i was at the stanford-wsu game today... great game to watch.

haha brook really does get frustrated easily. we (the students) love him for that cause it shows his intensity and emotion and desire to win, but i do notice that it just puts him off of his game somewhat. he'll definitely have to mature mentally before he gets good in the nba. however, when you're getting double and triple teamed all the time, it tends to frustrate you.

All that chest pounding is really annoying when he's not on your team.

Of course I do that **** when I'm watching WSU games, so uhh.. .yeah.

The power rankings are not concerned with "records", they are concerned with who is the better team. So.... yeah.....

Nothing sneaky about it. One OOC loss and a 9-9 (possibly 10-8) p10 record. Devils are in. Lock. By my count 5 teams are in, waiting on Oregon and Zona to decide what they want to do. UW, Cal, are out. I suppose UW has a case if they beat WSU next week - they will have beaten WSU AND UCLA... but 4 OOC losses, even though to good teams... That's too many.

They have an RPI of 71 and an OOC RPI of 117. Not a lock at all.

Not to be a homer or anything, but it was Brook's last ever game at Maples so I can't blame him for playing emotionally (even more so than usual).

I agree that Trent Johnson is a horrible coach, though. If Mike Montgomery were still around, the team would be a top contender for the national title as opposed to a dark horse at best.

Out on a limb: Oregon will play down to the level of their competition today and hand OSU their first conference win.

His teams massively underachieved in the tournament as #1 or #2 seed.

2004, #1 seed, out in second round
2001, #1 seed, out in Elite 8
2000, #1 seed, out in second round
1999, #2 seed, out in second round

He reached the semifinals (as a #3), Elite 8 (as a #1), and Sweet 16 (as a #6) once.
Every other time, out in first or second round.

Not going to happen! If any Pac10 team loses to OSU, I will eat my hat. Hopefully I don't regret saying that, .

UCLA at Arizona today will be fun to watch. I just cant see Arizona winning, since Bayless and Budinger wont have it easy. I am just glad I have basketball to fulfill my time instead of blowing my bankroll at poker.

I've had a sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that this might happen as well. I mean it's totally ridiculous to think about, except... well... what if it happens? It would certainly put Kent squarely on the chopping block. Hopefully the game goes as planned, but we'll see.

Josh Shipp feel free to never shoot again.

Wow at Walters not taking that last shot. Instead he gives it to a heavily guarded Bayless.

Both teams seemed kind of sloppy. Arizona missed a lot of shots and UCLA seemed to miss every free throw. Regardless, Collison + Love played decent enough for a close win.

Cal: Time to dust off those "We're #65!" shirts for the NIT, and try to reclaim the glory that was 1999. Um, assuming they get invited...

O RLY???

A 12 point win should count as a loss.

Hey, you covered the spread.

I won't defend how Montgomery's teams have done in the tournament relative to their seeding. But the point remains that he reached the second round or better in TEN straight seasons. I believe only one or two other teams in the entire country have accomplished that during the same time period.

Trent Johnson isn't even getting out of the first round, and even missed the tournament one year. That's unacceptable. He doesn't squeeze as much out of his talent as better coaches would.

CSC's Power rankings:

1. UCLA 14-2 - Escaped by the hair of chin on Sunday. Having watched UCLA and Stanford mature this season, it will be exciting to see the game on Thursday which may determine the P10 title - at least, whether it is shared or won out-right. Josh Shipp has become a liability. I'm concerned that with the attention he has been getting and with his own expectations of his possible NBA future, he may try to do too much on Thursday.

2. Stanford 13-3 - This difficult road test in LA will determine Stanford's NCAA seeding. A sweep will vault them into a 2 seed while getting swept will knock them back to a 4seed. I am nervously looking forward to the game on Thursday.

3. WSU 10-7 - Nearly beat Stanford last week and the officials may have decided this one. Close up the season with UW at home. The Cougs have been playing very well of late, and I look forward to rooting for them in their non-UCLA games in the P10 tourney.

4. Arizona 7-9 - rough home sweep by LA schools. There is certainly an argument for ranking Zona 6th in conference. I, however, still believe in the cats. They certianly got robbed vs. UCLA. Several foul calls went the wrong way. This team may be able to get into the tourney at 8-10, but they shouldn't chance it. A sweep in Oregon isn't unlikely and would guarantee post-season play.

5. ASU 8-8 up 1 - It is still possible that I'm not ranking ASU high enough. It is possible that the team that beat Zona twice really is better than them and not simply fortunate to play Zona just after key injuries. A sweep in Oregon will lock up an F65 bid, but isn't necessary. 1-2 in their next three MAY even be enough to get them in. That would mean finishing the P10 9-9 and losing to USC in the second round (first for ASU) of the P10 tourney.

