Arizona has own Jason at guard.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

nd Mick McCabe

MINNEAPOLIS _ The Other Jason has a major fault: He isn't Jason Williams.

No real problem there. Very few of us are Jason Williams, the do-everything Duke guard. So Jason Gardner will stick to being The Other Jason, a role in which he happens to thrive.

It's unclear how much Gardner will match up directly with his point guard counterpart in tonight's NCAA championship game. But clearly, the Jasons will be judged against each other. At some point, Gardner will have to stop Williams, no easy task.

"He can get his shot off," Gardner said. "He's a quick player. I think it's more just staying in front of him, putting a hand on his shot and just trying to contain him."

Gardner has been terrific in the past two games. Michigan State had no answer for him. Last week, he killed Illinois late in the game.

Gardner also is excelling at all those intangibles that coaches like in their point guards.