Pac 10 Basketball predictions

Oh first I want to preface this by saying I am way behind on my research. Since moving up to Portland I have way less free time than I did in Eugene for a variety of reasons that are mainly good. I am pretty much throwing these picks up based on who is returning from last year and I have yet to see any games from Pac 10 squads this year. However come February I promise that I will be a Pac 10 hoops expert again. Here are my picks:

1. Arizona - some good senior leadership along with quality youngsters
2. UCLA - Bringing East Coast toughness to the Pac 10
3. Washington - Brockman looks to be a candidate for Pac 10 Frosh of the year
4. Stanford - Cagey, experienced need to avoid injury bug of last year
5. Cal - So much depends on Powe's health
6. Oregon - Lots of upside, I wonder about the chemistry though, Kent can't afford another year not playing in the NCAA's with the recruits he has pulled in
7. Oregon State - Scrappy team, we shall see how they replace Lucas
8. WSU - No one likes to play WSU . . .
9. USC - hope is renewed with Floyd at the helm . . . I miss Doctor Evil though
10. Arizona State - this will be Evans swansong, if they couldn't win with Diogu how are they gonna win with out him

Pac 10 Power Rankings 11/14/05

Huge changes from last week's ratings, I see the scenario of where only 4 Pac 10 teams end up in bowls, if ASU loses to Zona it seems likely unless Stanford can beat either Cal or Notre Dame or shudder Oregon State can beat Oregon . . . the Trees have to be kicking themselves still for that UC Davis debacle

1. USC - Rolled up Cal, covered the spread, 3 wins away from history . . .
2. Oregon - survived a scare in Pullman, what's new . . .
3. UCLA - Came back after the U of A loss, maybe they have more character than previous Bruins teams which I think bodes well for Dorrel's future
4. Cal - Ayoob just doesn't make good desicions
5. Stanford - This team is bi-polar I think, nice win in Corvallis
6. ASU - Played UCLA pretty tough, just not enough, I'll predict that if Koetter loses to Arizona in two weeks, his services will no longer be needed in Tempe
7. UW - Wow a Husky win, shocking to say the least, will they ever lose 14 in a row in the Pac 10? Or will anyone for that matter?
8. Arizona - A wee bit overconfident Stoops and company?
9. Oregon State - Moore is done and most likely so are the Beavs bowl chances
10. WSU - Have to be the best 0-7 team in Pac 10 history . . . again they played just well enough to lose another close game

PAC 10 Power Rankings

USC - Best offense ever?
UO - They won without Clemens, very close game could have gone either way but Ngata and the Oregon defense stepped up big late and Bellotti went with a hunch and let Leaf play and it paid off.
Cal - Yeah they have lost 3 of 4 but they did take Oregon to OT in Autzen
Arizona - They killed UCLA so I have to rank them ahead of UCLA, they really have to regret blowing the Stanford and Oregon games, I'd predict Arizona will be a bowl team next year
UCLA - It is November and UCLA is fading, why do we expect that to ever change . . .
ASU - Well they won a road game albiet is was at winless WSU
OSU - Wins in Seattle are rare for the Beavs but they had to get a W and greatly improved their bowl chances
Stanford - I think injuries are catching up to them . . .
WSU - playing just well enough to lose every week, that is the definition of Coogin it!
UW - can they go 0-8 back to back years in the Pac 10? Has there ever been a bigger fade job for what has traditionally been a Top 15 program?

Oregon vs Cal . . .

Interesting match-up indeed, should be what you expect from a Tedford Bellotti matchup . . . a close game. Keys for Oregon will be to establish a running game. The likely poor weather will probably be more of an advantage to Cal who has the more consistent running game. If I am Bob Gregory I woul dare Oregon to beat me with the deep pass. I think Dixon has shown that he is capable at throwing a short ball however I haven't seen a lot of the depp ball from him in his limited time. Expect to see Cal put as many guys in the box as they can and to have the secondary play press coverage to defend agianst the short ball. If Oregon can get some deep balls completed Cal will have to adjust and it will open up the entire field. Final Score Oregon 26 Cal 24

Pac 10 Power Poll and weekend thoughts . . .

I was at the coast this weekend, I caught large chunks of the WSU-USC game and the Stanford-UCLA "instant classic" . . .

Here are my Pac 10 Power Rankings

1. USC - Over 400 yards offense in the first half, nuff said!
2. UCLA - Like UW in 2000 and Oregon in 2001 this team just finds a way to win games
3. UO - I think the national media is expectign a collaspe, I think people who follow the team closely are expecting very little drop off. I see somewhere in the middle.
4. Stanford - Very weird to see them here, I thought they would give UCLA a battle and they did but I also thought UCLA would come back and they did. The big game should actually be intersting this year.
5. Cal - Decimated by injuries and overrated due to a very easy early schedule . . . but I think they will give Oregon a game becuase Tedford and Bellotti always play close games against eachother. In Oregon's favor is that Cal struggled with the spread last year when they played Texas Tech.
6. Arizona - Played Oregon tough, better hands by recievers could have meant a W against Oregon and the win at OSU was impressive though I can't comment on the game as I didn't see it.
7. Oregon State - Losing to U of A may have cost Riley and company a bowl bid.
8. Arizona State - Kind of gave up on the year I think, reminds me of Oregon in 2002.
9. Washington State - Well at least they get to play the Huskies this year.
10. Washington - They sure have a good crew team at Montlake . . .

Back to my BCS discussion and Oregon the positive was the Fresno State beat Hawaii. Not so good was Stanford blowing the lead to UCLA. Unless Shockley returns for the Auburn game and leads UGA to a win I do believe that Georgia will end the season with 3 losses