Huskies, Ducks, Beavers combine for head-scratching week of Pac-10 basketball

Jan 12, 2010, 12:00 AM

Husky basketball fans looking for some solace after last weekend's face-plant in the desert need only to look as far south as Eugene. Chances are, the Ducks feel even worse this morning. That's because they, apparently, are trying as hard as possible to make things even more interesting in the Pac-10 this season, snapping a 16-game home winning streak against Oregon State with a 64-57 loss to the Beavers Sunday. Yes, that's the same Oregon State team that lost by 51 points to Seattle University earlier last week. So, to recap: Washington lost by 17 points to Arizona State, then by 17 to Arizona. Oregon State lost by 51 to a team that isn't even a full Division I member yet. Oregon lost to a team that lost by 51 to a team that isn't even a full Division I member yet. Chances are, even Tiger Woods may have had a better week than those three teams. ON GUARDS All the preseason talk of Washington having the best backcourt in the nation seems a little off-base now, especially since it's possible that the Huskies don't even have the best guard combo in the conference. That may very well belong to the Ducks, whose Tajuan Porter, with 14.1 points per game, and Malcolm Armstead, with 11.5 points per game, both lit up UW in the teams' last meeting, and who have both helped Oregon to a share of the Pac-10 lead after the first two weekends. And they're doing wonders for starting center Michael Dunigan. UW head coach Lorenzo Romar emphasized after Dunigan went for 20 points against the Huskies, most of which was due to Armstead and Porter's penetration and allowed Dunigan to work inside with ease. He's been doing it all year, averaging 12 points per game after scoring just over 8 per game last season. Porter was the only Oregon player to average double figures in scoring last year. NCAA MAY BURST TROJANS News reports surfaced yesterday that USC will face a hearing with the NCAA Committee on Infractions in February concerning both men's basketball and football, said ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil. USC announced sanctions against its men's basketball team earlier this month for violations committed by former player O.J. Mayo involving receiving illegal funds from a booster. The Trojans announced that they will forfeit every game Mayo played in during the 2007-08 season, as well as forego postseason play this year - including the Pac-10 tournament. But the NCAA can still punish them further. Conference spokesperson Dave Hirsch wrote in an e-mail to The Oregonian that USC's sanctions aren't official until the NCAA hears its case, meaning that it's entirely possible the NCAA could keep piling on. And that could mean that Pete Carroll's sudden evacuation to Seattle was motivated more by possible looming penalties than by the lure of the NFL. Carroll likely knows just how deep the whole Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight situations go, so it would make sense that he would get out of Dodge before the hammer falls in February. That hearing could also change the landscape of Pac-10 basketball in the near future. It's going to be hard enough for first-year head coach Kevin O'Neill to recruit and build the USC program with the possibility of more sanctions looming. Imagine how hard it would be if the NCAA decided that USC's self-imposed sanctions weren't enough. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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