NCAA PAC 10 Tourney: One More Chance to Go Dancin'

The PAC 10 has beat each other up all season long. This conference is deep and talented. It seems that on any given day, any given team can win. For example, Washington beat UCLA, then got overwhelmed by Oregon; Washington State beat Washington and Oregon, then lost to Cal . So all need to win their first games, and some experts think the only sure way is to win the tournement outright. How will it play out? It's tough to predict, and there's bound to be an upset somewhere. Because of the depth of this conference, this writer would like to see all those bubble teams get the opportunity. Here is Mama's best guesses.

Game 1: Washington vs. California Washington has a great player in Brockman who is doubtful to play. It's likely that the sprained ankle he suffered in his last regular season game with Washinton St. will sideline him. He has a huge impact and he will be missed. If Cal can stay in Applebee's face and keep him from going off with 3 pointers, they have a good chance. Plus Cal has some momentum and confidence after nearly beating UCLA. Cal Wins!

Game 2: Arizona vs. Oregon State Arizona is coming off a disappointing loss to Oregon, but easily managed a winless Oregon State. Oregon State is improving after mid-schedule coaching changes and the loss of Giles, but Arizona is hungry and should pull this off handily Arizona Wins!

Game 3: USC vs Arizona St. This will be a battle. Arizona State is pretty hungry too, but USC is playing well right now. USC Wins!

Game 4: UCLA vs Cal (winner of game 1) UCLA needed a last minute shot by Shipp in their last game with Cal; Cal is confident, and UCLA tends to lay down a bit when they assume they're already in. Some may consider this an upset, but as noted, these teams keep beating each other up. CAL Wins!

Game 5: Washington State vs Oregon This will be a battle. Washington State is a complete team. Weaver and Low are outstanding players and Tony Bennett, I believe is one of the very best coaches in the country. But Oregon likes to think they own the PAC 10 tourney, and they seemed to have come together at last. Big Mitch Platt was underutilized in the first half, but has been a real contributor both in defense, and making the opponant defend the paint, opening up the outside shots. Longmire is playing with energy, and has also seeing increased minutes. Those are match-ups Washington State didn't contend with much in the earlier games. Hairston and Taylor will be in their element, and Porter is remembering to square his shoulders for the 3's. Oregon gets revenge and Wins!

Game 6: Stanford vs Arizona (winner of game 2) This will be another battle. The Lopez twins just block shot after shot, and they're a probably a little upset over their loss to USC last week and letting O.J. Mayo rack up 25 points. They'll have to contend with outstanding freshman Bayless, who even with some double teaming gets double digit points (19 in the loss to Oregon). When these teams last squared off, Stanford beat them by only 1 point. Stanford's coming off two tough losses, and Arizona may be pumped (or not) that Lute Olsen will be coming back at the end of the season. Great match-up and I think Arizona will be the hungrier of the two. This is probably the upset. Arizona beats Stanford!!

Game 7: USC (game 3 winner) vs Cal (game 4 winner) This is another tough match-up. These two teams split in the regular season. And Cal, nearly beating UCLA in their last meeting had momentum coming into the tournament. But having to play from the bottom is hard, and this writer thinks that without fresh legs, Cal can't get by USC this time. USC Wins!

Game 8: Oregon ( game 5 winner) vs. Arizona (game6 winner) Again, having to play on Wednesday night may tire these Arizona, and they had some trouble with Oregon's fast-paced game. Oregon swept them, and will have confidence, plus their bench is coming along. Oregon Wins!

Game 9: Oregon vs. USC Oregon, with it's up and down season, needs to win this if they plan on dancing this year. They lost in regular season, and allowed O.J. Mayo to get hot so they will be ready to avenge those losses. Watch senior Maarty Luenen and his calm, confident demeanor. Oregon will be hungry, stay poised, and because they've utilized the bench effectively, will have the fresher legs. In a fantastic, exciting display of 3-pointers, OREGON WINS!!

Sources: CBS Sports. com; USA Today, Eugene Register Guard, The Oregonian; Pac-10 Conference of Champions Official site, GoDucks.com