[teejers1]

Sometimes an individual can put the team on their back to win a title, but I think Stanford won the title as a team.  For one, the team played awesome defense.  We held all our opponents to 65 or fewer points.  Holding Arizona to 53 points in the final meant that we could have a relatively low-scoring game and still win.  Secondly, we had different players step up at different times (Prechtel against Louisville, Williams early in the tournament, Jump against Missouri St., Jones in the final four).  We weren't dependent on one player (as Arizona was) or even a couple stars (as South Carolina was).  And, lastly, as you mention, last year was an unusual year.  I think Stanford benefited in the sense of responding well to the adversity of having to go on the road and living in a hotel for much of the season; it probably prepared them well for the grind of the NCAA tournament.  However, one could also envision everything having fallen apart for the team and having an early exit in the tournament, where the narrative would have been "they were just exhausted from playing the whole season on the road".  Honestly, if you told me that we would spend half of December and all of January on the road, and asked me to predict what happened to the team "national champions" would have been way down on my list.  I think it is a testament to the grit of the team that they didn't fold.

BC

But when the alternative - at least at Stanford - is to be isolated at off-campus place except for practices and games in Redwood City or somewhere else across county lines, then I think the "we're all going to stay at Hotel X in City Y for this period; then pick up and move to City Z for that period" was a net positive for the kids' emotional well-being.  Same for the football team.  Road Warriors can definitely be draining and tiring; but given the alternative (i.e., none in Santa Clara County), it was an outlook booster for the competitors.

[teejers1]

Sometimes an individual can put the team on their back to win a title, but I think Stanford won the title as a team.  For one, the team played awesome defense.  We held all our opponents to 65 or fewer points.  Holding Arizona to 53 points in the final meant that we could have a relatively low-scoring game and still win.  Secondly, we had different players step up at different times (Prechtel against Louisville, Williams early in the tournament, Jump against Missouri St., Jones in the final four).  We weren't dependent on one player (as Arizona was) or even a couple stars (as South Carolina was).  And, lastly, as you mention, last year was an unusual year.  I think Stanford benefited in the sense of responding well to the adversity of having to go on the road and living in a hotel for much of the season; it probably prepared them well for the grind of the NCAA tournament.  However, one could also envision everything having fallen apart for the team and having an early exit in the tournament, where the narrative would have been "they were just exhausted from playing the whole season on the road".  Honestly, if you told me that we would spend half of December and all of January on the road, and asked me to predict what happened to the team "national champions" would have been way down on my list.  I think it is a testament to the grit of the team that they didn't fold.

BC

But when the alternative - at least at Stanford - is to be isolated at off-campus place except for practices and games in Redwood City or somewhere else across county lines, then I think the "we're all going to stay at Hotel X in City Y for this period; then pick up and move to City Z for that period" was a net positive for the kids' emotional well-being.  Same for the football team.  Road Warriors can definitely be draining and tiring; but given the alternative (i.e., none in Santa Clara County), it was an outlook booster for the competitors.