Pac-10 Midseason Power Rankings: Who's Rising and Who's Sliding?

The 2010-11 season is roughly at the halfway point

Everyone in the Pac-10 has at least 15 games overall and three games in conference play in the books. 

The following power rankings will help you sort through where things are headed going into the second half of the season.

To do more than just look at wins and losses, I used the Pomeroy system to help determine this power ranking (http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/weblog/ratings_explanation/).

It looks at who a team has beaten and how they have beaten them and it does the same thing on the losses.

It values a 20-point win more than a five-point win. It likes a team that loses a lot of close games against strong opposition more than one that wins a lot of close games against weak opposition.

Let's jump in and see how the Pac-10 teams are doing:

10. Oregon Ducks

Harry How/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Joevan Catron #50 of the Oregon Ducks shoots against the Washington State Cougars during the Pacific Life Pac-10 Men's Basketball Tournament at the Staples Center on March 11, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry

Oregon Ducks: 7-9, 0-4 in Pac-10

Even though first-year Ducks head coach Dana Altman posted an early 7-3 record, Oregon is in the throes of a midseason tailspin, losing the last six games in a row.

To start off the Pac-10 slate with four straight loses does not bode well for the remainder of the season.

Joevan Catron (pictured) leads the team in scoring and rebounding. He will need to bump things up if the Ducks are going to pull out of their current slide.

9. Arizona State

Nick Laham/Getty Images

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 25: Trent Lockett #24 of the Arizona State Sun Devils dunks the ball against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Arizona State: 8-7, 1-3 in Pac-10

Herb Sendek's Sun Devils are struggling.

They have lost three of their first four Pac-10 games.

They only managed to put 41 points on the board this past week against Stanford.

While their style of play has a big influence on this, ASU is currently No. 306 in the nation in team scoring.

Trent Lockett (pictured) is a bright spot, leading the team in scoring (13.8 points per game) and is second in rebounding (6.5 rebounds per game) and assists (2.5 assists per game).

8. Oregon State

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Venoy Overton #1 of the Washington Huskies pursues Jared Cunningham #1 of the Oregon State Beavers for the ball in the second half during the Quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 11, 201

Oregon State Beavers: 7-8, 2-2 in Pac-10

The Beavers have been all over the map already this year.

OSU has posted losses to Seattle and Utah Valley, but then opened the Pac-10 season by sweeping Arizona State and Arizona at home.

These two conference victories helped them stay out of the Pac-10 cellar.

Jared Cunningham (pictured) leads the Beavers in scoring (14.6) and gained national notoriety on his late-game dunk that helped OSU beat Arizona.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egnFhzg5Wfw

7. California

Cal Bears: 8-7, 1-2 in Pac-10

The Cal Bears first half of the season has been filled with tons of ups and downs.

Mike Montgomery knew this was going to be a rebuilding year but he didn't know his Bears team would bounce all year long.

They have not put together more than three wins in a row, but on the other hand, they haven't lost any more than two games in a row.

At times, the Bears look tough; at other times, they play themselves out of games they could win.

Harper Kamp (pictured) has been a strong force in the middle, leading the team in scoring (13.1 points per game) and he is second in rebounds (5.2 rebounds per game).

6. UCLA

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

LAWRENCE, KS - DECEMBER 02: Reeves Nelson #22 of the UCLA Bruins in action during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on December 2, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

UCLA Bruins: 9-5, 1-1 in Pac-10

Halfway through the 2010-11, Ben Howland's Bruins have played unevenly.

UCLA opened with three straight wins and then followed that with four straight losses (Villanova, Virginia Commonwealth, Kansas and Montana).

Call me crazy, but even if VCU and Montana are playing well, do they have any business beating the Bruins?

The ship was righted and UCLA ran off six straight victories, including a nice win against BYU.

But now the cycle has turned down again and the Bruins have lost their last two Pac-10 games—one against Washington and the other against crosstown rival USC.

Reeves Nelson (pictured) is pacing the Bruins in both scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.1 rebounds per game).

