Technically, the Pacific-10 Conference reached its midpoint last week.
But perhaps this week is a more apt measure of where the teams of the Pac-10 stand. Because now, everybody has met everybody else.
Conference leader Oregon — which jumped back into the polls at No. 13 (Associated Press) and No. 15 (ESPN/USA Today) — has tangled with the California schools. Arizona has met the Bay Area squads. UCLA and Southern California have made introductions.
The dust has settled, and only one thing is for sure: There are a lot of good teams in the Pac-10.
The Pac-10 has the most teams — five — ranked in the AP poll, a tie with Big XII. None of those Pac-10 teams are ranked higher than Arizona, which stands at No. 11. Oregon is right behind in No. 13, followed by UCLA (15), Stanford (20) and USC (25). California has a better overall record than Stanford but is still unranked.
All this makes this weekend’s games very interesting. Oregon will face Stanford and California on the road. USC and UCLA will butt heads for the second time this season.
The conference race will only get more interesting, if that’s even conceivable.

Bibby-ronic
USC coach Henry Bibby fumed after his team’s loss to Oregon on Saturday, saying the behavior of the Duck fans was a “disgrace,” among other things, after fans taunted him with personal verbal assaults throughout the game.
But here’s an interesting tidbit. According to Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News, Bibby played down the importance of crowd noise before making the trip to Oregon.
“I don’t address the issue (with the team) about hostile crowds,” Bibby reportedly said. “That’s not really an issue in college basketball.”
Anyone who spoke to Bibby after Saturday’s game knew that for the Trojan coach, the McArthur Court crowd was an issue.

Deja-vuCLA
Maybe all UCLA needed was a little kick in the pants.
The Bruins lost by 29 points at Oregon on Thursday, the Ducks’ largest margin of victory ever in the series. But it could be a good sign for the Los Angeles school, which beat Oregon State 70-48 on Saturday.
Last season, after losing to California by 29 on the road, UCLA reeled off eight straight wins, including a victory over previously-undefeated Stanford. The Bruins lost only two more games the rest of the season and ended up in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, where they lost to eventual national champion Duke.

Rat race for eighth
Who would have thought a game between two conference bottom-feeders could be so entertaining?
Only the top eight teams from the conference are invited to the Pac-10 Tournament in March, so the conference’s cellar dwellers now have something to play for.
On Thursday, Washington and Washington State played for it. Boy, did they ever.
The Huskies and Cougars traded baskets down the stretch in Pullman, and with 0.3 seconds left, Washington State’s Marcus Moore fouled Washington’s Will Conroy behind the three-point line.
Less than one second left. Huskies down by three points with three free throws to tie.
First free throw. Swish.
Second free throw. Miss.
Third free throw. Miss.
The Cougars go wild. They’ve got their first Pac-10 win, 81-79. However, the Huskies still hold down ninth place, one game behind Oregon State, which was swept at home by USC and UCLA this weekend. Washington State is two games behind Oregon State.

Casey, the prodigal Jacobsen
Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen was named the Pac-10’s Player of the Week after an absolutely dominating performance over Arizona State on Thursday. The Cardinal junior had a Maples Pavilion-record 49 points on 14-for-22 shooting from the field, six three-pointers and 15-for-17 shooting from the free-throw line. Stanford won the game, 90-81.