Pac-10 power rankings: Men's basketball

Jan 5, 2010, 12:00 AM

1. California: Yes, the Bears have four losses and didn't look particularly impressive in any of them. But they put an absolute beating on Stanford in the Pac-10 opener, and considering the way UW looked against Oregon and the unstable situation at USC, I'm fairly convinced that Cal is the best team in the conference right now. 2. Washington: Let's not panic and write the Huskies off because of one loss. But you have to think that two wins in the desert this weekend would take a lot of pressure off of them, and quiet some talk that they're not as good as some thought they were. And you can talk about Isaiah Thomas' shooting slump, or the lack of production from the post players, but it was UW's defensive issues that are the biggest problem right now. Giving up 160 points to the Oregon schools ain't gonna cut it. 3. USC: Just when everyone started jumping on the Trojans bandwagon, there's no reason to be there anymore. Self-imposed sanctions are going to keep USC out of any postseason play this season, which makes you wonder just how much effort they're going to want to put in the rest of the year. This will be an interesting team to watch the rest of the way, even if everyone knows they're done as soon as the regular season ends. 4. Oregon: One of two unbeaten teams after the first weekend of Pac-10 play, but they essentially lost to WSU before getting some help from the officials. Still, the Ducks look a lot better than anyone thought they would at this point, and Malcolm Armstead looks like a great complement to Tajuan Porter in the backcourt. 5. Washington State: The Cougars probably should be 2-0 in conference play, but the record doesn't reflect games you should have won, just ones that you actually did. Here's one thought that Klay Thompson makes sure they win a lot more this year. 6. Arizona State: An awful performance for the Sun Devils in Los Angeles this weekend, first falling to a weak UCLA team before making just 11 field goals in an ugly loss to USC two days later. Think they miss James Harden a little? 7. Arizona: This looks like the year the Wildcats finally miss out on the NCAA tournament. At least they beat UCLA. 8. UCLA: Bruins surprised some by pulling off a mild upset over ASU in their opener, but fell flat on their face against a very mediocre Arizona team. On the bright side, nobody's been arrested in the past week. 9. Stanford: Pretty much the worst possible outcome in its 92-66 loss to Cal in the Pac-10 opener. At least Landry Fields is fun to watch. 10. Oregon State: Things were supposed to be better for the Beavers this year. But they left Washington without a win, and still seem to be struggling in Craig Robinson's Princeton offense. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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Pac-10 power rankings: Men's basketball

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