STF Conference Reports: Pac-10 2/28/2008

Team Of The Week - USC. After a 2-0 week that netted them a season sweep of both Oregon schools as well as putting them two games over .500 in conference it looks like the Trojans will be dancing again this year. This is after opening the season with a loss at home to Mercer by 15 points that created a California sized crater for them to climb out of. That said though this is technically only about the last week and it was a good one. Mainly because they showed resilience in climbing from a 15 point deficit to knock off the Ducks and didn't allow themselves to become Oregon State's first Pac-10 victim this season. It was the first time in over a week that USC looked like they belonged in the tournament and that they'd be a threat when they got there. I'm still not sure they'll be able to make any real noise in the dance, but if with the right draw they could reach the second weekend.

Player Of The Week - OJ Mayo. If you can believe it this is the first time all season OJ's managed to nab Pac-10 POTW honors this season. It's in large part for his ability to take care of the ball after a week in which turned it over 10 times in just one game. This week he managed only half of that, in BOTH game's combined. On top of that he dropped 32 and 21 points on the Ducks and Beavers respectively though he assist numbers remain low for a point guard (2 per game). Regardless as OJ goes the Trojans go and as long as he's shooting 5-7 from three like he did against the Ducks their should be a notch in the win column for the men of Troy.

Team With The Worst Week - Oregon. The Ducks really needed an LA split to feel even a little comfortable about their at-large chances heading down the home stretch but they didn't get it. The let halftime leads against both USC and UCLA slip away and are now certainly on the outside looking in. It doesn't help that they've tallied an abysmal 1-7 record against the conference's top 4 teams (USC, WSU, STAN, and UCLA) and currently sit a very disappointing 6-9 in conference. A position that leaves them in need of a strong 3 game finish just to reach .500 and even then they're far from a tournament lock. If the Pac-10 has any hope of 7 team's reaching the dance the boys in Oregon need to pick it up.

Upcoming Games -
2/28 USC @ Arizona - A USC win will all but officially punch their dance ticket.
2/28 (4) UCLA @ Arizona State - The Sun Devils get a great shot to help their cause at home.
2/28 (22) Washington State @ California - A virtual must win for the Bears if they're looking to reach the post-season.
3/1 USC @ Arizona State - Another great chance for ASU to help themselves out.
3/1 (22) Washington State @ (8) Stanford - Just a shot to enhance the winners bracket positioning.
3/2 (4) UCLA @ Arizona - The 'Cats should try and avoid another 30 point beat down in this one.