Last weekend’s buzzer-beater loss to Arizona was remarkably devastating for the Stanford men’s basketball team and its fans. For those who weren’t able to attend – and judging by attendance at Maples merely 10 minutes before game time, this includes a lot of you – the brief summary of the game is we let a 5-foot-10 faux hawk record career-highs in points, buzzer beaters and time feeling like a man, as he banked home a running 15-footer as time expired.

That isn’t to say that the Cardinal played no role in the loss. On the contrary, key players couldn’t convert free throws in crunch time, again, and it cost Stanford the game, again. This, coupled with the faux hawk’s ability to repeatedly penetrate deep into the paint, ultimately led to heartbreak.

Oh, and an egregious no-call on the game-clinching play didn’t help either. If you see Jack Trotter in the near future, make sure you’re careful not to touch his hand – I’m sure it’s still throbbing.

But I digress. Saturday marks the Big Game when Dawkins and Co. take on regular season Pac-10 champion Cal. The Cardinal will undoubtedly be the underdog, and considering that the Pac-10 will be ever so fortunate to even be in the conversation of at-large bids for the Big Dance, this game will seem meaningless to most of you. It’s understandable – it’s hard to emphasize the importance of a game in March for a team that is 13-16, coming off a two-loss weekend at home, currently sitting in eighth in a conference of 10 and facing an opponent that it lost to by 26 in the first meeting.

But to hell with that, this is one of the most important games of the year for any Stanford sport.

With a win Saturday in the final game of the regular season, Stanford will avoid the play-in game for the Pac-10 Tournament. (It should be noted that the eighth and ninth seeds in the conference usually square off in the play-in game, but since USC’s shenanigans finally bit the Trojans in the ass, they will be watching from home on a flat screen most likely purchased by DeMar DeRozan while he was in school). If this happens, which is all but certain, Stanford will then need to win three consecutive games in order to make it to the NCAA Tournament. Three.

This isn’t the Big East, nor is it the Big 12. This is the Pac-10 in its worst year of all time. Still, it’s fair if you’re shaking your skeptical little head, muttering that there is no way that this Stanford team, the same one that lost four seniors and is coming off a loss in the CBI to Oregon State just one year ago, has no chance whatsoever of competing for a tourney bid. But it must be understood just how awful the Card’s peers are, and just how possible a Pac-10 Tourney victory is.

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in this year’s conference showdown? Cal and Arizona State, respectively. Let’s start with the latter. Arizona State is currently 10-6 in conference, having lost to Arizona and UCLA (two teams that have a combined record of (27-29). Its best non-conference win was in the battle of the party schools, when the Sun Devils netted a victory against San Diego State. Cal hasn’t fared much better, losing to a dismal Oregon State team among others while going 12-5 in conference. The Bears’ best non-conference win? Murray State.

I’m not making the case that Stanford doesn’t leave a lot to be desired, because well, it does. But this team has been extremely competitive with decent competition, including many teams that will be dancing in a few weeks. It only seems like yesterday that the Cardinal was just a mere free throw away from upsetting Kentucky in Cancun.

The key to the Cardinal’s success this weekend as well as the Pac-10 Tournament is obviously Landry Fields. We go as he goes, and it doesn’t take a bracketologist to figure out that if he underperforms, we’re royally screwed. However, Stanford really, and I mean really needs Jeremy Green to play consistently good basketball. He has the potential to be the best player on the floor every time he is in the game; it’s just a matter of reaching that potential. We’ve seen glimpses of his brilliance, and if he can find his stroke for just four games, Stanford is money.

The bottom line is to not abandon this team. I don’t care if you’ve been called a fair weather fan for leaving games early, or if the 35 dollars turned you off from basketball this year. We all forgive you. Please, for the love of everything Cardinal, come to the game Saturday. With enough luck and support, Stanford could find itself among the best in a matter of days. I know it’s a long shot, but these guys deserve your fandom for just one month.

Still not sold? Stanford is only 10 games away from winning a national title. Welcome to March.

Zach Zimmerman will wear a faux hawk if Stanford wins the NCAA Tournament this year. If that isn’t enough of a reason to root for Stanford, suggest better haircuts at zachz “at” stanford.edu.