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Pac-10 Basketball update & Power Rankings 01/29

 

A couple of odd streaks ran into each other when UCLA and California met on Jan. 29. First, the Bruins had a run of winning the first game of the two-game PAC 10 weekend conference series to 31.

Second, Cal coach Mike Montgomery had won seven consecutive games at Pauley Pavilion. Of course, all of those wins came when Montgomery was at Stanford.

Well, home court being what it is, the Bruins advance their streak to 32 and ended Montgomery’s as the Bruins won 81-66.

Surprisingly, there is a two-way tie for first between UCLA and Washington because the Huskies were upset at Arizona.

UCLA’s defense was incredible. Leading the conference in steals at 7 per game, the Bruins finished with 16, including 12 in the first half. But the other good news is that Josh Shipp continues the hot hand.

Following his career-best 25-point outing at Washington – going 6-of-9 in 3-point range – he had 11 against the Golden Bears.

But don’t expect it continue because the balance in the conference appears to be pretty solid with the first 5 teams.



 

Arizona’s issue

The last two seasons in the desert have been nothing short of dysfunctional for the Wildcat program.

A model of consistency under Lute Olsen for 24 seasons, the last two have been all over the place because of his position and more coaches holding interim titles than any other title.

At 3-5 in the conference standings and players looking to transfer, the question is where does the program go from here? It’s pretty clear athletic director Jim Livengood will consider but not seriously consider interim coach Russ Pennell as the permanent voice.

But he has to find somebody who will bring a sense of calm. Some of the names to consider could be the following:

  • UNLV’s Lon Kruger. He is the best coach the Runnin’ Rebels have had since Jerry Tarkanian left. Kruger has really built a strong recruiting base and has won everywhere he has been in college including Kansas State, Illinois and Florida.
  • Xavier’s Sean Miller. Miller is young and dynamic and has continued the consistency of the Musketeers producing great coaches. Miller has considered other opportunities but he could be the breath of fresh air to bring stability.
  • Gonzaga’s Mark Few. Why not? Well, his name has been connected to just about every other big job. Few may feel content with what he has done and won’t ever leave. But this is a good job in the west. He can win here.

Once the season ends in March, let the race begin.

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Oregon State rolling

Careful but Oregon State appears not to be the pushover they used to be. After dealing with a horrendous 23-game conference that ended earlier in January, the Beavers then went to the Bay Area won at California and Stanford.

Oregon State had not swept that roadtrip since 1993 and had not won two consecutive conference road games since 2003. A win over Cal-State Bakersfield upped the record to 9-10. Now, a win at home over Oregon on Saturday gives the Beavers a chance to even the record and get the conference record to 4-5.

Maybe it’s an Obama thing. Coach Craig Robinson is the brother-in-law of President Barack Obama.

 

Notable

USC forward Taj Gibson is a blocking machine. He leads the conference in blocks at 3.0 per game…California’s Jerome Randle leads the conference in scoring at 19.0 points per game. He has scored 20 or more points in 11 games….Oregon’s 0-8 start is off to its worst since it began the 1992-93 season losing its first 11.

 

Power Rankings

  1. UCLA
  2. Washington
  3. Arizona State
  4. California
  5. USC
  6. Washington State
  7. Stanford
  8. Arizona
  9. Oregon State
  10. Oregon

 

 

By Kevin Lonnquist
Pac-10 Correspondent