Tuesday, February 11, 1997
M. HOOPS:
Race for Pac-10 championship looks close among teams this yearBy
Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
West Coast basketball has traditionally failed to earn much
respect over the years from the basketball community at large.
For instance, last year’s Oregon squad that finished 16-13 was
denied an invitation to the post-season National Invitational
Tournament.
This season, however, the competitiveness of the Pacific 10
conference should help West Coast teams garner some national
respect.
Eleven games into the season, seven teams are still in
contention for the Pac-10 title. It’s been a back-and-forth
struggle each and every weekend, with intensity similar to that
displayed in the "power" conferences such as the Atlantic Coast
Conference and the Big East.
"It’s not like the past where we have two or three teams that go
16-2, 15-3, 14-4, and then there’s the bottom seven," UCLA Head
Coach Steve Lavin said. "This year, we have 10 competitive
teams."
Of those 10 teams, only the first-place Bruins (13-7, 8-3
Pac-10) are above .500 on the road in conference play, with a 3-2
mark.
All other teams  including USC (tied for first place with
UCLA), third-place Arizona and fifth-place Stanford  have
losing records away from their home arenas.
However, those teams, along with Washington, all have perfect
records at home in the conference season.
UCLA, California and Washington State have also been keeping
pace, with a combined four conference home losses.
Furthermore, seventh-place Oregon began Pac-10 play with a
perfect 9-0 record, and a national ranking back in January.
However, the Ducks have struggled to a 5-6 conference start.
What does all this mean?
Lavin may have summed this season up best after the Stanford
victory when he called the conference "the most competitive,
wildest, wackiest Pac-10 conference" in quite a long time.
"This race is going to come down to the last weekend of the
season," Lavin said. "This has been unbelievably competitive. Seven
teams have a chance for post-season tournament berths and seven
teams have an opportunity for the Pac-10 championship. That’s what
makes it so exciting."
For the two-time defending champion Bruins, in particular, a
change of pace has been called for. UCLA has become accustomed to
dominating the Pac-10 race (16-2 the last two years), but it is
apparent that that record won’t be duplicated this season.
"I tell the team, ‘Don’t get too excited about winning a game
and don’t get too down about losing,’" Lavin said. "’Just keep
coming out fighting. Don’t get too down, don’t get too up.’ That’s
been our theme all year."
This weekend will prove to a be another crucial weekend, as UCLA
and USC travel to the desert to take on the Arizona schools.
It is possible that the two Los Angeles teams will end up tied
for third place in the tournament, but the coaches claim they
aren’t too concerned about such prospects at this point in
time.
"I don’t even know who’s in first place," USC head Coach Henry
Bibby said. "I’m not even thinking about that. What’s important is
keeping everyone focused."
As for Lavin, he’s trying to keep his team  which just
rose to No. 24 in the Associated Press rankings  focused.
"You gotta go into the desert, and (either) you win two, you
split, you lose two  you can’t get down. You just have to
keep plugging because there are more games to be played."
AARON TOUT
The Pac-10 is up for grabs with the Bruins and Trojans currently
tied for first place and seven games remaining. Senior Charles
O’Bannon looks to guide UCLA to their third consecutive conference
title.