Pac 10 Sports Blog

By Gabriel Baumgaertner           

With the culmination of the first half of Pac-10 conference play, everything has been as unpredictable as many predicted. Uber-Freshmen O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love each had breakout games against Cal, Oregon continued its habit of losing to unranked teams on the road, and Arizona State has emerged from the last year’s loser to a contender this year.  The Pac-10 is making its case for the strongest conference in the country, having had two teams in the top 5 and five in the top 25 as well as a winning record in the Pac-10/Big 12 challenge. UCLA’s dominance of Washington State appeared to solidify their position as the best in the conference, but a home loss to rival USC certainly has left the Pac-10 as jumbled as most anticipated.So it seems that the Sports Illustrated jinx may exist after all.  No, UCLA was not on the cover of the famed sports publication before its bout with crosstown rival USC, rather the jinx has hit both teams with its college basketball preview issue.  The cover featured Kevin Love posting up O.J. Mayo and the issue later hailed the USC-UCLA game as a preview for a potential post-season showdown.  It is hard to say that UCLA has been “jinxed” at all.  Coming into Saturday the Bruins had posted a 16-1 record, losing only to then No. 8 Texas 63-61.  Much of the hype that followed the USC-UCLA game in the preseason had died considerably going into Saturday, as UCLA had established themselves with a bruising, dominant victory over then undefeated Washington State the previous Saturday while USC had wheezed its way into Pac-10 play, losing its first three games before defeating Washington.  While many anticipated the heralded Love and point guard Darren Collison to dominate USC’s weak defense, UCLA were the ones who looked defenseless, as the touted Bruins defense surrendered 70 points for only the second time this season, but the second time in two games.  The play of Collison, Love and Josh Shipp as well as the emergence of sixth man Russell Westbrook has been a bright spot, but the lack of a post presence from Alfred Aboya and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has some labeling the Bruins as not as strong as once thought.  While nobody will label the Bruins as soft, Love and Lorenzo Mata-Real are the only ones that have established themselves as low post presences.  A weekend sweep at the Oregon schools helped the Bruins’ case to get back into the Top 5, but skepticism still looms. The Sports Illustrated cover may have jinxed the USC Trojans for the beginning of Pac-10 play, as just two weeks ago Tim Floyd’s squad were in the midst of a three game losing streak that left them with only the lowly Oregon State Beavers as the only winless Pac-10 teams.  Beginning with a convincing victory over the Washington Huskies, the Trojans have appeared to find their niche, overcoming their lack of depth and stringing together road victories over Oregon and the hated UCLA Bruins.  While many anticipated the Trojans to hop on the shoulders of O.J. Mayo ride into March Madness, fellow freshman Davon Jefferson burst onto the scene in Westwood, outplaying Mayo in USC’s shocking upset of UCLA.  The Trojans also have received key contributions from sophomores Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis, but the worry is that few others are capable of contributing at all.  The Trojans finally come back home for a weekend tilt with the Arizona schools, hoping to keep up their current success. Bay Area basketball has certainly been a roller coaster throughout Pac-10 play and is possibly best summarized in “missed opportunities.”  Stanford only lost one game during Brook Lopez’s nine game suspension to start the season, but one must wonder how Lopez would be playing right now if he played during that stretch.  Despite only two conference losses, Stanford appears still hungry, having led both UCLA and Oregon in the final five minutes before faltering.  Washington State has received the “ugly victory” reputation, but Stanford’s stifling defense is not to be overlooked. Between Brook and Robin Lopez, the Cardinal have essentially dominated defensively in every game they have played thus far, shutting down the likes of Arizona State’s Jeff Pendergraph, USC’s Taj Gibson and Davon Jefferson and more notably Arizona’s Chase Budinger, Cal’s Ryan Anderson and USC’s O.J. Mayo.  Despite not being the quickest perimeter defenders, the sheer size of the Cardinal coupled with Coach Johnson’s tricky defensive schemes have made them a most feared team in the Pac-10.  If Stanford can improve their point guard play, they have the depth to make a big run come March.  With sharpshooters Anthony Goods, Landry Fields, Kenny Brown and Mitch Johnson as well as the dominant post presence of the Lopez twins, Stanford possesses one of the surprisingly more versatile offenses in the Pac-10.  While visions of it embarrassing loss to Louisville in round one of the NCAA Tournament last March are still fresh, Stanford certainly looks primed to overcome its ball-handling woes and compete for a Pac-10 title. While teams are often classified “overrated” or “underrated”, Cal would probably be best classified as “unable to finish”, having consistently stumbled in the final five minutes until their weekend sweep at the Washington schools.  It is hard to question the Bears’ talent, as they boast possibly the best trio of sophomores in the country in Ryan Anderson, Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle, but persistent futility in the final five minutes of recent games has been plagued Ben Braun’s squad.  Center DeVon Hardin, who contemplated leaving for the NBA before deciding to stay for his senior year, has been somewhat disappointing offensively this year, but has picked it up in recent games and remains a daunting defensive presence.  Anderson has been the player to watch this year, averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds a game and having scored 30 points in three of his last five games.  Cal has begun their attempts to defy the choke artist label, winning two big games at the Washington schools, both of which were hotly contested in the final minute.  Duke transfer Jamal Boykin has stepped in nicely, starting in place of an ill Harden in the Washington games, showcasing his abilities on the boards as well as a potent inside and out threat.  Many have been quick to criticize the Bears failure to support Anderson, but Christopher and Randle are both legitimate scoring threats, they are just not looked toward on the majority of Cal possessions.  Though an NCAA tournament berth may be difficult to acquire, the Bears are a team that no Pac-10 team will be looking forward to face in the second half of the season.