5. Stanford

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES - MARCH 11: Jeremy Green #45 of the Stanford Cardinal goes up fro a shot against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 11, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Phot

Stanford Cardinal: 9-5, 2-1 in Pac-10

The Cardinal don't hand out many assists (11.3 assists per game, No. 289 in the nation), they don't score a lot of points (66.1 points per game, No. 250 in the nation) and they don't rebound that well (34.2 rebounds per game, No. 230 in the nation), but they have opened up the 2010-11 season 9-5 overall, 2-1 in the Pac-10.

Head coach Johnny Dawkins has Stanford playing hard-nosed basketball. They don't have the raw talent of some of the past Cardinal teams, but they play with a lot of heart and moxie.

Jeremy Green (pictured) leads the team in scoring (15.9 points per game), while Josh Owens patrols the lane.

The Cardinal still may not have enough going their way to advance to the NCAA tournament, but I am convinced they will play 40 minutes every night out.   

3. (tie) USC

USC Trojans: 10-6, 2-1 in Pac-10

If you enjoy finesse basketball, if you prefer an elegant hoops team, then the Trojans are not for you.

USC is a down-and-dirty squad that will get in-your-face and in-your-jock. They crash the boards and make their opponents earn every bucket they get.

USC has fared well against one of the toughest schedules in the country.

They have taken down No. 20 Texas and played No. 3 Kansas (70-68) to the final buzzer.

They have already beaten both UCLA and Washington State in Pac-10 play. And they took Washington to OT before coming up short.

Junior forward Nikola Vucevic is almost averaging a double-double (16.1 points per game/ 9.6 rebounds per game).

3 (tie). Washington State

http://www.thesportsbank.net

Washington State Cougars: 11-4, 1-2 in Pac-10

If USC is gritty, Washington State is pretty.

The Cougars shoot the ball really well (48 percent from the field, No. 28 in the nation), and they score lots of points (76.4 points per game, No. 50 in the nation).

The Cougars were a tremendous 10-1 going into Christmas.

They then lost to last year's NCAA runner-up, Butler, and then lost both games (to USC and UCLA) in their SoCal road trip.

They have gotten back on track by beating both of the Oregon schools and are ready to face the remainder of their schedule.

Klay Thompson (pictured) leads the Cougars and the conference in scoring at 22.3 points per game.

2. Arizona

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Arizona Wildcats: 14-3, 3-1 in Pac-10

Arizona continues to impress as they fight their way back into college basketball's upper level.

They are within two wins of last season's total (16-15) and the Wildcats have at least two months left on the schedule.

The Cats have started conference play by winning three of their first four, with their only defeat coming in a one-point loss (76-75) in Corvallis against OSU.

So far, Arizona is one of the best shooting teams in the country (56.5 adjusted field goal percent) and the Wildcats lead the nation in points per shot (1.48).

The Wildcats utilize as many players in a game-by-game basis than any team in college basketball—10 players average at least 10 minutes per game.

Derrick Williams (pictured) is a beast. He gets to the line more than any other player in the country—158 attempts in 17 games. He leads the team in both scoring (19.1 points per game) and rebounds (7.1 rebounds per game) and leads the nation in points per shot (an amazing 2.27 points per shot).

1. Washington

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 20: Forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning #11 of the Washington Huskies takes a shot against the New Mexico Lobos during the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at HP Pavilion on March 20, 2010 in San Jose, California.

Washington Huskies: 11-3, 3-0 in Pac-10

Washington is still the class of the conference.

After back-to-back loses in Maui (to Kentucky and Michigan State), the Huskies won nine of 10 contests.

Losing sophomore guard Abdul Gaddy (to season-ending injury) would devastate most teams.

But head coach Lorenzo Romar has great depth and talent to draw from as he moves through the season. 

Matthew Bryan-Amaning (pictured) is playing a huge role in the Huskies 2010-11 success, scoring 15.3 points and hauling in 7.5 rebounds per game. 

Washington may not go from wire-to-wire on top of the Pac-10, but the other nine are going to be hard pressed to take down the Huskies.