Despite what you may have heard, the Pac-10 will be getting a basketball team in the NCAA tournament this year. That automatic bid will be earned by one very excited team this week.

It’s not going to be Arizona, right? No way a lowly 4-seed wins the tournament…right?

Did you know, since the Pac-10 tournament returned in 2002, a team seeded 4 or worse has won the tournament three times, or just as often as the #1 team has won?

#5 Oregon in 2003, #4 Oregon in 2007, and #6 USC last year. It can be done. It’s just a matter of who’s going to do it.

Here comes TWIT-Pac, Staples style:

Wed. Mar. 10 (all times Arizona/Mountain)

Thu. Mar. 11

Fri. Mar. 12

Sat. Mar. 13

Wed. Mar. 10
#8 Oregon (15-15 / 7-11) vs. #9 WSU (16-14 / 6-12)
With Ernie Kent getting fired is Mike Dunlap going to coach the Ducks, or did he turn that down too?

Thu. Mar. 11
#4 ARIZONA (16-14 / 10-8) vs. #5 UCLA (13-17 / 8-10)
Remember in 2004 when the Cats lost twice to Washington in the regular season and then played a third time in the Pac-10 tournament? Yeah, we lost again. The UA is looking to be the three-peting team this year.

#1 Cal (21-9 / 13-5) vs. the Oregon/WSU winner
Mike Montgomery won one Pac-10 tournament while at Stanford, in 2004 when he was the #1 seed.

#2 ASU (22-9 / 12-6) vs. #7 Stanford (13-17 / 7-11)
The Devils finished second in this tournament last year, playing as the 4-seed.

#3 Washington (21-9 / 11-7) vs. #6 OSU (14-16 / 8-10)
Do the Beavers have one last stink attack in them?

‘Tis the season to survive and advance. Win on Thursday and the dream lives on.

Streak or die.

I like rivalries. I’ve always belonged to the “My second favorite team is whoever’s playing [Team I Can’t Stand]” school of fandom. If my team can’t succeed the next best thing is watching my team’s biggest rival fail.

So the moral dilemma becomes: Is it ever acceptable to hope your team loses in order to keep your rival from winning a championship?

As we discussed a couple days ago the salt in the ASU wound is that a Wildcat win against Cal on Thursday would be a big benefit to the Sun Devils. Would it be so bad if the Cats didn’t win this one?

Now, for the record, I’ve already said I want the UA to beat Cal, even if it helps ASU. I want a winning record and a spot in a tournament of some kind (even if Sean Miller doesn’t necessarily agree).

But what if you don’t have anything left to play for? Say you’re Stanford. You’re in seventh place and you have a losing overall record so you’re not making a postseason tournament. Is it OK if their fans want to lose to ASU on Thursday so the Devils can catch (and maybe pass) the hated Berkeley Bears?

It’s not uncommon for fans of pro sports to root against their team. The more you lose the better your draft pick. You don’t think Cleveland Cavalier fans are happy they tanked to get the #1 pick in 2003?

It’s different in college. In college sports losing gets you a worst draft pick, so to speak. Recruiting is the name of the game and the best players want to play for the best teams. Winning late-season games can help a coach sell his program as being a couple players away from turning things around.

I don’t think coaches and players would ever consider losing to hurt a rival. Competitors are wired to compete. Beat the guy in front of you. That’s it. But fans have other motives, like bragging rights (or the lack thereof) over co-workers and family.

Bottom line? I think I would do it. Championships far outweigh individual games, and if my team had nothing to gain I would rather take away something precious from the bad guys. The pain of a losing team losing another game wouldn’t be as great as the pain of watching your rival celebrate a huge accomplishment, having to listen to a full year of boasting, and staring at a lifetime of bumper stickers and t-shirts.

So it’s a good thing Arizona has something to play for. Beat Cal.

- – - – -

On to TWIT-Pac. Now in a new-and-improved format!

Thu. Feb. 25 (all times Arizona/Mountain)

Sat. Feb. 27

Thu. Feb. 25
ARIZONA (13-13 / 7-7) at Cal (18-9 / 10-5)
No team has ever won the Pac-10 with six conference losses. It would be fitting to break that record this year.

ASU (19-8 / 9-5) at Stanford (13-14 / 7-8)
Only one team won two games last week: Stanford. On the road. Reason number 23,861 why this is a strange year.

Oregon (12-14 / 4-10) at USC (16-10 / 8-6)
The Dead Men Walking won’t be in the postseason but they could still win a regular season title as a consolation prize.

