A roller coaster season

Often overlooked during championship week, the Pacific-10 Conference finds itself in the spotlight this year after a roller-coaster season. While UCLA has emerged as a clear favorite, unpredictability abounds and lower-than-usual seeds like Arizona and Washington will look to make a splash.

Arizona State will most likely be on the tenth place having (2-16 Pac-10) lost five of its last seven games of the regular season, but was coming off a momentum-gaining 42-41 win over California going into last night's match-up with Washington.

Oregon State, in the ninth seed, had the best chance of the two bottom dwellers to get an upset in yesterday's play-in game. It didn't happen, though, as the Beavers were pounded, 70-51 by California. The only team without a single All-Pac-10 selection or honorable mention, and failed to rebound from last week's 49-70 trouncing at the hands of cross-state rival Oregon.

Moving along with eighth-seeded Cal (6-12) appeared in the tournament's championship game last season, only to be handed a 71-52 beating by UCLA. Without Leon Powe this year, it'll be difficult to get that far again.

The seventh-seeded Huskies seem primed for the spoiler role. Their lone road victory, a 66-61 win at Arizona State, may point otherwise, but Washington at least redeemed itself with a 59-51 win over the Sun Devils last night. Whether the Huskies can win over any other team at Staples is yet to be seen.

The sixth-seeded Cardinal (10-8) may need one more just to be sure. While Johnson cautioned against expecting too much, sophomore guard Anthony Goods should play in tonight's game against USC. Along with All-Pac-10 honors for Lawrence Hill, and All-Freshmen honors for Brook Lopez, Goods' return could be the boost Stanford needs.

The fifth seed represents the lowest ever for Arizona (11-7) in the tournament's 10 years. The Wildcats are essentially a lock for the Big Dance and could make a splash in the Pac-10s as well. Chase Budinger got the nod for Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, but experienced hands like

Fourth-seeded Oregon (11-7) upset Washington in last season's tournament before losing to Cal in a double-overtime semifinal thriller. All Pac-10 guard Aaron Brooks leads the team and the Pac-10 in scoring with 18 points per game.

Third is the highest seed for the Trojans (11-6) in the Pac-10s, and the squad will have a friendly crowd at Los Angeles' Staples Center. Head coach Tim Floyd said the Pac-10 Tournament is wide open, and prevailing opinion agrees.

Washington State, picked to finish last in the preseason media poll, now finds itself a two seed in the Pac-10 Tournament after its best regular season in 60 years.

And lastly, UCLA (15-3) will look to repeat for the tournament crown before making a deep run in the NCAAs. Pac-10 Player of the Year Aaron Afflalo leads a deep and talented squad that is thinking about a national championship.