Spokane, Wash. ? Most of the amped Gonzaga undergrads who filled the lower section of the new 6,000-seat McCarthey Center on Saturday night had been camped out in tents since Monday afternoon, waiting to be part of the spotlight.

Many showed up wearing fake moustaches in honor of their beloved long-haired star forward, Adam Morrison, and some wore makeshift crowns in honor of their fifth-ranked Zags (20-3), who they are calling kings of the West.

Who was Morrison to argue?

The gifted 6-8 junior, who ripped Stanford for 34 points in an 80-76 victory, did not hesitate when he was asked how the Zags, who have won seven straight West Coast Conference titles, would do in the more hyped Pac-10.

“I feel like we could contend for a championship,” he said.

Don’t laugh.

The Zags have a National Player of the Year candidate in Morrison, an experienced junior point guard in Derek Raivio, an effective low post scorer in 6-9 senior center J.P. Batista and a big front line to make their case, especially this year when the Pac-10 is going through a down cycle.

“There’s nobody in the Pac-10 like Batista and we have a great point guard and absolutely nobody like Morrison,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “They’re not as consistent or solid as Blake Stepp’s team in 2004 (which finished third in the country in the final AP poll before getting upset by Nevada in the second round of the NCAA Tournament).

They always shot 51 percent and held other teams to under 40, but that team didn’t have an X-factor like Morrison.

“At the end of the game, he gives you that one guy you can ride.”

Morrison scored 12 points in the final three minutes Saturday, personally taking over the game as the Zags won their 36th straight at home, defeating a Stanford team that had won eight of its last nine games and was desperate to make an NCAA statement.

The way Morrison figured it, he didn’t have much choice in the matter.

“There was a lot of hype and pressure put on us,” he said. “The whole week, seeing people lining up – you can’t lose. This is one of those deals. It’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself and a team.”

For the better part of a month now, Morrison has been hearing comparisons between himself and Duke’s All-American guard J.J. Redick, who had back-to-back 35-point performances in ACC victories over North Carolina and Maryland.

“You feel it a little bit, especially when you’re watching the Carolina game and the announcer is saying, ‘You better put on a show, Morrison.’ The CBS game today (Duke-Maryland), I heard the same thing,” Morrison said. “There’s a lot of pressure.

“But I guess that’s part of my role at Gonzaga.”