Ranking the Pac-10: Basketball Edition

Unfortunately for Pac-10 fans, the conference can’t hold its own weight on the national scene. The Big East, Big 10, and Big XII are all substantially better and have more depth. According to Sagarin, the Pac-10 ranks seventh in the country behind the Mountain West and SEC.

1. Arizona (21-4, 10-2)

Wildcats are quietly putting together a very impressive season. Their out-of-conference resume lacks a marquee win, but they are taking care of business in conference and are athletic enough to make noise in the tournament.

2. Washington (17-7, 9-4)

Huskies were the favorite last year and sputtered in conference before heating up and making a run to the Sweet 16. Their guard play presents challenges to others, and it wouldn’t be smart to write them off.

3. UCLA (18-7, 9-3)

UCLA started off slowly, but the loss to USC at the Galen Center lit a fire under them and they have been playing well ever since. Ben Howland’s decision to bring Josh Smith off the bench has paid dividends.

4. Washington State (17-8, 7-6)

In conference, the Cougars haven’t lived up to the expectations they created during their out-of-conference tilt. However, their win against Washington put them on the right side of the bubble, and they will likely go dancing if they continue to beat the lower tier teams.

5. Stanford (13-11, 6-7)

Jeremy Green has gotten help from some of the guys around him, and that has led to a decent campaign so far. It’s stil hard to forget how poorly this team shot at USC when they scored 31 points in the first 38 minutes.

6. California (13-12, 6-7)

The defending champions have slipped, but that is to be expected when you lose so many leaders to graduation. Jorge Gutierrez is doing the best he can to keep the team afloat, Monty’s squad is just too inexperienced.

7. Oregon (13-12, 6-7)

The emergence of Joevan Catron has drastically improved the Ducks, and Dana Altman has his players buying into his system. With a new arena and a good recruiting class, Oregon could move into the upper half of the conference next year.

8. USC (13-12, 5-7)

Kevin O’Neill has done a decent job with limited depth. A seven-man rotation isn’t going to cut it and he needs to stockpile players in this next recruiting class. The Trojans also need to be more consistent on defense and improve their shooting.

9. Oregon State (9-15, 4-9)

Some are complaining about the stagnant offense at Oregon State, but the Beavers have beaten some teams they shouldn’t have and are a young team progressing under Craig Robinson.

10. Arizona State (9-15, 1-11)

Herb Sendek’s squad hasn’t fared well at all after losing some key pieces the last two years.