On the eve of the final college basketball game, I can't help but lament how poorly Pac-10 teams played in the NCAA tournament this year.
Year after year, those of us west of the Grand Canyon complain about an East Coast bias in the media. This season looked and sounded to be different.
The Pac-10 was suddenly referred to as the toughest conference in the country, with a number of "marquee" players making momentary stops at West Coast schools before heading onto the NBA.
Two players were lavished with tremendous coverage, praise, and adulation. Kevin Love of UCLA and USC’s OJ Mayo arrived on their respective campuses with daunting expectations.
In the end, neither accomplished what experts labeled as the "sure thing." There will be no national championship for either the Bruins or the Trojans. Not even close.
Based on the way Pac-10 teams were sent packing from the Big Dance this year, how can anyone dispute that the Pac-10 was overrated?
The UCLA Bruins were simply run off the court by Memphis. Not only did the Tigers want a win in the semi-finals more than UCLA, they were ready to out-hustle and out-muscle the boys from Westwood.
Prior to the mugging taken by the Bruins, the "unstoppable" Twin Towers of Stanford were embarrassed by Texas.
The Lopez twins pouted and postured their way up and down the court. Their mood was shaped by the whipping they were being handed by the aggressive teamwork implemented by the Longhorns.
The only thing more shocking than the 20-point loss by the Cardinal was the claim that Robin Lopez was ready to come out from under the shadow of his brother, Brook, and enter the NBA draft.
Are you kidding?
Neither of the Lopez boys did anything to improve their NBA stock by their play in the tournament. They both would clearly benefit from more seasoning before trying to fool NBA scouts. Even the Knicks management wouldn't be foolish enough to risk a draft choice on either seven-footer.
Then there was the drubbing taken by Washington State. They managed to make UNC look like the best team in the nation, bowing out with a 21-point (margin) pasting by the Tar Heels.
Yikes!
About the best thing to be said for their performance is that they weren't expecting to score many points. But 47 against a team that didn't stop anyone all season long?
There's no need to re-hash the early round losses handed to Arizona, Oregon, and USC. Yes, they were all summarily dispatched to their dorm rooms out West after world class butt whippings.
This time around, it turns out the media should have ignored protestations from the Left Coast with regard to bias. Just as it appeared that folks out West were finally going to enjoy their day in the sun, the East Coast teams rained all over their parade.
At least one thing remains consistent: the media got it wrong...again.
As for this blogger, I guess I'll quietly pack up the board and head down to the beach to catch a few gnarly waves.
comments (13) write a comment »
write a new comment
6 months ago
I really thought this was the year of the Bruin!
Going into the Sweet 16 the Pac-10 was actually sitting well.
As you mentioned, both Stanford (Sweet 16 versus Texas) and UCLA (Final 4 versus Memphis) went down hard.
I thought Memphis' willy-nilly wild play would catch up with them again UCLA. Well, it did catch up with them—only it was one game later against Kansas.
from 6 months ago
Couldn't agree with you more on the prospects for this Bruin team. Watched them play all season and clearly expected more than what they showed against Memphis. That said, one bad game doesn't wipe out an entire season of great play. Coach Howland and his troops are to be congratulated for a good season.
But couldn't it have been more?
6 months ago
Lew - could've sworn I commented on this yesterday. But alas, no comment is here (I swear it wasn't offensive). Perhaps a wrinkle in the space-time continuum?
from 6 months ago
Ben - I had a note in my play-by-play that you left a comment, but it disappeared in some time continuum that might be a parallel universe. Clearly that's what happened to my Pac-10 teams play in the Tourney. If only the broadcast of those game could have transferred to another time and space, yours truly would be such a sad cowboy with egg dripping off my face.
How about an omelette?
from 6 months ago
Lew - comment was this: Conference strength is built over a season, not in a small sample of games in the NCAA tournament. Even though I'm an east coast guy, you can't convince me that the pac-10, top to bottom, wasn't the best conference in the land this season. There were some unfortunate match-ups in the tournament that undoubtedly lead to the Pac-10 not contributing as much as you'd hoped. Even then, there were a few bright spots: WSU dispatched two opponents with ease, including a very good ND team. UCLA made it to the final four and lost to a team that was 2 minutes away from a national championship - a tough feat no less. Stanford ran into an excellent #2 Texas. USC lost to K-St., which should've been seeded much, much higher than an 11. Arizona lost to WVU, which made a great tournament run. And Oregon... well, I'm not so sure Oregon was a good selection by the committee, but even they lost to a good Miss. State squad.