OSU (12-14 / 6-8) at UCLA (12-14 / 7-7)
The Beavers beat Arizona and Cal back-to-back, then lost to Stanford. Makes sense to me!

Sat. Feb. 27
ASU at Cal
This is supposed to the de facto championship game. Will Thursday night’s results change that?

Oregon at UCLA
The Bruins won by 20 last Thursday. They lost by 29 on Saturday. You might say they peaked too soon.

ARIZONA at Stanford
Just Stanford’s luck: They finally win their first two road games and now they have to play at home the rest of the way.

OSU at USC
Beware the Beaver-stink!

Washington at WSU
Three straight road games to end the year for the one-road-win wonders.

Cal is just three games away from winning the championship. They wouldn’t blow it at home where they’ve won five straight.

Would they?

It’s official: Rebuilding isn’t fun.

I know the Arizona Wildcats basketball team is young. We all know they’re young. But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch the Cats lose. Not at home. Not to ASU.

We’re now up to a baker’s dozen losses on the season, including five at the McKale Memorial Center. The home losses include a sweep by the Pac-10 “States.” ASU, OSU and WSU all came to Tucson and left with a hoops victory. The same three schools that have combined for one Pac-10 basketball championship (and a co-championship at that) in the past 25 years.

Not fun at all.

We just can’t wrap our red-and-blue-loving minds around it. You still see “Arizona” on the front of the jerseys and you expect the team to pull out games at the end. Defensive stops. Big shots. Clutch free throws. That’s what UA basketball represents.

I believe in Sean Miller. I am still excited about the potential of the five freshmen. If we made it through Mackovic we can survive anything.

But patience isn’t fun.

Cat fans hoped the 52-31 second half in Tempe would carry over to this game. But when the score was 13-13 after ten minutes of play it was pretty easy to see who was dictating tempo. Arizona actually did worse in the second ten minutes of game, finishing with just 25 points at the break.

That said, the UA still had a four-point lead with just over two minutes before halftime. ASU was sitting on 21 points before a key stretch that turned momentum toward Sparky’s side. The Wildcats jacked up three shots from behind the arc and missed all three while the Devils drained two triples and converted a three-point play. The 9-0 run gave ASU a lead it held for almost the entire second half.

Ty Abbott was the hero but he needed a relief pitcher to close out the game. With 11 minutes to play Abbott had 28 points and Jerren Shipp had zero. Ty didn’t score another point while Jerren (e.g., the rowboat of the Shipp family) exploded for eight. Maybe the two of them switched uniforms.

Here are Jamelle Horne’s rebounding totals from the last six games: 1, 2, 2, 1, 14, 3. Is there such a thing as a 24-hour dose of desire?

Another thing that’s not easy is seeing ASU tied for first in the loss column with just two weeks left. Since Cal got hit with the Beaver-stink the Sun Devils control their own destiny for their first Pac-10 title. How’s that for an unlikely showdown? The guys who haven’t won the league in 50 years against the guys who wish they had a 50-year-old championship.

The Wildcats had a chance to knock the Devils out of the basketball Rose Bowl but couldn’t seal the deal at home. Now we’re left with having to helplessly root against ASU over the final four games.

Bitter? Possibly. Pitiful? Perhaps, but a rival’s gotta do what a rival’s gotta do.

To make matters worse, an Arizona win on Thursday directly helps ASU. If the Cats and Devils both win their next game Arizona State is alone in first place. Not fun at all.

So do we even want to beat Cal? Wouldn’t it be better for Arizona to lose so we can hold onto the “no Pac-10 championships” trump card?

Don’t even think about it. We’re tired, we’re frustrated, but let’s not get crazy.

Of course we want the Cats to win on Thursday. You have to stay focused on the big picture. Arizona winning a championship is better than ASU not winning one. We don’t get our next league title until this team gets better, and the best way for this team to get better is to play more games.

We’ve got to win as many games as possible to get some tournament somewhere to select Arizona. I don’t care if it’s the NIT, CBI, CIT or AEIOU&sometimesY. I want the Cats to win enough games to earn the opportunity to practice and play longer, so next year we can get back to our winning ways.

Now that would be fun.

- – - – -

As promised the Arizona baseball team started its season over the weekend. The result – a three-game sweep of Utah Valley – wasn’t a surprise, although the Cats needed a walk-off home run from The Jett to take the finale in 10 innings.

