If things were identical to, say, the Mountain West Conference, Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson might have felt more sense of urgency. But you play 18 games in a Pac-10 season, a lifetime when you consider all the possible shifts in momentum.

"I think too much can be made out of just one game," Olson before his Wildcats beat Oregon 81-72 in the Pac-10 opener for both schools Thursday. "It might be different if it was 14 games ... We've had tough opening games before and there are obvious ramifications, but it's not like we're going to make this a do-or-die situation."

	Rick Anderson filled in admirably for ailing Arizona star Luke Walton.

Still ... what an opener.

The teams that used non-conference schedules to prove themselves the class of the Pac-10 clashed to open league play when No. 4 Arizona visited No. 7 Oregon. It was the first time since 1974-75 that McArthur Court hosted two Top 10 teams, and Arizona ended Oregon's school record-tying home win streak at 23 games.

"There is no question our (non-conference) schedule has prepared us for the Pac-10 season," said Oregon coach Ernie Kent, who took his team from one coast to the next and matched it against the likes of Kansas, Minnesota and Cincinnati. "If somebody is going to sit down at the end of the year and say, 'Oregon played a tough early schedule' and then reward us for it with (a high NCAA Tournament seed), I'll say the schedule was worth doing."

Olson hoped to bring a healthy team to Eugene, but senior forward Luke Walton sat out after re-injuring his right ankle in a win against Boston University on Monday. That, coupled with the early injuries that set sophomore guard Salim Stoudamire behind schedule, means you can paint the Wildcats a team not completely in sync.

"(Walton and Stoudamire) have been in and out so much during the (non-conference)," said Olson. "But you can also find a silver lining in the fact our freshmen have logged more minutes than they normally would have. I think that will really help them in terms of playing in this conference. All in all, I think we have made good progress."

This much is certain: The Pac-10 is about Arizona and Oregon and then everyone else.

The teams that appear most capable of staying close to the top are Stanford, Arizona State and Cal. Take away losses to Montana and Richmond in its own tournament, and Stanford (with an RPI of No. 2, second only to Arizona) has done an admirable job making up for the losses of Casey Jacobsen and Curtis Borchardt to the NBA.

"Sometimes we look real good and other times we are inconsistent and our youth can get us in trouble," said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. "I do think there are several teams capable of stepping up and playing with Arizona and Oregon."

ASU could be one. Rob Evans has his team off to an 8-3 start and offers one of the nation's top freshman in forward Ike Diogu (18.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg). A schedule strength rating of 21 certainly prepared ASU for conference play.

"Obviously, Arizona and Oregon are playing top-10 basketball and the rest of us are trying to search and feel out just what kind of teams we have," said Evans. "A lot of teams have youngsters who need to grow up fast. I still think this is a very strong league."

Some will debate that, considering the Pac-10 is ranked eighth among the nation's conferences today, behind the Mountain West and Conference USA. It also doesn't help a league's image when a team (UCLA) thought before the season to be among the top three has already lost to University of San Diego, Northern Arizona and Michigan at home.

"I still like the prospects and balance of our team," said Bruins coach Steve Lavin. "But we have struggled. We knew that losing Dan Gadzuric and Matt Barnes and Billy Knight and Rico Hines would make things difficult. But it's a challenge and that is why you coach. You have to rebuild and reload and find that chemistry that is so allusive."

One of the better early records belongs to Oregon State (7-2) and first-year coach Jay John. The Beavers scheduled extremely soft and found success, an important first step in trying to rebuild a once-proud tradition. USC (4-3) and the two Washington schools (each 5-4) haven't done enough yet to think any will contend for a top five conference finish.

Games of the Week

Stanford at California Saturday Despite some forgettable stumbles, the Cardinal enters conference play with a 9-3 record and ever-improving numbers from forwards Josh Childress and Justin Davis. Cal (7-2) began the season well, but has slipped a bit of late with a 13-point loss to Kansas and an overtime victory against West Coast Conference member San Francisco. Nevada at Tulsa Saturday The Wolf Pack was considered a top-five WAC team when the season began, but a 5-5 non-league record has many questioning how high they can really finish. Nevada had won three straight entering its conference opener at Rice on Thursday, and if it can win there a more serious test awaits against the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa, already 0-1 in conference, will be more than hungry for a win. Texas Tech at San Diego State Monday The season's first Big Monday on ESPN brings Bob Knight and his No. 22 Red Raiders to Cox Arena, where the host Aztecs had won five straight entering Friday's home game against Loyola Marymount. The teams met last season in Lubbock, where Tech beat SDSU 81-71. It's another rematch of former Big Ten coaches in Knight and Steve Fisher.

King of the Mountain?
Mountain West teams are feeling good about themselves, and for obvious reasons. The league that secured three NCAA Tournament bids last season has a conference power rating of 6 and just one team (New Mexico at 4-6) with a losing record.

Non-conference wins include Utah over No. 1 Alabama and Arizona State; Wyoming over No. 22 Texas Tech and South Carolina; Colorado State over South Carolina; San Diego State over Hawaii; and BYU over ASU.

"Those kind of wins will hopefully help us nationally in terms of credibility when we start beating up on each other in conference," said SDSU coach Steve Fisher. "And hopefully, that will help us get three teams in the NCAA Tournament again."

There is no question the league's scope changed when Wyoming lost senior forward Marc Bailey for the season. The Mountain West's preseason player of the year had surgery on his injured knee this week.

Bailey's absence makes ultra-athletic Nevada-Las Vegas (8-2) the favorite entering conference play. The Rebels offer one of the best senior combinations in point guard Marcus Banks (18.8 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.3 spg) and forward Dalron Johnson (15.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg).

But that's not to say Charlie Spoonhour's team will waltz to a title.

Wyoming still has one of best big men out West in senior Uche Nsonwu-Amadi and the sturdy homecourt advantage of Laramie; BYU has looked extremely strong except for a forgettable loss at San Francisco; Utah has star forward/leading scorer Britton Johnsen back early from an injured thumb and an inside presence with Tim Front and Cameron Koford it lacked last season; few if any teams will want to play SDSU come March now that the Aztecs have their entire roster eligible; Colorado State already has 10 wins; and no one will have an easy time with hot-shooting Air Force.

How tough is this league top to bottom? New Mexico could finish last. 'Nuff said.

WAC Attack

Thinking was, the Western Athletic Conference would again be decided between Tulsa and Hawaii.

Then came Wednesday night.

Whether or not it is a sign of things to come this season, Fresno State's 74-65 conference-opening upset of Tulsa certainly proves it's not a two-team race.

Not yet, anyway.

Odds still favor the Rainbow Warriors (7-1) and Golden Hurricane (7-3) being at or near the top come conference tournament time. Why? Already, five of the 10 conference teams have non-winning records, a good reason why the WAC has a power rating of 12.

But under first-year coach Ray Lopes, Fresno State (8-2) had shown enough to believe the Bulldogs can stay in the race. They have certainly slipped ahead of Louisiana Tech, Nevada, Rice and SMU in the pecking order.

A good sleeper pick is Rice (7-2). The Owls are much improved from last season and have an outstanding player in forward Michael Harris (14.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg); Tulsa's loss at Fresno State affords Hawaii the nod for best team today. Carl English leads the league in scoring at 20.0 and would be the best guard in more conferences than just the WAC; Louisiana Tech and Nevada, thought highly of in many circles before the season, have stumbled through inconsistent non-conference results.

But one loss does not take the shine completely off Tulsa, who many believe is better than last year's 27-win team.

Said one WAC coach: "The team to beat, no question."

Fresno State might have something to say about that. At least for now.

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