Now things get a little more intense.
Photo by Nick Oza/The Arizona Republic

Four Pac-10 teams are in the NCAA tournament but one of them has to go to work early. Two other teams are in the NIT and a 7th Pac squad is in one of those tournaments that may or may not truly exist.

TWIT-Pac is hunting brackets.

The 2011 Pac-10 postseason tournament schedule x 3 (all times Arizona/Pacific):

NCAA Tournament

NIT

NIT = National Invitational Tournament

CBI

CBI = College Basketball Invitational

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NCAA Tournament

#11 USC (19-14 / 10-8) vs. #11 VCU (23-11)
Kevin O’Neill did not lose his job, at least not yet. It’s probably good for him that he has a chance to win more games than anyone this week.

If they win they play…
#6 Georgetown. USC will be the first Pac-10 team to use the “The extra game wore us out” excuse if they lose or the “The extra game made us sharper” explanation if they win.

If they win again they play…
#3 Purdue / #14 St. Peter’s winner. When there’s a college booster club known as Peacock Nation there are officially too many nations. That’s why we have the Wildcat Universe.

#7 UCLA (22-10 / 13-5) vs. #10 Michigan State (19-14)
The Bruins are facing the team that was ranked #2 in the preseason polls. Perhaps they meant in the state of Michigan.

If they win they play…
#2 Florida / #15 UC-Santa Barbara winner. It could be a rematch of the 2006 championship game…in basketball or soccer.

#5 ARIZONA (27-7 / 14-4) vs. #12 Memphis (25-9)
If Jason Terry comes out and says he’s rooting for Josh Pastner I’m going to be very upset.

If they win they play…
#4 Texas / #13 Oakland winner. Revenge against Duane Akina!

#7 Washington (23-10 / 11-7) vs. #10 Georgia (21-11)
The Huskies have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in three of their last four tournament appearances, including as an 11 seed last year.

If they win they play…
#2 North Carolina / #15 Long Island winner. I’m guessing it won’t be the school named after an iced tea.

NIT

Mississippi (20-13) at Cal (17-14 / 10-8)
With only one senior on their roster the Bears are hoping the NIT can springboard them into a strong 2012.

If they win they play…
Colorado / Texas Southern winner. First a non-conference football game and now this. The Bears and Buffaloes just can’t wait to play each other.

Long Beach St. (22-12) at WSU (19-12 / 9-9)
The Beach went 14-2 in the Big West but lost in the tournament final to UCSB. Curse those Gauchos!

If they win they play…
Oklahoma State. I still have nightmares about…Orange! Power! Orange! Power!

CBI

Weber St. (18-13) at Oregon (16-17 / 7-11)
Wait, you don’t even need a winning record to make one of these? The Ducks are the only team below .500 in any of this year’s tournaments.

If they win they play…
Duquesne / Montana winner
Oregon State won this tournament in 2009, with a losing record to boot. The pressure’s on, Ducks!

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So here we are – Sean Miller’s first NCAA tournament game as the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Arizona. You would love for the team to play relaxed, loose and confident but that’s not always how these things go.

During the first half of the Pac-10 season Derrick Williams averaged 11 free throw attempts a game. Over the second half of the conference season (including the tournament) that number dropped to 6. The days of Williams going 15-for-16 from the line are over.

As a result, my feeling is this team will advance until it hits a cold 3-point shooting game and/or it runs into a team that can dominate inside.

Hopefully that team isn’t coached by a former Wildcat walk-on.

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Scott Terrell has on his dancing shoes. Start the madness on Twitter and Facebook.

Isaiah Thomas and the Huskies are not expected to be gracious hosts.
Photo by Deirdre Hamill/The Arizona Republic

Who’s up for a little battle for first place?

Arizona/Washington is a showdown of the Pac-10’s only two ranked teams (thank you, Coaches Poll!) but there’s a lot more on the menu.

No random games on random days this week. Just the Pac-10 Thursday/Saturday basketball schedule at its finest.

Thu. Jan. 20
(all times Arizona/Mountain)

FSN = Fox Sports Net
PT = Prime Ticket

Sat. Jan. 22

FSAZ = Fox Sports Arizona
FSW = Fox Sports West

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The mini-previews:

Thu. Jan. 20

ASU (9-8 / 1-4) at WSU (13-5 / 3-3)
It’s a good thing Tony Bennett isn’t around or the score might be in single digits.

ARIZONA (15-3 / 4-1) at Washington (13-4 / 5-1)
The Cats are ranked for the first time in Sean Miller’s UA career. They’re going to have to play really, really well to be ranked for the second time in Sean Miller’s UA career.

Stanford (10-6 / 3-2) at USC (10-8 / 2-3)
USC lost to Oregon to ensure there won’t be a winless Pac-10 team this year. That KO is such a giver.

Cal (9-8 / 2-3) at UCLA (11-6 / 3-2)
I watched the start of the Cal/Washington game and saw the Bears fall behind by eight. I turned it on later to see Cal within one only to watch U-Dub instantly go on an 11-0 run. My fan plus-minus was horrible.

Sat. Jan. 22

Stanford at UCLA
USC beat UCLA so, naturally, the Bruins swept the Oregon schools while the Trojans got swept.

ASU at Washington
If the Sun Devils are going to have one game where they put it all together and rain down the threes, let’s hope it’s this one.

Oregon at OSU
A Beaver win would give them a better Pac-10 record (4-3) than non-conference record (5-6).

ARIZONA at WSU
This is the key game of the week as far as Arizona’s tournament chances go. Whatever happens on Thursday the Cats need to stay focused and get ready to face a tough Wazzu squad two days later.

Cal at USC
College hoops at 11 p.m Eastern? Another item for Larry Scott’s to-do list.

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As if the first-place showdown wasn’t enough we’ll also get to see Derrick Williams sharing the court with his competition for Pac-10 Player of the Year, Washington’s Isaiah Thomas and the Cougars’ Klay Thompson.

Team results are what matters but would it be asking too much to throw in a few highlight-reel dunks and post moves from Mr. Williams? Wildcat Universe says thanks in advance.

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Don’t you love it when the football news is spread out so the season lingers a little longer?

In addition to spacing out the assistant coach hires, Mike Stoops decided to make them increasingly impressive.

Joe Salaveʻa is a young coach with limited experience. The assumption was Arizona would be looking at the same type of guys to fill its other two vacancies.

But then Stoops brought in Robert Anae, the offensive coordinator at BYU the last six years, to coach the UA O-line.

How do you top that? You bring in the Texas Longhorns’ secondary coach to hold the same title here. Oh, and make sure he has 25 years of experience coaching DBs including 14 total years at Arizona.

Welcome back, Duane Akina.

Last year the Cats lost both coordinators but one was a promotion to head coach and the other went to a traditional power. Both moves were seen as another sign the Wildcat program was improving.

This year’s mass exodus looked eerily like guys abandoning ship.

These hires are strong in their own right but they’re exceptional given the way the season ended and the offseason began. Does Stoops have any more surprises in store?

Gentlemen, start your recruiting.

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Scott Terrell is excited about the games at 10:30 Eastern. Follow along on Twitter and Facebook.