Scoop Dreams columnist Eli Smukler checks in this week with his predictions for the Pac-10 Tournament, which runs today through Saturday at Staples Center. You can find the last week of Power Rankings here.
OPENING ROUND
No. 8 Stanford v. No. 9 Oregon State
Season Series: 1-1
It’s safe to say that these two young teams are in the worst shape of any entering this tournament. The Cardinal has lost five of its last six Pac-10 games and the Beavers have lost seven of eight. What makes it interesting though is that OSU’s one win in the last month came against Stanford at home. Despite that, Stanford shooting machine Jeremy Green is the difference maker here. He has the ability to take his team to a higher level, like he did in the Cardinal’s upset of No. 2-seed ASU last year at Staples.
PICK: STANFORD
No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 10 Arizona State
Season Series: 2-0 ASU
A few weeks ago this would have been a no-brainer. Oregon was the conference’s surprise darling and ASU was the surprise trash dump. Since then though, the Ducks are on a four-game slide during which they’ve given up 83 points per game. The Sun Devils, however, are actually on a mini-win streak that started with a 20-point roll over Oregon last Thursday.
PICK: ASU