Basketball fans of America, you need no longer avert your eyes from Pac-10 basketball. Sunday afternoon, Cal and Arizona contested first place in the league, and it was all a first-place battle should be. A taut game -- for the final 16 minutes, the teams were never more than four points apart -- with an outstanding performance from Arizona's Nic Wise. The senior guard scored seven points in the game's final minute to propel the Wildcats over the Bears 76-72. Wise wins Pac-10 player of the week for his efforts, and his Arizona squad ties Cal for the Pac-10 lead at 6-3.
Pac-10 Celebrity Sightings -- Three of 'em in a Week!
1) Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray at Arizona/Cal. Bill's son Luke Murray is in his first year as a graduate assistant at Arizona, having formerly been an assistant at DII Post University in Connecticut. Bill sported an Arizona visor, and had a UA eyeblack patch under one eye. A photo!
2) Tony Dungy at Oregon/USC. The senior Dungy was at Mac Court with son Eric Dungy, a DB recruit of the Oregon football team. A photo!
3) Brandon Roy at Wazzu/UW. Former All-American Roy, who'll play in his third NBA All-Star game in February, sat courtside for this rivalry game. No photo, sorry.
Pac-10 in the Zone
Not long ago, the Pac-10 was almost exclusively a man-to-man conference. Then Herb Sendek's ASU Sun Devils adopted a 2-3 matchup zone. One year later, Craig Robinson brought his 1-3-1 zone into the conference. This year, man-to-man guru Ben Howland switched UCLA to a zone. It's become an epidemic. Oregon, Washington State and Washington have all deployed zones at some point this season.
Defense Never Slumps
As an assistant coach told Oregon State's Seth Tarver after OSU's win over USC, "I've never seen anybody go 1-for-9 and dominate the game the way you did.'' Tarver, the point man of Oregon State's 1-3-1 zone, helped hold USC to just 45 points, a new season-low for the offensively-challenged Trojans. Said Craig Robinson of Tarver: "He didn't have a good offensive night but boy, he made the top of that zone look like there were 15 people out there."
USC Student Assistant Picks up a Tech, Pink Slip
I'm not privy to the exact job description for USC's basketball student assistant, but I'm fairly sure that within the laundry, ball-hawking, and chair unfolding duties one will not find "hurling expletives at referees." That is apparently what USC student assistant Stan Holt did, earning a technical foul with 4:35 left and USC trailing Oregon by just two points. SC coach Kevin O'Neill fired Holt, a holdover from the Tim Floyd administration. UPDATE: Holt has been reinstated, claiming that he didn't curse at the ref!
Anthony Johnson Saves Montana's Season
Sitting at .500 in conference and facing a road trip to league leaders Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona, things did not look bright for the Montana Grizzlies. But Anthony Johnson, their leading scorer, came up big in two wins. He had 19 points in a two-point victory over the other UNC, and notched 25 second-half points, including 13 straight, in a runaway win over NAU. Johnson must have returned to a happy home; his wife Shaunte is a guard on the Montana women's team. Look at 'em! Ah, young love...
West in the Polls
AP: BYU #12, New Mexico #15, Gonzaga #17. Also receiving votes: UNLV, Saint Mary's.
Coaches: BYU #12, Gonzaga #13, New Mexico #23. Also receiving votes: Saint Mary's, UNLV, Cal.
Mid-Major: Gonzaga #3, Saint Mary's #6, Northern Colorado #11, Portland #21, Weber St. #23.
West on National TV
Thursday: Arizona @ Washington, 7:30 p.m., FSN; Portland @ Gonzaga, 8 p.m., ESPN2; Cal-State Fullerton @ Long Beach St., 8 p.m., ESPNU.
Saturday: Cal @ UCLA, 1 p.m., CBS; BYU @ UNLV, 1 p.m., VERSUS; Gonzaga @ Memphis, 1 p.m., ESPN2; Nevada @ Utah St., 7:00 p.m., ESPNU; Arizona St. @ Washington, 7:30 p.m., FSN.
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