Washington Takes Pac-10 Lead

Washington 74, UCLA 63
I think Washington is pretty clearly the best team in the Pac-10, and the computers agree with me, but it's always a pleasant surprise to walk into Pauley Pavilion and come out with a double-digit victory. UCLA has been a solid team this year, and I expect them to be tough to beat at home in conference play. Isaiah Thomas was the star again (17 points, 9 assists) and Matthew Bryan-Amaning has been the rock in the middle for the Huskies, but I'm still disappointed with Abdul Gaddy's play. He's too talented to not be playing as well as Thomas is. I expect Washington to win the Pac-10 even if Gaddy doesn't improve, but they're not making the Final Four without that dual threat in the backcourt. UCLA actually played well here. Tyler Honeycutt struggled from the field, but he was still a force in the paint. UCLA is a young team that is still growing, and their success this season will likely be determined by the growth of Lazeric Jones, Tyler Lamb and Josh Smith. They're now 1-1 in the Pac-10 and have a week before playing again, at rival USC. If they lose that one then they're going to need the sweep in Oregon. They're likely going to have to get to 11-7 in conference play to make the Tournament, and a 2-3 start (or worse) will make that an uphill battle. Washington next plays Oregon at home on Thursday.

Florida 71, Xavier 67
This was a close game the whole way, but a 13-1 Florida run early in the second half blew things open. Xavier played better down the stretch and nearly pulled the upset, but Florida kept hitting their shots at the line and hung on for a narrow victory. This season could begin to fall apart for a Xavier team that just found out about another tough injury: Jay Canty will be out for 4-6 weeks. Without him out they really only will have seven regular players. The Atlantic Ten isn't as strong as it was last season, but there are still plenty of good teams that will give Xavier problems, and it's hard at this point to see them getting to the 11-5 or so in conference play they're going to need to make the Tournament. They get a chance for an excellent win Thursday at Cincinnati, and then will begin A-10 play next Sunday at Rhode Island. Florida has to play Rhode Island tomorrow night, and if they win there they'll finish non-conference play in the Field of 68. They'll be 10-5 with wins over Kansas State and Florida State, and only one bad loss (Jacksonville). A 10-6 SEC record will probably get them into the Tournament, and they'll begin that quest Saturday against Ole Miss.

Gonzaga 73, Oklahoma State 52
Oklahoma State got Gonzaga at the wrong time. After a slow start, the Zags are really on a roll right now. They began 4-5, but have since won five straight, including wins over Baylor and Xavier, and now Oklahoma State. The biggest individual change has been Elias Harris, who was downright awful in November but is coming on and had a season-high 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting here. The team has also really gotten better defensively, after falling out of the Top 100 in Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency (they're now 46th). The Zags just tipped off a few minutes ago against Wake Forest as I'm typing this, and then move into WCC play on Saturday against Portland. Oklahoma State will be disappointed with this blowout, but it's been a successful non-conference performance regardless. Assuming they beat UT-San Antonio tomorrow they'll head into Big 12 play 12-2 with wins over Alabama, Stanford, Missouri State and Tulsa, and zero bad losses. Even a 9-7 Big 12 record will give them a good shot at an at-large bid. They open with Kansas State on Saturday, and then will head to Texas A&M on January 12th.