Has the Pac-10 lost some respect?
Ernie Kent watched the respectability of the Pacific-10 Conference wane in the last month and is perplexed as to why.
The University of Oregon men’s basketball coach has been part of a vocal group proclaiming the prowess of the conference this season. It might seem strange for him to worry with the way the season has gone for the Ducks.
He’s not concerned about making the NCAA Tournament with a 23-win season, but seeding into the bracket.
Oregon’s third-place finish in the standings is more impressive to the seeding committee if it’s in the toughest conference in the country, not the third.
The Pac-10 sits third, behind the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conference, in the RPI and Sagarin ratings, which gauge how tough schedules are teams play.
At the end of the regular season only three teams are ranked in the top 25 with No. 4 UCLA, No. 11 Washington State and No. 16 Oregon. At one point there was six.
“All I heard at the beginning of the conference season was the Pac-10 is the No. 1 conference but closer to March we started slipping,” Kent said. “And I don’t know why. I think it’s the No. 1 conference in the country. If it’s not No.1, it’s No. 2. We’ve beat each other up. No one has dominated. Why we don’t get six or seven teams in the tournament, I don’t know.”
The Pac-10 Tournament begins today with two first-round games at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Every team is involved, and they have difference agendas.
Five teams have 20-plus wins with UCLA, Washington State, Oregon, Southern California and Arizona. They are most likely in the NCAA Tournament without another win in the conference event.
Stanford and Washington are 18-win teams and could strengthen their case with a good showing this week.
“I think six are already in,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “It’s a lock regardless of what happens in the Pac-10 Tournament. Everyone is playing for their seeding. The only way we get seven is if one of the other teams wins it. But it’s hard to win four games in four days.”
The odd team out in Howland’s view is Washington. He believes Stanford has enough quality wins to qualify.
Stanford coach Trent Johnson won’t speculate if the Cardinal are on the bubble. His team opens Thursday against USC, and a win helps.
“We’ve sat back for years as the Big East, ACC get six teams,” Kent said. “Now it’s the Pac-10’s turn. But now I’m seeing people say we are fourth or fifth. I don’t think anything has changed. It’s still a great conference and one of the best in the country.”
The Huskies have won their last two games, defeating UCLA and USC. They have momentum, confidence and everything working at the right time. They have last-place Arizona State tonight and a rematch with rival Washington State on Thursday if they win the first round.
“Who knows what the committee will do,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “We can’t rely on anyone else. We feel we have to win four. There’s no other way to look at it. The next time you lose, you might not be in the NCAA Tournament so we are not going to take any game lightly.”
The top five teams are working for seeding in their NCAA Regional. UCLA should be near the top, but everyone else can use more wins to move up the pecking order.
The most practical use of the Pac-10 Tournament is practice for the big event. It’s a trial run feeling the one-or-go-home atmosphere and playing on neutral courts.
“I think any game we play in this tournament will resemble an NCAA Tournament game as far as the level of opponent we’ll play,” USC coach Tim Floyd said. “There are seven teams that can win it, and we play one in Stanford first.”
California can earn a secondary National Invitation Tournament berth with a strong showing. The Golden Bears open with Oregon State today.
For OSU and Arizona State, this is practice for next season and a chance to upset teams and go into the offseason with a good feeling.
“Winning a game or two will help anybody,” Kent said. “It’s not just Oregon or Arizona.”
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