……….Late yesterday afternoon at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA the University of Washington basketball team, for the second time this season, defeated the regular season Pac-10 champion, California Golden Bears. The final score, 79 to 75, was indicative of a barroom brawl and assured that the Huskies would advance to the NCAA tournament later in the week. The Huskies lead by Quincy Pondexter, Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and an entire array of unsung players made it difficult for the Bears to gain any real traction during the game. Ahead by four at the half, the Huskies maintained that lead at the end of yesterday’s game. The see-saw affair featured the UW relentlessly coming back from long periods of not scoring. At other times they looked as if they were about to blow the game wide open.

……….This has been a supposed down year for the Pacific Ten conference and it might be proven out as they appear to be no better than a two team participant in the NCAA Tourney; Cal & Washington. Both of these teams are very talented representatives of one of America’s premier conferences. The Huskies hit on hard times during the early conference season and could not manage a road win until later in the conference schedule. They have now put together seven consecutive wins and finally seem to be realizing their pre-season expectations. They have a solid rotation with role players like Gant, Gaddy and Holiday. They also enjoy the benefit of a surprisingly deep and versatile bench. This fact should bode well for them as they prepare to enter the tourney later in the week.……….

……….Their coach, Lorenzo Romar, is one of the true class acts in college basketball. His players are well schooled and primarily play a man-to-man defense. They are tough on the boards, have exceptional guard play and all around are a group of high character guys. Romar has taken them to the point where they actually re-load rather than rebuild. They have considerable depth and with only one Senior on the team, Quincy Pondexter, the future bodes well for them to continue their outstanding level of performance. I will enjoy watching the tournament again this year as the University of Washington, Gonzaga University and Purdue University will begin tournament play and have my undivided attention. The UW is my favorite entry but the other two Universities are definitely more than just a passing fancy. Purdue will have a huge uphill battle given the fact that they lost their best player, Robbie Hummel, earlier in the season. No matter, they will have a great opportunity to play the role of spoiler.