Pac-10 team-by-team analysis

1. UCLA

Coach: Ben Howland (6th year at school), 136-47.

Top scorer: Darren Collison (14.3).

Résumé: Bruins (10-2) largely an unknown commodity, with close losses to Michigan and Texas and no victories of note.

Revelation: High school All-American off-guard Jrue Holiday has started every game and is No. 3 scorer (10.6) and second in assists.

Disappointment: J'Mison Morgan created a stir when he got out of his LSU commitment after a coaching shakeup there, but the big man is playing only seven minutes a game.

Bottom line: Hard to get a read on winners of past three Pac-10 titles, who haven't yet distinguished themselves. Nobody in Pac-10 is shooting it better (.501), impressive in that Josh Shipp is struggling and the Bruins aren't imposing up front. Collison might be the league's most important player, and he's a key reason Bruins are widely seen as the team to beat.

2. USC

Coach: Tim Floyd (4th year), 72-40.

Top scorer: Dwight Lewis (16.1).

Résumé: Nothing much to excite in a 9-3 start. Trojans' best showing was a one-point loss at fourth-ranked Oklahoma.

Revelation: Leonard Washington, 6-foot-7, 230-pound freshman from Lake Charles, La., is shooting 64 percent and is second on the club with 6.1 rebounds a game. But he's out now with a high ankle sprain.

Disappointment: Backup point guard Donte Smith's numbers are fingernails on a chalkboard — 9 for 38 on threes and a 19 to 23 assist-turnover ratio.

Bottom line: Trojans have had problems shooting the ball (31 percent on threes), and much-anticipated freshman DeMar Derozan has struggled to acclimate to half-court basketball. He has missed all 12 threes and shoots 61 percent from the foul line. But USC still guards well, and if veteran Taj Gibson continues to average a double-double (15.7 points, 11.6 rebounds), Trojans seem solid for an NCAA berth.

3. Arizona State

Coach: Herb Sendek (3rd year), 39-36.

Top scorer: James Harden (23.8).

Résumé: At 11-1, the record is glossy. But in their only meeting with a ranked team, the Sun Devils were dropped by Baylor.

Revelation: Latvian forward Rihards Kuksiks had three straight career highs during one December stretch, averages 10.8 and hits 52 percent of his threes.

Disappointment: Duke transfer Eric Boateng plays only nine minutes a game and the Sun Devils drop off dramatically when 6-9 Jeff Pendergraph (12.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg) leaves the game.

Bottom line: The Sun Devils have lots of things to like: a legit post force, a dark-horse national player-of-the-year candidate in Harden, a savvy coach in Sendek and a style that's difficult to prepare for. If they can get a consistent third scoring option in Kuksiks or guard Ty Abbott, they'll be a handful for just about anybody. This looks like ASU's first NCAA team since 2003.

4. Arizona

Coach: Russ Pennell (interim), 9-3 record.

Top scorer: Jordan Hill (18.9).

Résumé: Wildcats are a somewhat unexpected 9-3, with headline wins over Gonzaga and Kansas.

Revelation: 6-2 freshman guard Kyle Fogg has started half the games, shooting 56 percent, 79 from the line, and is taking care of the ball.

Disappointment: Senior forward Fendi Onobun continues to be a non-factor.

Bottom line: Pennell has been a breath of fresh air after the tortured Lute Olson melodrama that has dogged the program. Pennell scoffs at the idea that he could be a permanent choice at Arizona, but the 'Cats might take it into their own hands, led by the three-pronged attack of Hill, Chase Budinger and Nic Wise. A 1.30 team assist-turnover ratio bodes well, but depth is a concern.

5. Washington

Coach: Lorenzo Romar (7th year), 128-75.

Top scorer: Jon Brockman (16.5).

Résumé: For the past month, Huskies (9-3) have mostly won convincingly. But they stumbled in two national-profile games against Kansas and Florida and must somehow atone for opening-game surprise at Portland.

Revelation: After missing early action due to a practice fall, sophomore forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning has played well, averaging 13.2 points and 8.8 rebounds his past five games.

Disappointment: Junior Quincy Pondexter, the UW's fourth-leading scorer at 8.8 points, continues to battle inconsistency.

Bottom line: When they're defending, running and hitting shots, the Huskies have the look of a team that can play with almost anybody. But they're still prone to turnovers and scattered decision-making on offense. No. 2 nationally in rebounding, they'll need to upgrade shooting, both from outside (.329 on threes) and at the foul line (.631) to make their way into the NCAA-tournament discussion.

