Pac-10 at Halfway Point: Improving, Still Far From Great

Halfway through the Pac-10 season and it's fair and accurate to say that this is a better conference than last year's dismal downer of a campaign.

Arizona and UCLA have done considerable work improving on last year's uncharacteristic win-loss records. There are players in this league -- such as Washington's Isaiah Thomas, Washington State's Klay Thompson and Arizona's Derrick Williams -- who are standouts of national caliber.

Two teams, Washington and Arizona, are ranked.

Still, strides are relative. The Pac-10 is No. 7 in the Sagarin Power Rankings, two spots behind the suddenly mighty Mountain West. And some of the most exciting hoops on the West Coast is being played in the West Coast Conference.

But for the Pac-10, better is better than the alternative.

The barometer: Arizona is better. When one of the stalwart programs in the Pac-10 went astray last year it impacted the perception of the entire conference. Now that the Wildcats are on the way back to the NCAA Tournament -- at 18-4 and tied for first with Washington at 7-2 -- people can begin to think better of the conference. It's much better to have two ranked teams than merely one. When the Wildcats joined the ranks of the ranked a few weeks back, that was a big deal for conference watchers.

Where Things Stand

All-conference team: G Isaiah Thomas, Washington; G Klay Thompson, Washington State; F Derrick Williams, Arizona; Nikola Vucevic, USC; Reeves Nelson, UCLA.

All-freshman: G Allen Crabbe, Cal; G Maurice Jones, USC; C Josh Smith, UCLA; F Dwight Powell, Stanford; C.J. WIlcox, Washington.

Coach of the Year: Mike Montgomery lost 90 percent of his scoring and four starters and the Bears are 5-4 through the first half of the Pac-10.

Holding firm: Washington was viewed as the best team in the Pac-10 and it has managed to hang on to that mantle despite a couple of bumps -- the road losses at Stanford and Washington State -- and some significant adversity -- losing point guard Abdul Gaddy to a season-ending injury and the police investigation of an unnamed player.

Surprise so far: Arizona State, and not in the good way. Herb Sendek had led the Sun Devils to three straight 20-win seasons. That streak is going to end this season. The Sun Devils, who were picked to finish fourth, have lost seven consecutive conference games heading into the second half and are mired in last place. The last three years ASU is 14-13 in the first half of Pac-10 play and 18-9 in the second half.

Trending up: Washington State. The Cougars are 5-2 after an 0-2 start in conference play and are positioning themselves for the NCAA Tournament after beating Washington in Pullman on Sunday.

Cal. The Bears are 5-4 and might be the most dangerous team in the conference. Cal is shooting 48.6 percent from beyond the arc in the last three games. This weekend's home game against Arizona might be a really good one.

Oregon closed its first half of the schedule with three wins in five games. Perhaps the Ducks have been inspired by the opening of Matthew Knight Arena.

Trending down: Oregon State heads into the second half with six losses in seven games after opening with a promising win over Arizona.

Stanford has lost four of five games since defeating Washington at home, including a home loss to Oregon that ended a 25-year run of wins over the Ducks at Maples Pavilion.

Still waiting: UCLA's improvement -- the Bruins have matched their win total from last year with at least 10 games to go -- is not quite as well-defined as Ben Howland would probably like. They have five players averaging double figures. Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson are the leaders on the floor. Freshman Josh Smith is coming along. JC transfer Lazeric Jones has been thrust into a huge role immediately, running the point. But the Bruins play inconsistent defense, turn the ball over too often and play too close to the edge (barely winning over Oregon State, Cal and Arizona State) to look like a sure thing for the NCAA Tournament at this point.

Looking good for the NCAA: Washington, Washington State and Arizona

Maybe Dancin': UCLA and Cal.