1. Arizona State Sun Devils (14-5, 4-2)
The 2010 Pac-10 is a “what have you done for me lately?” conference and there is no team in the conference that is hotter than the first place Sun Devils. Since a rough trip to Los Angeles, ASU has blown out Washington, Washington St. and Oregon, while gutting out a win on the road against Oregon St.
Sporting the NCAA’s top scoring defense, all the Sun Devils need is continued strong play from junior guard Ty Abbott and the revamped offense. With that ASU is a dangerous team.
2. Washington Huskies (12-5, 3-3)
Just a week ago, Washington was in the basement of the conference after a miserable trip to ASU and UA. At that time, I still held the belief that UW was the most talented team in the conference and still feel that way.
The Huskies got back on track this past weekend by routing Stanford and Cal at home. Senior forward Quincy Pondexter, who scored only 52 points in UW’s 1-3 start, scored 52 in the two game sweep last weekend.
3. California Golden Bears (11-6, 3-2)
After two straight good wins over USC and Washington St., the Bears fell flat on their face in Seattle against Washington.
In what has become a common theme for Cal this season, the preseason conference favorites haven’t been able to pick up the signature win that they will need as a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.
This weekend is big for Cal, with the Oregon schools coming to Berkeley where the Bears are 9-1.
4. USC Trojans (11-6, 3-2)
Be it a coincidence or a direct effect, the facts don’t lie, USC went 0-2 after the self-imposed postseason ban came down.
The Trojans needed to prove that they weren’t going to mail it in the rest of the season and they did just that by heading to Pauley Pavilion and routing their rival UCLA 67-46 on Saturday.
We’ll see if the Trojans will be the team playing with a giant chip on their shoulder the rest of the season or the team that will fall without the reward of the postseason hanging in the balance.
5. Washington St. Cougars (13-5, 3-3)
After a blowout loss to ASU and a hard-fought close loss to California on Thursday, WSU bounced back with a 77-73 win over Stanford on Saturday.
Freshman guard Reggie Moore is taking some of the scoring load off of sophomore guard Klay Thompson’s shoulders, but the Cougars will only go as far as Thompson takes them.
WSU must improve upon its scoring defense, which is last in the Pac-10 during conference play.
6. Arizona Wildcats (9-9, 3-3)
The Wildcats are two buzzer-beater losses away from leading the conference, but on the flipside they are two buzzer-beaters from senior guard Nic Wise away from being 7-11.
UA is a young basketball team that is capable of taking a talented UNLV team to double overtime, but also is capable of nearly falling to Lipscomb in overtime.
Freshman forward Derrick Williams has been sensational for coach Sean Miller, who is also getting a major contribution lately from sophomore guard Kyle Fogg.
The ‘Cats are just as dangerous as anyone in the conference.
7. Oregon St. Beavers (8-9, 2-3)
The Beavers are certainly not the same team as they were on January 6th when they lost at home by 51 points to Seattle University.
Since that game, OSU has a win at Oregon and a big win over Arizona at home. The Beavers also played red-hot ASU tough on Saturday and shot better than anyone has all season against that potent zone defense.
OSU has a potent zone of their own, but their success the rest of the way will rely on if they can score the basketball.
8. Stanford Cardinal (8-9, 2-3)
After such a promising weekend, Stanford had a letdown on its road trip to Washington and Washington St. The Cardinal fell by 33 to the Huskies, before bouncing back and playing WSU close, before falling by four. Stanford has fallen by an average of 29.5 points to UW and Cal, two of the conference favorites.
What makes Stanford dangerous still is the dynamic scoring combo of senior forward Landry Fields (21.5 points per game) and sophomore guard Jeremy Green (17.4 points per game).
9. UCLA Bruins (7-10, 2-3)
What kept UCLA out of the bottom spot was the fact that their conference wins are against ASU at home and Cal on the road.
Other than those two wins, conference play has been ugly for the Bruins. Getting blown out at home by their rival certainly was a major step back for a young ballclub. UCLA must play better at home if they want to turn their season around.
The Bruins have lost four games at home this season, the most since the 2003-04 season.
10. Oregon Ducks (10-7, 2-3)
It hasn’t been a good three game stretch for Oregon since starting 2-0 in the conference.
The Ducks have suffered three straight home losses, not a good recipe in a conference where protecting the home court is vital.
Coach Ernie Kent was so frustrated with his team’s play after Thursday’s blowout loss to ASU that he benched two starters for Saturday’s game, including star senior guard Tajuan Porter.
Reach the reporter at Andrew.Gruman@asu.edu
