Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson says you shouldn't prepare any differently and Arizona State's Rob Evans says there hasn't been enough time to introduce your entire offensive and defensive sets and Washington's Bob Bender says he'd prefer to begin after all non-conference games are played and so on and so on and so on.

And none of it matters.

It's the first week of a new year and Pac-10 basketball has already tipped off. There isn't time for varying opinions any more.

	UCLA and Matt Barnes took two in Washington before the new year, as the Pac-10 pushed up its schedule to accommodate its postseason tournament.

The league that hasn't featured a postseason tournament since 1990 will do so again in March, a fact that pushed several conference games into December.

"I don't think there is any question things are a bit different this year with the schedule," said Evans. "In the past, we could get everything we wanted in before Christmas break. It wasn't that way this year. But it is the same for everyone."

UCLA, USC and Oregon all began conference play 2-0, with the most impressive win coming via the Ducks. Ernie Kent's team routed Arizona 105-75 in Eugene on Dec. 22. If anything, the score sent a message of parity throughout the conference.

As in, there is a lot more of it this season.

UCLA was a near-unanimous preseason pick to win a league title, but the Bruins displayed enough non-conference inconsistency (losses to Pepperdine and Ball State, one-point win against UC Irvine) to suggest they will not run away and hide. Not at all.

Arizona gets a chance to avenge the blowout at Oregon when it hosts the Ducks on Friday; USC is 10-2 overall, but like its cross-town rival, has looked vulnerable against inferior skill; Stanford is 7-2 and just beat Michigan State, but far too often teammates stand and watch junior wing Casey Jacobsen play.

Evans said last month how important he felt it was to begin conference play strongly. His team is 0-2. So too are the Washington schools, while Oregon State is 1-1; Cal has shown flashes in a 9-1 start and opens league with consecutive games against Stanford this week, but the Bears lost by 20 at South Florida.

"It's going to be a very grueling conference race again," said Kent. "Maybe even moreso this year."

But will it be as good come tournament time?

The Pac-10 is currently ranked No. 2 in RPI behind the SEC, but there are too many questions at this point to guarantee a repeat of recent success. Remember: The Pac-10 is 58-33 in NCAA Tournament play the last eight seasons and last year advanced four teams into the Sweet 16 and three into the Elite Eight.

It hasn't been good in March. It has been second-to-none.

And now, with the return of a conference tournament, Pac-10 officials are asking the best teams who earned their place over 18 games to risk high NCAA seeds, to travel more and prepare more and play more. They are asking teams that deserve the best chance at maneuvering through an NCAA bracket to compete immediately before the selection committee finishes its work.

"I still think UCLA has to be the favorite in conference," Olson said. "I know we have played the toughest schedule in the country, and how that will ultimately project into the conference race, I don't know. I will leave that to the brighter minds of media guys as to what should be expected from us and everyone else."

Games of the Week

Oregon at Arizona Friday The wacky Pac-10 schedule already offers the Wildcats a return game from their 30-point loss in Eugene a few weeks ago. The only spot Arizona won as a matchup then was at center, where freshman Channing Frye continues to develop. He combined for 36 points and 25 rebounds against the Ducks and Oregon State in a trip the Wildcats split. A win would push Oregon to a 3-0 start in conference. Balance continues to define the Ducks, who offer four players averaging between 10.1 and 15.8 points. Tulsa at Fresno State Saturday It is early, but the Bulldogs have already dropped a conference game at Hawaii. Now, they get a Tulsa squad that enters the week 9-2, gave Kansas fits in an eight-point game and opens league play at Nevada on Thursday. Melvin Ely has returned at center for Fresno State, which still must be considered the conference favorite now that Ely has again joined the lineup and junior-college point guard Chris Sandy is eligible. Tulsa leads the WAC in field-goal percentage, 3-point shooting and free-throw shooting. Stanford at Cal Sunday The teams actually open conference play in Berkeley on Friday, and this week would seem more important for the Bears. Cal thinks it's good enough to compete for a top three spot in league, and there is no better team to prove your worth against than the three-time defending champion. The Bears, led by guard Joe Shipp's 14.9 scoring average, need at least a split against their rival. Stanford continues to get a solid effort at both ends from center Curtis Borchardt (16.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg).

Wide Open Mountain West
Suddenly, the conference that again seemed destined for one NCAA Tournament bid is playing like it wants more.

And maybe deserves it.

Maybe.

Mountain West teams began the season 32-26 against non-conference opponents, but have since gone 29-4 over the past three weeks. Four teams -- BYU (35), New Mexico (41), Utah (42) and San Diego State (47) -- sit among the Top 50 in RPI.

It's appropriate that conference play begins with preseason favorite Wyoming visiting Nevada-Las Vegas on Saturday. You can roll the dice on this league race. There is no sure thing, no team that has separated itself during non-league play.

It's a gamble, identifying the top two or three teams.

