Coming into the season, everyone in college basketball knew it would be a down year for Pac-10 basketball. The league had taken huge hits from early entrants to the NBA draft. UCLA lost Jrue Holliday, who Ben Howland assumed would be his starting point guard this season. James Harden of Arizona State was the third pick in the draft. Jordan Hill and Demar DeRozan, from Arizona and USC respectively, were top 10 picks. All in all, the Pac-10 had 6 first round picks last year, 5 should have been back this year. This season, Cal was the highest ranked team in the conference but suffered blowout losses to Syracuse and Kansas and were quickly moved out of the top 10. Washington, a team many regarded to be the most talented team in the conference, is 5th right now, and has been swept by the Southern California teams and Arizona teams. USC showed promise at the beginning of the season, beating Tennessee, but losses to teams like Loyola Marymount have really set the conference back. UCLA was embarrassed on ESPN in the first game of the season losing to Cal State Fullerton. Overall, this has been a terrible season for everyone in the Pac-10. They are the only Big 6 conference that does not have a ranked team. Arizona State, Cal, Arizona, and UCLA are deadlocked in a 4-way tie for first, and the best record among the 4 is Arizona State's 16-7. Right now, it looks like the winner of the conference tournament will be the only team going to the Big Dance. The Pac-10 is definitely having a tough year, but solid underclassmen and a good incoming recruiting class gives teams hope for next year.
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