6. USC 9-7 down 1 - This talented team has the capability of surprising someone in the tourney.


7. Oregon 7-9 - No longer mentioned in reference to the F65. If they win their next 3 games, I'd say they are in. Because of my bet with Jalapenoguy, I'll be rooting against them next week to assure the spots of Zona and ASU. I was certainly surprised how much this team fell this year.

8. UW 7-10 up 1- Loss @ Stanford is enough to stick the fork in the Dawgs. I suppose beating WSU next week and winning 3 in the P10 tourney might develop an argument. Without a doubt UW has been playing much better in the second half. This is the team that I expected to see this year.

9. CAL 6-10 down 1- Poof!! There goes Cal's chances. A tough NIT team, to be sure.

10. OSU 0-16 - Beavers make run at history.

I hope that Semtex is suitably cringed.

Game of the week is obviously Stanford @ UCLA. The games in Eugene have a big impact on P10 F65 hopes. It seems that all this talk of 7 teams has amounted to what P10 savvy fans knew that it would. Not that we don't deserve 7 in the tourney, but it necessarily means that the committee would have to take 2 teams with 8-10 records, as well as 1 or 2 9-9 teams. A perfect storm of 2 OSUs and no UCLAs at the top, AND a the same stellar OOC performance we saw this year may make the dream of 7 a reality, but it ain't likely. (oh, minor gripe, all those pointing to the extra 2 wins P10 teams get for OSU, remember also the 2 (1.75) extra losses they get for facing UCLA)

Possible P10 tourney matchups:

#7Oregon vs #10OSU
#8UW vs. #9Cal

#1UCLA vs OSU/CAL/UW (I believe that the P10 tourney does not allow #1 to face #7, but I may be wrong)
#4USC vs. #5ASU

#2Stanford vs. Oregon/UW/CAL
#3WSU vs. #6 Arizona

"the officials may have decided this one" as a biased WSU fan, I wouldn't say this. There were some bad calls in all directions, and it was hard to tell when contact would be a foul, but it wasn't really tilted in one side. We just played really bad in the 2nd half.

I would adjust the CSC rankings to put
ASU
USC
UofA

UCLA had several chances to ice the win. Make both free throws, Love not throw the ball away on an easy pass when up 4, not dropping the rebound out of bounds, etc. UofA played tough, as expected of a team with skilled players and a "must win" game, but they are not as consistent as ASU or USC, and consistency counts. Otherwise, steve lavin might still be coaching.

My prediction: USC beats Stanford, Oregon beats Arizona, and USC drops to 7 in the power rankings, which are by the way just an unbelievably huge joke. CSC sticks to his reality where on-court performance has nothing to do with how good a team is. FWIW:

CSC Sagarin Predictor
1. UCLA 1. UCLA
2. Stanford 2. WSU
3. WSU 3. Stanford
4. Arizona 4. USC
5. ASU 5. Arizona
6. USC 6. Oregon
7. Oregon 7. ASU
8. UW 8. Cal
9. Cal 9. UW
10. OSU 10. OSU

This is wrong. The Cardinal have to do a lot worse than lose @UCLA in order to fall beyond the 3 line. Louisville plays Georgetown so someone has to lose and behind them, UConn and Indiana are coming off losses/weaker profile. Even with a loss @UCLA, a 3 seed is still Stanford's to lose. There are a few scenarios where this can happen if Notre Dame/UConn/Purdue/Indiana run the table in CTs and the Cardinal fall in the P10 semifinals, but Stanford is still in the driver's seat after a loss in Pauley Thursday.

He is talking about losing to USC too.

PBen, I assume Stanford will remain a 3 seed with a split in LA and a "reasonable" P10 tourney performance.

First of all, my rankings have never been anything but a subjective evaluation of the current level of play of the teams in the P10. I watch every p10 game that is on my array of FSN channels, so I do have a reasonable amount of knowledge on every team. Secondly, the Sag predictor has flaws, not the least of which is that a game played on 11/21 has the same weight as those played last saturday. Stanford's month without Brook Lopez is given just as much weight as their P10 schedule with him. The current state of UW basketball is superior to Cal. In Sag and RPI, USC gets a huge boost just for having played Kansas and Memphis. They could have lost by 50 and it still would have been good for their RPI (may be an exageration) Conversely, ASU's schedule artificially deflates their ratings. Thirdly, I'm going to rank USC as low as a reasonable argument can rank them. They split the season series with both Zonas. They are more talented than ASU, but not as well coached. They are as talented as Zona, just as inconsistent, and not as well coached. Of course, the rest of the sporting world agrees with you and ranks USC as 4th in the P10. Bananas.

I've watched about one Pac-ten game this year. I haven't read this thread, and I'm sure it's been discussed, but is OJ going pro next year? Where is he projected to be drafted?