Notoriety is falling down on the Pacific-10 Conference in droves these days.
With Stanford entering The Associated Press top-25 poll at No. 23 this week, a record seven Pac-10 teams have been nationally ranked at some point this season, breaking the previous record of six (1994-1995, 2001-2002).
Two teams, No. 5 UCLA and No. 9 Oregon, are ranked in the top 10.
“”I knew the league was good, but I didn’t think it was this deep and good,”” said Washington State head coach Tony Bennett, whose team sits at No. 18 going into tomorrow’s game at Arizona.
Pac-10 Standings
| Conf. | Ovr. | |
| 1. Oregon | 7-2 | 19-2 |
| 2. UCLA | 7-2 | 18-2 |
| 3. Washington State | 6-3 | 17-4 |
| 4. Stanford | 6-3 | 14-5 |
| 5. USC | 6-3 | 16-6 |
| 6. Arizona | 5-4 | 16-6 |
| 7. California | 4-5 | 12-9 |
| 8. Washington | 3-6 | 13-7 |
| 9. Oregon State | 1-8 | 9-13 |
| 10. Arizona State | 0-9 | 6-14 |
Stanford forward Brook Lopez was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for his performance in wins over then-No. 3 UCLA and then-No. 25 USC.
Lopez averaged 12.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.5 blocks for the Cardinal.
Against USC, Lopez set a school record with 12 blocks in addition to scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, the first triple-double in school history.
Lopez was also the third freshman this season to be named Pac-10 Player of the Week, another conference first.
UA forward Chase Budinger and Washington center Spencer Hawes received the honor Nov. 20 and Dec. 26, respectively.
Another UA freshman, forward Jordan Hill, was nominated for the weekly award after
averaging 12.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in games against ASU and then No. 4 North Carolina.
Williams named to Wooden Award mid-season list
UA sophomore forward Marcus Williams was named one of 30 midseason candidates to the Wooden Award list.
Williams joins fellow Pac-10 players Arron Afflalo (UCLA) and Aaron Brooks (Oregon) on the list. The Wooden Award is given at season’s end to the nation’s top player. Williams is second in the Pac-10 in scoring (17.3) and ninth in rebounding (7.4).
UA head coach Lute Olson said Williams, who sat out of practice Monday with a sprained right ankle, would practice today and is likely to play tomorrow night.
Olson said the ankle, which Williams has hurt before, is not a high sprain, which is tougher to recover from.
Despite Arizona’s recent poor shooting, the Wildcats still top the Pac-10 in points per game (82.4) and field-goal percentage (49.1) and have four players in the top 13 in scoring.
Arizona also has three players in the top 10 in minutes played and is eighth in turnover margin at minus-1.05.