6. Stanford

Coach: Johnny Dawkins (1st year), 10-0.

Top scorer: Anthony Goods (18.4).

Résumé: Lot a lot of world-beaters among the Cardinal's vanquished, but Stanford has answered every bell, including a 45-point blowout of Texas Tech.

Revelation: A year ago as a freshman, 6-8 Georgian Josh Owens played 105 minutes and took 21 shots. Now he averages 11.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg and leads the team in blocks.

Disappointment: Cardinal opponents shoot 46 percent, 7 percent higher than when the Lopez twins patrolled the middle last season.

Bottom line: If nothing else, the Cardinal have become the most intriguing team in the Pac-10 early season, going unbeaten in a hurry-up style unheard-of in the Mike Montgomery-Trent Johnson years. It's a positive sign that seniors Goods and Lawrence Hill, who struggled last season, are flourishing. Size issues figure to catch up with Stanford, but no reason it can't contend for the middle echelon.

7. California

Coach: Mike Montgomery (1st year), 11-2.

Top scorer: Jerome Randle (19.5).

Résumé: Bears probably compiled the strongest pre-conference portfolio, beating UNLV and Utah on the road.

Revelation: Until this year, Randle was an iffy shooter and a point guard prone to turnovers. Now he's shooting 56 percent from distance, with 62 assists and 35 turnovers.

Disappointment: Jordan Wilkes, a 7-foot center, doesn't do much for a rebound-shy team, averaging 3.9.

Bottom line: Along with Stanford, Bears appear poised to make it a deeper league, if not a top-shelf one. They're leading the NCAA in three-point shooting at 50.6. Perimeter threesome of Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson will be tough to defend; it's inside where Cal looks vulnerable. But Montgomery should be worth two to three conference wins himself.

8. Washington State

Coach: Tony Bennett (3rd year), 60-21.

Top scorer: Aron Baynes (11.4).

Résumé: Cougars didn't get much done in an 8-4 pre-conference schedule, coughing up late chances against Baylor and LSU.

Revelation: Freshman Klay Thompson is WSU's second-leading scorer (11.2), and a much better shooter than his three-point accuracy (33 percent) indicates.

Disappointment: Redshirt freshman Abe Lodwick figured to be a key part of the rotation. Instead, he has struggled not only on defense but shooting, his strong suit. He's only 1 of 16 on threes.

Bottom line: Cougars have played well in long stretches, but poorly enough in spells to drag down their record. Without much quickness, they struggle to create off the dribble, putting a strain on their defense, which has been excellent (nation-best 34 percent shooting allowed), and their outside shooting, which hasn't (.323 on threes). Unlike the past two years, their assist-turnover ratio is dead even at 147 apiece. They'll have to pick it up on offense to appear in a third straight NCAA tournament.

9. Oregon

Coach: Ernie Kent (12th year), 217-140.

Top scorer: Tajuan Porter (14.4).

Résumé: Ducks have been inconsistent in a 6-6 start, beating Alabama and Kansas State, losing to Oakland and San Diego.

Revelation: Garrett Sim, originally a Cal recruit, looks like the point guard of the future, shooting 43 percent beyond the arc and averaging 10.6 points.

Disappointment: Ducks expected more from forward Joevan Catron, who trimmed 25 pounds in the offseason but is shooting 37 percent.

Bottom line: Ducks are hitting just 42 percent and, characteristic of the past couple of Oregon teams, don't take care of the ball — they have a .85 assist-turnover ratio. With touted center Michael Dunigan learning the game and backup big guy Frantz Dorsainvil out until February with a broken bone in his wrist, the Ducks figure to be in for a building year.

10. Oregon State

Coach: Craig Robinson (1st year), 5-5.

Top scorer: Calvin Haynes (18.8).

Résumé: Beavers have a rare four-game win streak, and the start includes victories over Fresno State and Nebraska.

Revelation: The 6-2 Haynes, a 5.5-points-per-game scorer last year who shot 35 percent, is hitting 64 percent in his four games back after academic problems kept him out.

Disappointment: Lathen Wallace, OSU's leading scorer in conference play last season, has started slowly, averaging only five points.

Bottom line: It would be a major surprise if the Beavers, last year the first Pac-10 team to go winless in league play, finished anywhere other than last. A minus 3.4 turnover margin doesn't bode well. But Utah transfer Daniel Deane is helping up front, and OSU's start under Robinson has certainly been positive.

Bud Withers