, one game behind No. 5 UCLA and two games ahead of No. 17 Washington State, Arizona State and USC. Strong defense and rebounding has powered the Cardinal in conference play; the team is top in the conference in blocked shots (4.86 per game), second in the league in points allowed (57.6) and opponent shooting percentage (.385) and is an astounding third in the nation in rebounding margin (10.2).

Still, Johnson thinks his squad could do a better job on the boards against smaller teams, such as tonight’s opponent Oregon, whose quickness and athleticism can beat Stanford’s big men to the ball.

“We need to clean up our rebounding,” Johnson said, “especially this weekend.”

On the other end of the court, Johnson said he’d like to see the team take better care of the ball and continue to get multiple players involved offensively. Sophomore big man Brook Lopez has dominated offensively of late, leading the Cardinal in scoring in each of the last six games. Lopez is averaging 23 points per game over that span.

The biggest concern for the Cardinal after the first half of the Pac-10 schedule may be the play of junior forward Lawrence Hill. Hill, an all-Pac-10 selection last season who averaged 15.7 points per game, has been up and down this year, seeing his scoring slip to 9.2 per game.

“I don’t feel comfortable yet,” Hill said, despite a strong showing (18 points, 7 rebounds) in Stanford’s win at Washington State Saturday. “I’m happy with my defense, everything else is doing better. It’s more trying to do things within the offense.”

Hill said the team’s recent spate of success has brought more pressure to produce.

“I don’t want to fail,” he said. “As a player, there’s so much more you need to do to get better. This isn’t where I want to be. I don’t want to be ninth in the country, I want to be higher.”

That type of talk is sure to please his coach, who said the team has generally remained grounded despite its surge in the polls and the corresponding national media attention.

“He’s a very level-headed kid,” Johnson said of Hill. “This whole group is for the most part.”

Some of Stanford’s main assets this season have been the team’s maturity, experience and composure. While the squad returned almost its entire rotation from last season, it is still a relatively young group. The coach knows, despite the competition and the success, that it’s just a game out there.

“These aren’t pro athletes, these are college athletes,” Johnson said. “I tell them just to enjoy it.”

With half of the conference season, the Pac-10 tournament and a nearly assured NCAA Tournament berth remaining, at least one of his players won’t be resting on his laurels anytime soon.

“We’re not trained to think about the glory in anything,” Hill said, “until it’s over.”