USC couldn't run down Washington last weekend but chased the media out of practice Monday in the aftermath of a game at Galen in which the guards (security) had to separate the guards (Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis).
UCLA was picked to finish first in the Pacific 10 Conference by near-unanimous consent but is tied for third with four games left after allowing 82 points at home to Washington State, a team that had to pass a collection plate to collect 44 points against USC in January.
Don't get the wrong idea -- there is tremendous coaching going on in the Pac-10.
Picking a teacher of the year is going to be a tougher choice than Sean Penn versus Mickey Rourke.
The kind of season it's been: Herb Sendek, leading Arizona State to unprecedented mesas, comes up in discussions as, "Oh yeah, forgot about him."
A former radio color analyst, leading a mirage at Arizona, may have to settle for the silver platter.
And Tony Bennett, the coach who led Washington State to its second (as in ever) win at Pauley Pavilion, doesn't even crack our Pac-10 Billboard top five:
5Sendek, Arizona State.
Why: Armed with James Harden, the league's best player, Sendek has simply delivered on expectations. The Sun Devils were picked to finish second and presently sit in that spot, half a game back with first place on the line Thursday night at Washington.
A summa cum laude graduate of Carnegie-Mellon, Sendek is the smartest melon in the patch, even if some have compared his personality to industrial drainpipe.
In his third year in Tempe, Sendek has Arizona State on the brink of the NCAA tournament berth it should have received last year after going 21-13. The Sun Devils this year swept UCLA, holding the Bruins scoreless for the final 8 minutes 14 seconds of regulation in the teams' first meeting. Sendek has won four straight against Arizona, a good note considering Lute Olson was 43-6 against UTEMPE.
4Lorenzo Romar, Washington.
Why: Washington is alone in first place after being picked to finish fifth. This is exciting news given the next outright Pac-10 title Washington wins will be its first. The Huskies have shared two conference crowns since 1979 but have not stood atop Mt. Rainier since claiming the Pacific Coast Conference in 1952-53.
Romar has orchestrated the rebound after last year's 16-17 disappointment and unleashed the Pac-10's most exciting freshman, point guard Isaiah Thomas.
