Friday, November 14, 2008

College Basketball: Pac 10 Predictions

UCLA rules the west coast and Ben Howland has another great team returning to Westwood. Arizona State could make life hell for the Bruins though.

Best Team In The Pac-10: UCLA Bruins
UCLA has the brand name, gets all the top 5 star talent out west and has a brilliant head coach in Ben Howland. Darren Collison returned for his senior season and is a playmaker and a shut down defender. The Bruins may have lost Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Richard Mbah a Moute to the NBA but don't worry, UCLA has the goods to go back to the Final Four.

Best Player In The Pac-10: James Harden - Arizona State
It would be easy to pick Collison but Harden is the real deal. He can shoot, defend, drive the hoop and finish plus draw fouls. Enjoy him Sun Devil fans, Harden won't be around much longer. NBA millions beckon.

Team That Could Surprise: Washington State Cougars
Wazzou lost 3 key starters but this team still has some veteran leaders. Most importantly, Tony Bennett is an outstanding coach and will find ways to get 20 wins and a upper division finish in the Pac-10

Who Goes Dancing: UCLA, Arizona State, Southern California, Washington State

Who Plays For Number 66: Washington, California, Arizona

Pac-10 Notes: Former Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery has moved to the other side of the tracks taking over at California. Bears fans have embraced their former enemy. Stanford has a new head coach to, former Duke assistant Johnny Dawkins, he doesn't have the Lopez twins around. It might be a long year on the farm.

Pac-10 Predictions

1. UCLA
2. Arizona State
3. Southern California
4. Washington State
5. Washington
6. California
7. Arizona
8. Oregon
9. Stanford
10. Oregon State

Photo Courtesy: AP

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