Ben Howland’s UCLA Bruins, who won both the PAC 10’s regular-season and conference tournament titles last season, have been posted as +100 favorites at TheGreek.com to win the conference regular-season crown again this season.
UCLA lost three starters from the team that made it to the national championship game a season ago and held opponents to just 59 points per game, including guard Jordan Farmar. But the Bruins return All-PAC 10 guard Arron Afflalo and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, the PAC 10’s Freshman of the Year last season and the leading returning rebounder (8.2 per game) in the conference.
PAC-10 will be a horse race
Afflalo and super-quick sophomore Darren Collison will battle Arizona’s group of guards for the title of best backcourt in the conference, although Afflalo is still recovering from a broken bone in his foot suffered in July. UCLA will also benefit from a healthy Josh Shipp, who missed all but four games last year after hip surgery. If Collison can take over at point guard and improve his shot, and if Shipp can pick up where he left off after his freshman season, the Bruins will be a serious threat not only to win this conference, but to return to the Final Four.
The Arizona Wildcats, who placed a disappointing fourth in the conference last season, are listed at +250 to win the PAC 10 regular-season title this season. Arizona stumbled at times last season, but made the NCAA tournament for the 22nd straight season. There the Wildcats destroyed the Wisconsin Badgers in the first round and took a very talented Villanova team to the limit in a second-round defeat.
This season coach Lute Olson returns four starters, including point guard Mustafa Shakur and forwards Marcus Williams and Ivan Radenovic. Shakur anchors one of the best backcourts in the nation, and the latter pair mentioned above are part of a great set of wingmen. Arizona lost Hassan Adams (17.5 points, five rebounds per game last season), but the key to success this time around for the ‘Cats will be their defense, which ranked 173rd in D1 last season by giving up 69 points a game. But combining a bunch of great talent with a great coach very often leads to conference titles and deep runs into the NCAA tournament.
The Washington Huskies, winners of 26 games a season ago, are posted at +500 to win the PAC 10 regular-season championship this season. Washington made it to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season last March, and averaged 82 points per game (4th-most in D1). But the Huskies lose a couple of key cogs in their machine in Brandon Roy and Bobby Jones, both NBA’ers now. This season, with returning starters Jon Brockman and Justin Dentmon and 6-foot-11 freshman Spencer Haws, Washington will own the best inside game in the conference. The Huskies will be young but very talented, and will again entertain. Improvement on the defensive end would help, a season after allowing 70 points per game. But UW should be in the mix for the conference title come March.
Tim Floyd’s USC Trojans are posted at +800 to win the PAC 10 title this season. USC returns four starters from a season ago, but guard Ryan Francis, who led the team in assists last season and shined on the defensive end, was tragically shot to death in his home state of Louisiana during the offseason. Among the returning starters for the Trojans this season are the top two returning scorers in the conference, junior forward Nick Young (17.3 PPG last season) and junior guard Gabe Pruitt (16.9). Pruitt, however, will miss the run-up to the conference season after being declared academically ineligible for at least the first nine games. Floyd has had his problems over the years, but he’s a winner (260-143 in 13 college seasons), and there’s no reason to expect that will change at USC.
Also listed at +800 in the PAC 10 title race are the Oregon Ducks. Head coach Ernie Kent has had a pretty good run in his nine years in Eugene, but Oregon missed the NCAA tournament for the third straight season last year, and Kent suddenly finds himself on the hot seat. Helping his case this season, though, is the return of all five starters from last season, including senior point guard Aaron Brooks and junior forward Malik Hairston.
Elsewhere around the PAC 10, the Leon Powe-less Cal Bears are listed at +1200 to win the conference this season, as are the Stanford Cardinal, who may be minus three starters but now have a twin-towers combination consisting of 7-foot twin freshmen Brook and Robin Lopez. Washington State, with new head coach Tony Bennett (Dick’s son, not the crooner), and Oregon State, with three returning starters, are both listed at +2500. And Arizona State, with new head coach Herb Sendek and three returning starters, is listed at +3000 to win the PAC 10’s regular-season title this season.
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Chance Harper: PAC-10 will be a horse race
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