Pac 10 Tourney Preview

At Staples Center (Los Angeles)
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 11
Game 1: No. 8 Oregon State vs. No. 9 Stanford, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Washington State vs. No. 10 Oregon, 11:30 p.m.

QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 12
Game 3: No. 4 Arizona State vs. No. 5 Arizona, 3 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 Washington vs. Game 1 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 3 California vs. No. 6 USC, 9 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 UCLA vs. Game 2 winner, 11:30 p.m.

SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 13
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 11:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 14
Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m.


Team to watch: Washington. The Huskies struggled as a team early, but then caught fire during the middle of the season to win the conference outright and now they look to continue the success into the tournament and beyond.

Player to watch: James Harden. The sophomore from Arizona State has an NBA game. Harden became just the fifth person in NCAA in the last twelve years to average over 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Harden is a big part of the Sun Devils run and can lead them deep into March.

Upset watch: Washington State. The Cougars reeled off wins over UCLA, Arizona, and Arizona State before losing to their rival Washington. They can't get an at-large bid, but it is possible that they could make a run and capture a Pac-10 tourney title.

Tourney watch: Washington, UCLA, Arizona State, and California are in. The biggest question is Arizona. They need a victory over the Sun Devils to secure a spot in the tournament. I think UCLA has the easiest path and should become Pac-10 conference champs.