Or even the best one, for that matter.

"There's going to be a lot of hand-to-hand combat," said New Mexico coach Fran Fraschilla. "A lot of teams are good enough to go 5-2 or 6-1 and possibly 7-0 at home, but the one that can go 4-3 on the road has the best chance of winning it all.

"Two years ago, we won road games at San Diego State and Air Force and our RPI dropped 30 spots. That's not the case any more. If you win on the road now, your RPI is going to be helped because the league is much stronger top to bottom."

And the possibility of an at-large NCAA berth has been saved by some quality wins recently.

BYU beat Stanford. SDSU beat Fresno State. Utah beat Texas.

Preseason results define the league as many did a few months ago -- several capable teams, and yet no one dominating side. Wyoming is 9-4, but has a current RPI near the 200s and lost at Boise State; New Mexico will win several games with its guard play alone, but its post presence is still in the developing stages; Utah just lost leading scorer and rebounder Chris Burgess for at least a month to injury; SDSU is the league's most improved team and one of its most athletic, but has yet to prove it can win away from home consistently; BYU is much better than the team picked to finish sixth, but it's unknown how the Cougars will react over 14 conference games.

"I think there is a little separation after Wyoming, BYU, Utah, New Mexico and San Diego State," said first-year UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour, whose 7-4 team has one of the league's top newcomers in guard Marcus Banks. "It's good for the league that we have picked things up after the slow start. No matter what, it's still going to boil down to things like winning on the road and injuries and illness. It's just a lot tougher in conference because of the adjustments people make."

WAC Attack is Back
Rod Jensen and his Boise State team is new to Western Athletic Conference play, but the Broncos' coach thinks he has a good grasp of the foreign surroundings.

"Every night we're going to see a good team that is well-coached," Jensen said. "There are no teams that are so-called 'off the map,' that you should beat."

There are if you play for Tulsa or Fresno State or Hawaii.

They are the top three teams in a conference that has already begun, with Hawaii, SMU and Louisiana Tech all jumping to 2-0 starts. Nine of 10 coaches voted for Fresno State to win a regular-season title, and while the Bulldogs' non-league schedule has been defined by more off-court news than on-court results, nothing suggests that prediction won't play out.

Jerry Tarkanian's team finally has its full compliment of players, with center Melvin Ely back from suspension and junior-college point guard Chris Sandy eligible. Now, Travis DeManby, mired in a shooting slump, can play his natural off-guard spot. Also, the signature man-defense that lacked in recent weeks appears to be returning.

"Top to bottom, the competition is as good as any conference in the country," says UTEP coach Jason Rabedeaux, who assisted in the Pac-10 and Big 12 and whose team is 5-8 overall and 0-2 in league. "I've always maintained that (the WAC) is underrated. I don't like to use the term underrated, but it's a term that the public understands."

Save Ely, it is not a league with many dominant big men, but every team offers athletic players who define the conference's offensive-minded and up-tempo approach. It's tough to get a handle on some of the better teams, especially Tulsa.

The Golden Hurricane is talented enough to win the conference, but it also couldn't hold its home court in the WAC Tournament last season. Another opportunity arrives in March.

A possible sleeper: First-year member Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs beat Auburn and fell by just four points to Oklahoma and by eight to Iowa. Now, they have opened conference play with wins against UTEP and Boise State.

Darrian Brown is a transfer from Mississippi who's averaging 14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds. If senior guard Gerrod Henderson finds his scoring touch, Louisiana Tech could challenge for a top three spot.

And there is Hawaii, the surprise winner of last year's conference tournament. Riley Wallace's team has also returned all its key parts from varying suspensions and is 11-2 overall with early conference victories against Fresno State and Nevada.

"This is a very good basketball conference," Tarkanian said. "There are some great players and great coaches in the conference. There is real good balance in the league once again."

Who's Hot
Marcus Banks: He is not only one of the nation's quickest with the ball from one end of the court to the next, this UNLV junior is also showing an ability to score (17.3 ppg).

Dan Dickau: Intelligent, savvy, skillful and now clutch. Gonzaga's senior point guard has it all.

Who's Not
Washington schools: If each get swept in Los Angeles this weekend -- a very real possibility -- they're out of the Pac-10 race before Jan. 6. Think about that.

Chris Burgess: You have to feel for Utah's senior center, whose career just can't seem to avoid these road blocks.

Quote to Note
"He is very good. He is very active. He has a lively body and is a tough matchup. He can shoot the 3-pointer, put the ball on the floor, get offensive rebounds, run the floor. He would be a really good player in the ACC. He would be a really good player for us."
-- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on San Diego State forward Randy Holcomb, who went for 22 points and 15 rebounds in SDSU's 92-79 loss in Durham.

Thought for the Day
So the Pac-10 tournament will keep its bottom two teams home from the party. Since when is eighth place more deserving than ninth?

Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com.