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Pac-10 Basketball update & Power Rankings 03/06

 

None of the members of the current Washington Huskies were around the last time the program won the Pac 10 championship.

But they can do it now. When the Huskies knocked off Arizona, they learned they had at least clinched a share of the conference championship, the first since 1985. That group was led by center Chris Welp and forward Detlef Shrempf.

Washington can win the outright championship should it defeat Washington State on March 7. The Huskies (23-7, 13-4) got to this moment because of their forward Jon Brockman who has simply put this team on his back.

He is already averaging a double double in 15 points and 11 rebounds per game this year and has five in his last six games.


Arizona’s No No

The NCAA is currently investigating the Wilcats program for potential recruiting violations when former coach Lute Olson was at the helm.

Reports from the Arizona Daily Star surfaced that the school reported the infractions surrounding an event that took place at the McKale Center. Olson asked donors to provide funds to help this event. Recruits came to this event.

NCAA rules, which are as large as the IRS tax code, indicate that a coach cannot arrange or coordinator any assistance to pay for a recruit’s expenses before he enrolls at a school. The NCAA said it hopes to wrap up the investigation later in the spring. If found guilty, the Wildcats are looking at a loss in scholarships or recruiting visits.

The timing was bizarre because when the Wildcats faced California, they honored Olson.

However, the Wildcats are trying to recover from 4-game losing streak that placed them back on the NCAA bubble.

Arizona (18-12, 8-90 is looking for its 25 th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament but needs to beat Stanford.

 

ASU’s fall

A pair of heartbreaking overtime losses to Washington and Washington State were tough enough. But when Arizona State lost at home to Stanford, 74-64, that really left coach Herb Sendek scratching his head.

The Sun Devils are having a good season at 21-8 and 10-7. But the late season plunge could really impact their seeding in the NCAA tournament. They probably had a chance to be a No. 3 seed. However, they could be looking at a No. 5.

They can blame their performance against the Huskies and Cougars for their fall. The Sun Devils went 0-4 against them.

However, you can’t say enough about sophomore guard James Harden, who leads the conference in scoring at 20.8 points per game and has been in double figures in 27 of the first 29 games.

 

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Wazzu sighting

Washington State’s chances of making the NCAA tournament appear pretty far fetched. But they have rallied late in the season. The Cougars have picked up a pair of wins against ranked teams in UCLA and Arizona State.

But good defense has been the key. Tony Bennett’s ballclub leads the nation in defense at 55 points per game. The Cougars lead the Pac 10 in free throw shooting at 76.5 percent.

Briefly…

The family of UCLA legendary coach John Wooden has asked the public to stop sending items for him to sign. Wooden, 98, has been dealing with pneumonia lately…

 

Power Rankings

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

 

 

By Kevin Lonnquist
Pac-10 Correspondent