UW Men | Huskies try to get foothold in Pac-10

Maybe if the Washington Huskies had made a few more free throws down the stretch several weeks ago against Washington State, they'd be in a tie in the Pac-10 standings today with the Cougars, now ranked No. 9 in the country.

Instead, the Huskies face California today knowing a loss could drop them all alone into ninth in the conference.

Such is life in the Pac-10, which is living up to its preseason billing as maybe the best — or at the least, most balanced — conference in college basketball.

Coach Lorenzo Romar refuses to deal with what could have happened for his Huskies.

"We can't do that," he said. "We've got to get it done."

It's something the Huskies are finding increasingly hard to do, having dropped to 3-5 in the Pac-10 and 12-9 overall, even at Edmundson Pavilion, where they will host the Bears at 3 p.m. today.

The past four years, UW could almost always depend on the home-court advantage, having gone 59-7 there since the start of the 2004-05 season.

But the Hec Ed mystique vanished quickly Thursday night as Stanford grabbed an early double-digit lead and eventually won 65-51. It was Washington's worst home loss since an 86-62 defeat to Gonzaga on Dec. 3, 2003.

"It was a terrifying feeling last night, losing here to Stanford, a feeling I've never felt in my year and a half here as a Husky," said sophomore forward Quincy Pondexter. "I just feel sorry for our team coming out and giving that type of effort."

Romar, in his 12th season as a college head coach, is taking a more measured approach to the Stanford loss, saying it doesn't have him considering major changes — at least not yet. He says he plans to stick with the same lineup.

"Let's just hope that was an aberration," he said of the home blowout. He said he'll start to become concerned if it becomes a habit.

"I haven't seen a patten yet," he said. "You change lineups when you start to see a negative pattern somewhere."

What Romar also hopes is a one-time occurrence was the apparent inability of UW players to get amped for Stanford. Several players said afterward that the team didn't seem too excited to play, a conclusion Romar reached as well.

"We didn't have an edge to us," he said. "Our fists weren't clenched."

Cal's will be today, however, after the Bears beat the Cougars 69-64 in Pullman for their first road win over a Top 10 team in 13 years.

The Bears (12-7) are tied with Washington in the Pac-10 standings at 3-5 but have been in virtually every game, losing two conference games by five points or less and another in double overtime. Cal had lost five of six before beating Washington State, and Bears coach Ben Braun hopes Thursday's win proves a turning point.

"Our guys drew a line in the sand and said, 'We've got to close,' " Braun said. "Our guys believed in each other."

Cal is led by 6-foot-10 sophomore Ryan Anderson, who leads the Pac-10 in scoring at 21.6 per game while also grabbing 9.6 rebounds per game. But unlike the 7-foot Lopez twins of Stanford who dominated UW on Thursday, Anderson isn't an intimidating shot-blocker and has taken 92 three-pointers this year, making 42.

DeVon Hardin, Cal's 6-11 senior center, will not make the trip to Seattle. He missed the WSU game with a viral infection and stayed in Berkeley.

Jamal Boykin is expected to start in Hardin's place. The 6-8 sophomore, a transfer from Duke, got the start against WSU and had 12 points and seven rebounds with some big plays late.

Notes

• Washington forward Jon Brockman revealed after the Stanford game he is playing with a strained groin that he said "definitely limits everything" he's doing. But it isn't expected to cut into his minutes. He played 34 against Stanford.

• Romar's next win will be his 116th at UW, which would tie him with his predecessor, Bob Bender, for fourth in career victories at Washington.

• Huskies coaches will wear tennis shoes and polo shirts today to show their support for Coaches vs. Cancer, an effort by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to express the importance of prevention and early detection of cancer.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com