Lute Olson is certainly a notable absence from the sidelines of the Pac-10 this season, and Arizona is playing as if they truly do miss their old coach.  The Wildcats’ anointed future head coach, Kevin O’Neill, has the Cats playing very disciplined basketball, but it still feels as if they have not shown their true potential yet.  With a team that boasts future top-10 picks in sophomore Chase Budinger and freshman Jerryd Bayless, many predicted the Cats would challenge UCLA and Washington State for Pac-10 supremacy, but instead they remain jumbled in the middle, three games out of first place.  Budinger and Bayless have been consistently strong, but the questioned depth of ‘Zona has proved to be an issue, and the lack of contributions from talents Jordan Hill and Jawann McClellan has been nothing short of frustrating for Cats fans.  A victory over Washington State shot Arizona back into the top 25, but a blowout loss at UCLA put them back into the unranked doldrums, a spot where Arizona basketball hardly ever lies.  The loss of speedy point guard Nic Wise is another blow to the already undermanned Wildcats, making this upcoming tilt with rival Arizona State all the more interesting.

Arizona State was definitely the Cinderella story to begin Pac-10 play, winning their first four conference games after having won only one all of last year, but the Sun Devils have since drifted into insignificance, losing five consecutive games after a ten game winning streak.  Much of the recent problems are attributed to the recently poor post play of junior Jeff Pendergraph, who started tremendously, but has since struggled.  Pendergraph has shown glimmers of brilliance (26 points, 8 boards and 4 blocks in a road victory against Cal) but then shows tremendous futility (6 points and 1 rebound in an embarrassing 84-52 loss against UCLA).  Freshmen James Harden and Ty Abbot continue to boast their great shooting potential, but defense has been a big question.  Coach Herb Sendek clearly has his team headed in the right direction, but he must get his team out of this funk if they hope to reach the coveted NCAA Tournament.