Beating the Wolverines was expected. UVU hasn’t had a winning season since 2006. The real story, however, was the performance of freshman pitcher Kurt Heyer on Friday night. Heyer made his collegiate debut by striking out 13 batters in six innings while only allowing one walk and one run. I don’t care if you’re throwing batting practice to Little Leaguers, accuracy is a big deal and a 13-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio is impressive against anyone.

The name of the game this season is looking for hints of potential stardom and we got our first one opening night, in a big way.

Did your Valentine stomp on your heart? Did Cupid miss and put his arrow through your head? You’ve come to the right place. We’re going to cheer you up the old fashioned way: by pointing out the flaws in everyone else.

I didn’t set out to collect depressing facts and stats. I didn’t intend to hang out with Debbie Downer, Betty Bummer and Molly Moper. They all just happen to be Pac-10 basketball fans this year.

I love you?

Are you ready for this? Do not keep reading if you’re standing on a ledge, cliff, or bridge. Do not read on if you are about to operate heavy machinery.

Three Pac-10 teams have overall losing records. A fourth is at .500. A fifth is just one game north of even. Last year only two teams had losing records. The year before that it was another two. If you like losers, this year you’re a winner.

Misery, we’ve got your company.

Thu. Feb. 18 (all times Arizona/Mountain)

UCLA (11-13 / 6-6) at WSU (15-10 / 5-8) – 6:30 p.m., FSN
In three games on Thursday and Saturday Fox Sports Net is stuck with four of the five worst teams in the conference. I hear you can get buy-one-get-one-free commercial time.

Stanford (11-14 / 5-8) at Oregon (12-12 / 4-8) – 8 p.m.
The Cardinal finally dropped a home game to end their schizophrenic season. But they’re just two losses away from completing a perfectly imperfect 0-9 road record.

Cal (17-8 / 9-4) at OSU (11-13 / 5-7) – 8:30 p.m., FSN
As bad as things have been the Bears still have a shot at a respectable 14-4 league record and they’ll be favored in every game the rest of the way. This week we’ll see if they can avoid pulling an Arizona.

Talkin’ ‘bout Schaft(enaar)

USC (15-9 / 7-5) at Washington (17-8 / 7-6) – 8:30 p.m., FSNW
Reason number 1,024 why this is a strange year: It took the Huskies 14 weeks to win their first road game, and they’re still a contender in the Pac-10.

Sat. Feb. 20

Stanford at OSU – 1 p.m., FSN
The Beavers haven’t won two straight since the first time they beat Arizona. (Ad space for this game might be free.)

USC at WSU – 3 p.m.
The Cougars have lost five of six. You don’t want to know who the win was against.

Cal at Oregon – 4 p.m.
Hey, two teams the Wildcats have beaten! Can we get the Ducks on the schedule a couple more times?

UCLA at Washington – 6 p.m., ESPN
The Huskies’ last home game of the year. I expect 85 fouls to be called.

Sun. Feb. 21

ASU (18-8 / 8-5) at ARIZONA (13-12 / 7-6) – 3:30 p.m., FSN
Even though the UA is covered with Beaver-stink, this is still the game of the week. If the Devils can beat the Cats and Cardinal on the road it would set up a huge showdown at Cal next weekend. Now that would be depressing.

It only took a month and a half but we finally have some stratification in the Pac-10 standings. The top four teams are on winning streaks. Five of the bottom six teams lost their last game.
There are only two ties to break in the real standings but, with the precision of Kyle Fogg’s jumpshot, I’m going to break them.

1. Cal (1) – Can the Bears get their first road sweep?
2. ASU (6) – You don’t need to beat good teams when they lose for you.
3. USC (2) – The Fightin’ O’Neills took care of UCLA.
4. Washington (5) – Did not lose to Oregon State.
5. ARIZONA (3) – Did.
6. UCLA (4) – At least we’re still better than the Bruins.
7. OSU (8) – Sigh.
8. Stanford (10) – Most recent head-to-head with Wazzu.
9. WSU (7) – Ended Cal game on a 0-15 run.
10. Oregon (9) – Averaging 50 points their last three games. Somewhere Luke Ridnour weeps.

In this space last week we talked about how even though the top three teams in the Pac-10 were at home the chances of them each surviving unscathed were slim. Sadly, it was the Wildcats who served up the pile of disgust.

But life is not over. The world has not ended. What’s the best way to get over a hideous breakup? Move on to someone better. For the Arizona Wildcats a win over ASU would be like a nearsighted supermodel. A chance for instant redemption is here.

Smile!

We don’t play Oregon State anymore.