Interesting week as some teams from lower down the rung knocked off the top dogs. Both UCLA and Cal lost games that had they won would have made them very hard to catch in the league race. Now with only 3 or 4 games left on the schedule for each squad any of the top 5 teams left in the conference have a legitimate shot at getting the #1 seed. If Stanford ends up winning the Pac 10 but losing say their first round game in the the Pac 10 tourney would they still get in? In the modern NCAA era 1985 and on no team (eligible) has won a BCS conference regualr season title and not been invited to the dance, could Stanford be the exception? Had they hung on to beat Arizona they would have been tied for first in the conference with UCLA and Cal. Well on to the poll for the week:
1. UCLA (1) Did they get complacent watching ASU beat Cal the night before? By no means was this a devastaing loss to USC however it could cost them a seed level come tourney time and makes it more difficult to win the outright Pac 10 title.
2. UW (3) Two nice wins in Oregon. The Huskies seem to bee finding their stride which bodes well. A conference title is still possible and I think if the Dawgs were to run the table from here on out they could garnish as high as a 2 seed.
3. Cal (2) That loss to a very gritty and undermanned ASU team at Haas may rank as the upset of the year in conference play. You have to wonder if this game took Cal from lock to bubble status.
4. Arizona (4) Lute's guys are just about off the bubble. Got a nice win on the road at Stanford and now the Cats have 16 wins and should end up hitting at least 19 before bids are giving out. Mark them down as an NCAA lock unless they lose out the rest of the regular season.
5. Stanford (5) Really needed to beat Arizona. Barring a major suprise I think they would need to win the Pac 10 tourney to get in however they could still win the Pac 10 regular season title which would cause quite a dilemna for the selection commitee.
6. USC (8) Big win over UCLA puts USC in a nice spot to avoid playing on day one of the Pac 10 torunament which is key for a team that is NIT bound unless they can win it all at Staples.
7. Oregon (6) Lost another nailbiter game to UW. No team in the Pac 10 has lost more close games than Oregon. This team could make a huge run up the standings next year if they can tighten it up in late game situations. I think Ernie Kent is going to escape with his job.
8. ASU (9) Veru gutty performance by the Devils in Berkeley. Not that it will save Rob Evans job though. He is a classy guy who will land on his feet with another job.
9. OSU (10) Well they beat the Cougs so I can't put them last. That is all I can say good about the Beavs this week.
10. WSU (7) Decided to take the week off. Only managed to have 10 points at halftime against Oregon.
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