Though the Bay has suffered from “missed opportunities”, there is no denying that Oregon has clearly been the most disappointing state in Pac-10 play this season.  Evaluating the Oregon State Beavers is almost pointless, as their winless campaign in the Pac-10 appears to have no end in sight, having lost all but one conference game by ten points or more (the only non-double figure loss was a nine point loss to Washington).  The firing of coach Jay John is just the beginning of what should be a giant revamping of the Beaver program.  The only real talent the Beavers did have, center CJ Giles, was recently kicked off the team by interim coach Kevin Mouton, adding yet another embarrassing blemish to a team that is nothing short of disgraceful.  While players were hardly unnerved by the loss of Giles (fellow starters Josh Tarver and Marcel Jones refused to answer what they thought of Giles being kicked off), Giles was probably their only chance of winning a conference game.  While nobody enjoys seeing a team go winless, the Beavers will need to stage a major upset in order to avoid the goose egg.

Most expected the Beavers to finish in last place in the Pac-10, but few anticipated the struggles that the Oregon Ducks have endured this season.  Ernie Kent’s squad was predicted by many to compete for the Pac-10 title and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, they now have to finish the season strongly to even hope for an NCAA Tournament berth.  The Ducks recently snapped a four game losing streak with a victory over in-state rival Oregon State, but their play has been underwhelming at best.  With key contributors Malik Hairston, Bryce Taylor, Tajuan Porter and Maarty Leunen returning from last year’s Elite Eight squad, Oregon was not expected to struggle with the likes of Washington, USC and Arizona State.  The Ducks probably need to sweep the streaking Bay Area teams this weekend in order to help their tournament hopes, but they are going to need to improve their perimeter offense to make up for their complete lack of size.  The only big man to do anything for the Ducks this season has been Joevan Catron, as 6′9 Maarty Leunen has not been as versatile as expected.  The Ducks’ leading rebounder in several games has been the 6′6 Hairston, a testament to their rebounding issues.  If Porter, Leunen and Taylor can return to their sharpshooting form, the Ducks will return to the top of the Pac-10.The Pac-10 has been touted by many as the best conference in the country, but only two teams have enjoyed the privilege of being in the top 5 in the country at some point this season.

The gritty Washington State Cougars do not boast any superstars in their lineup, but stifling defense and a molasses-paced offense have frustrated teams to no end.  The Cougars limp into their home weekend series against the Los Angeles schools, having lost consecutive heartbreakers to Cal and Stanford last week.  Though the losses sank the Cougars from second in the conference into a three way tie for third, few doubt the Cougars’ abilities.  It is difficult to crown any single Cougar as the “best player” this year, as Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver are consistent scoring threats, but are very aware when to dish the ball to somebody like Daven Harmeling or Taylor Rochestie for a perimeter shot or inside to big Australian center Aron Baynes.  The young Tony Bennett is certainly proving that he is an elite Pac-10 coach, not having superstars like Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo or Brook Lopez at his disposal.  Despite their recent struggles, look for the Cougars to make a huge run come March.

While Pullman, Washington boasts a top 25 team with no superstars, Seattle appears to be a center for disappointing recruits.  Jon Brockman, Quincy Pondexter, Ryan Appelby, Tim Morris is great on paper, apparently not so on the court. The Huskies are still a legitimate threat in the Pac-10, but continue to underachieve.  The recent bright spot has been the play of reserve Venoy Overton and Brockman never fails to impress, but Pondexter has been a major disappointment, and Ryan Appelby has yet to find the deadly three point touch that torched the Pac-10 last year.  Unless a major run is put together by the Huskies, the NIT looks to be a likely destination. All Midseason First Team Pac-10 G Darren Collison- UCLAG  Derrick Low- Washington StateF Ryan Anderson- CalF Kevin Love- UCLAC Brook Lopez- Stanford Second TeamG O.J. Mayo- USCG Jerryd Bayless- ArizonaF Chase Budinger- ArizonaF Robin Lopez- StanfordF Jeff Pendergraph- ASU  All-Bust Team:G Jawann McClellan- ArizonaG Tajuan Porter- OregonF Lawrence Hill- StanfordF Jordan Hill- ArizonaC DeVon Hardin- California 

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 2:08 am and is filed under Pac 10 Basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.