So, don't worry too much, my friend. The pac-10 had a great season - You got a chance to watch some great basketball!
from 6 months ago
Lew - comment was this: Conference strength is built over a season, not in a small sample of games in the NCAA tournament. Even though I'm an east coast guy, you can't convince me that the pac-10, top to bottom, wasn't the best conference in the land this season. There were some unfortunate match-ups in the tournament that undoubtedly lead to the Pac-10 not contributing as much as you'd hoped. Even then, there were a few bright spots: WSU dispatched two opponents with ease, including a very good ND team. UCLA made it to the final four and lost to a team that was 2 minutes away from a national championship - a tough feat no less. Stanford ran into an excellent #2 Texas. USC lost to K-St., which should've been seeded much, much higher than an 11. Arizona lost to WVU, which made a great tournament run. And Oregon... well, I'm not so sure Oregon was a good selection by the committee, but even they lost to a good Miss. State squad.
So, don't worry too much, my friend. The pac-10 had a great season - You got a chance to watch some great basketball!
from 6 months ago
Lew - comment was this: Conference strength is built over a season, not in a small sample of games in the NCAA tournament. Even though I'm an east coast guy, you can't convince me that the pac-10, top to bottom, wasn't the best conference in the land this season. There were some unfortunate match-ups in the tournament that undoubtedly lead to the Pac-10 not contributing as much as you'd hoped. Even then, there were a few bright spots: WSU dispatched two opponents with ease, including a very good ND team. UCLA made it to the final four and lost to a team that was 2 minutes away from a national championship - a tough feat no less. Stanford ran into an excellent #2 Texas. USC lost to K-St., which should've been seeded much, much higher than an 11. Arizona lost to WVU, which made a great tournament run. And Oregon... well, I'm not so sure Oregon was a good selection by the committee, but even they lost to a good Miss. State squad.
So, don't worry too much, my friend. The pac-10 had a great season - You got a chance to watch some great basketball!
from 6 months ago
Lew - comment was this: Conference strength is built over a season, not in a small sample of games in the NCAA tournament. Even though I'm an east coast guy, you can't convince me that the pac-10, top to bottom, wasn't the best conference in the land this season. There were some unfortunate match-ups in the tournament that undoubtedly lead to the Pac-10 not contributing as much as you'd hoped. Even then, there were a few bright spots: WSU dispatched two opponents with ease, including a very good ND team. UCLA made it to the final four and lost to a team that was 2 minutes away from a national championship - a tough feat no less. Stanford ran into an excellent #2 Texas. USC lost to K-St., which should've been seeded much, much higher than an 11. Arizona lost to WVU, which made a great tournament run. And Oregon... well, I'm not so sure Oregon was a good selection by the committee, but even they lost to a good Miss. State squad.
So, don't worry too much, my friend. The pac-10 had a great season - You got a chance to watch some great basketball!
from 6 months ago
Lew - comment was this: Conference strength is built over a season, not in a small sample of games in the NCAA tournament. Even though I'm an east coast guy, you can't convince me that the pac-10, top to bottom, wasn't the best conference in the land this season. There were some unfortunate match-ups in the tournament that undoubtedly lead to the Pac-10 not contributing as much as you'd hoped. Even then, there were a few bright spots: WSU dispatched two opponents with ease, including a very good ND team. UCLA made it to the final four and lost to a team that was 2 minutes away from a national championship - a tough feat no less. Stanford ran into an excellent #2 Texas. USC lost to K-St., which should've been seeded much, much higher than an 11. Arizona lost to WVU, which made a great tournament run. And Oregon... well, I'm not so sure Oregon was a good selection by the committee, but even they lost to a good Miss. State squad.
So, don't worry too much, my friend. The pac-10 had a great season - You got a chance to watch some great basketball!
6 months ago
That last comment was brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department.
Yikes! Big time BR error!
from 6 months ago
Hey Ben,
With all the repetition of your comment, was half expecting a promotion to buy DVD's of the Kansas victory!
6 months ago
Again, this is where a nice "delete" option would be nice.
Lew, good stuff. While I don't know how to handle an article of yours without the obligatory "GO COUGS!" I guess I'll have to manage. I have to agree with Ben that the Pac-10 was the strongest conference this season. I was never sold on the Lopez twins, but I really thought UCLA would win the whole thing.
It will be interesting to see who Stanford brings in for Trent Johnson.
Looks like the conference will get hit hard to early player departures as well.
6 months ago
Hey Tim,
Between graduation, early exits to be drafted into the NBA and coaching changes, the Pac-10 is going through significant changes leading into the next campaign. There's going to be plenty to speculate about, that's for sure.
Regardless of personal bias for a specific conference, this was one of the most exciting seasons of college basketball in recent memory.
GO COUGS!!!
write a new comment