PAC-10 MEN: As usual, hard to pick a favorite
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, March 9, 2011
They celebrated in Tucson when the Arizona Wildcats clinched the Pac-10 regular season title in men’s basketball, but in a sense that game only left U of A in a difficult position.
In three of the past four Pac-10 tournaments, the top seed has failed to finish the deal.
And so while th
e Wildcats enter this week’s tournament as a slight favorite, recent history gives hope to the also-rans like UCLA and Washington — as well as the other seven teams that are still trying to play their way into NCAA tournament consideration.
The Huskies are one year removed from making a run from the third seed to a conference champion. No. 6 seed USC did it a year earlier. And two years before that, Oregon rallied from the fourth seed to win the tournament. None of those three teams was likely to get into the Big Dance without winning the Pac-10 postseason title, so fans of Washington State, California and USC have to feel a sense of hope this week.
“I think it’s going to be a very, very competitive tournament,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said Tuesday. “I know coaches say that every year, but it’s even more this year. It’s going to be hard to pick a winner.”
The conference was Arizona’s for most of the season, and in mid-February the Wildcats looked like a possible Final Four contender. But a recent slide has opened the door for several other Pac-10 teams heading into this week’s tournament.
Here’s a look at this year’s field:
The favorite | UCLA
While Arizona and star Derrick Williams were overwhelmingly the Pac-10’s best team for three-quarters of the conference season, the Wildcats have slipped up in recent weeks. While they enter the tournament as the top seed, it’s the Bruins that seem to have the most momentum.
The top contender | Arizona
The regular-season champion still has a lot to prove, particularly in the eyes of the NCAA tournament committee. An early-round loss could drop the Wildcats to a No. 6 or 7 seed, while a tourney title and a little help could push Arizona as high as No. 4 or 5. Based on last year’s run, Washington also has to be considered among the top contenders, although the Huskies seem to be headed in the wrong direction.
The spoiler | USC
While the Trojans had some baffling losses down the stretch _ at Oregon and Washington State _ they also shocked 10th-ranked Arizona and upset UW at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Throw in the league’s hottest player _ Nikola Vucevic was playing much better than Arizona’s Williams by late February _ and USC has the ingredients to pull off a shocker or two this week.
The longest of shots | Oregon State
After shocking the Huskies on Feb. 3, the Beavers went 1-7 and lost to Pac-10 cellar-dweller Arizona State. Craig Robinson’s Princeton-style of offense that made for some slow-paced-but-exciting upsets early in his tenure has only left Beaver Nation in a collective yawn. A loss to Stanford today could leave The First Brother on the hot seat for the first time since he arrived in Corvallis.
