|
||||
Pac 10 Fans Home
|
Pac-10 Basketball update & Power Rankings 01/22
This is an important year for the Washington Huskies and for coach Lorenzo Romar. The U W grad is in his seventh season but has not directed the program to the NCAA tournament since 2006. A third consecutive miss might spell the end for Romar. That’s why the Huskies very impressive x-s start to Pac 10 play could lead to their return to the dance. Their 78-73 win over USC kept them tied for first with UCLA as the Bruins prepared to some to Seattle Saturday. While they are the conference’s second-worst free throw shooting team at 65 percent, but they were an amazing 32-40 (.800) against the Trojans. The Huskies are also one of the conference’s better rebounding team averaging 43. But youth and experience are fueling this run. Freshman Isaiah Thomas and senior Jon Bockman have dazzled by combining to score nearly 32 points per game. Each has scored in double figures in all but two games. But it was breaking news when the two had combined to score only two points in the first half against USC. Brockman only had one field goal. But Thomas had 17.
The O doesn’t stand for OregonIt really stands for the Ducks Pac 10 win total through the first seven games of the season. It’s been a nightmare for Ernie Kent. However, he probably was expecting it because he carries only two seniors on the roster. And those two do not contribute very much. Oregon is suffering through a 6-13 season by going through the fire. The Ducks have not really been very competitive in their conference games as they have lost by an average of 15 points. Plus, they aren’t shooting it very well. They are the Pac 10’s worst shooting team at just below 41 percent. While Kent supporters can probably live through this year, they may not be as patient next year. For the last several seasons, there has been some heat placed on Kent, but he has managed to rise above it. Oregon snuck into the NCAA tournament last year as an at-large team with an 18-14 record and played Florida in the Elite Eight in 2007.
NotableArizona State’s 53-47 win at Arizona marked the first time in 25 years the Sun Devils have won in Tucson in consecutive years. They had only one win at the McKale Center between 1984-2007....since the 2005-06 season, Oregon State is 10-51 in conference play. But the 10 th was pretty nifty when the Beavers won on the road at Cal, 69-65…one of most random stats with this conference is that there is no one listed among listed in the NCAA’s top 40 in steals….despite a tough loss to UCLA, Washington State still leads the country in scoring defense at 52.8 ppg….former Washington standout Brandon Roy, the 2006 Pac 10 player of the year and All-American, had his number retired at the half of the Jan. 22 game against USC.
Power Rankings
By
Kevin Lonnquist
|
|||