UW Men's Hoops | Huskies crack the top 10 in coaches' poll

It may be a down year for the Pac-10, but Washington is off to a flying start and voters in the nation's top polls rewarded the Huskies on Monday for their 5-0 start.

After erasing a 12-point second-half deficit and defeating Montana 63-59 Sunday night, UW checked in at No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll and No. 12 in the AP rankings.

The Huskies were 14th in both polls the past two weeks.

Washington hasn't been ranked this high since the 2005-06 season when it rose to No. 7 at the start of Pac-10 play. The Huskies advanced to the Sweet 16 that season and finished with a 26-7 overall record, 13-5 in conference.

It remains to be seen whether this year's team is on par with the '05-06 squad or even if the Huskies are deserving of their prominent position in the polls, considering they were nearly upset by the Grizzlies.

Apparently pollsters don't dock for style points because UW hardly looked like a top-10 team during most of its win over Montana.

Washington should face a stiff test when it makes its first trip and visits Texas Tech (7-0) on Thursday.

Coach Lorenzo Romar said Sunday's nail-biting victory should prepare the Huskies for their upcoming opponent.

"This game provided some of the adversity that the road provides," he said. "I'm glad we were able to play this game before we hit the road because it's going to make us better mentally for Thursday night."

California, which fell to No. 25 in the coaches' poll, is the only other Pac-10 team ranked.

Gonzaga, which is No. 16 in the coaches' poll and 17 in AP, made its season debut in the national rankings. Portland is also ranked for the first time since the 1958-59 season, at No. 25 in the AP poll. The Pilots (5-1) reached the 76 Classic title game, falling to eighth-ranked West Virginia.

Notes

• Washington State sophomore Klay Thompson was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week. He averaged 29.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals in wins over Alaska Anchorage, Nicholls State and San Diego last week.

• Gonzaga junior guard Steven Gray, who is from Bainbridge Island, shared West Coast Conference player-of-the-week honors with Portland senior guard T.J. Campbell.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com