PACIFIC 10 BASKETBALL / DAN HAFNER : Revived Arizona Vows No Early Collapse

A little more than a month ago, it seemed almost certain Arizona’s dominance of the Pacific 10 Conference was over.

A weak Washington team humiliated the Wildcats, who were 6-3 at the halfway point. Arizona had a tough schedule ahead, including games at Stanford and California and a home game against UCLA, already two games ahead in the standings.

Eight games later, the Wildcats still have only three conference losses, have clinched a share of their sixth title in seven years and look like a stronger team than a year ago when they won the title with a 17-1 record.

Although Chris Mills and Ed Stokes, two powerful performers, are gone from the 1992-93 team, the memory of losing to Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA tournament is not forgotten.

To be the Pac-10’s No. 1 representative, Arizona must defeat Arizona State at Tempe on Saturday, and although last year’s tournament disaster is not forgotten, the players are not dwelling on it.

“I don’t care about whether we’re one of the seeded teams,” guard Damon Stoudamire said. “We learned that on any given day, any team good enough to be there can beat you. This time, I can assure you we’ll be ready to play.”

Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves make up one of the country’s best backcourts, but it was not until the big men, Joseph Blair, Ray Owes and Kevin Flanagan, started contributing that the Wildcats (25-4 and 14-3 in league play) reached their potential.

In winning their last eight games, Arizona has overwhelmed most of its opponents. In six of the victories, it won by at least 13 points. The Wildcats defeated Cal by 19, USC by 33 and UCLA by 24.

Coach Bill Frieder of Arizona State said this is Olson’s finest coaching job.

“He’s had better talent, but this is the best team he’s had since I came out here (1989),” Frieder said. “My top teams at Michigan were led by guards and he has two of the best in the country. This team can go a long way in the NCAA.”

The seventh-ranked Wildcats will earn the conference title outright by defeating Arizona State, but in a three-way tie Cal would be the league’s No. 1 representative.

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Arizona, Cal and UCLA are a cinch to be in the NCAA tournament, and a fourth team could be determined tonight at Pullman, Wash.

Stanford, which has improved from last year’s 2-16 in the conference to 9-7, would practically assure itself of a berth by sweeping its final two games in Washington. Mike Montgomery’s much-improved Cardinal (16-9 overall) is battling Washington State (18-10, 8-8) for a possible berth and would have a chance by beating them, assuring itself of no worse than a tie for fourth.

“This is the big weekend for us,” Washington State Coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Fortunately, we are coming into (the) game playing the best basketball of the season.

“We hit a slump when Mark Hendrickson was out, but he is back and we are at a peak. We know Stanford will be ready.”

“The way I see it is that if we beat Stanford, we should be in the tournament. If we beat both (California on Saturday) we are a cinch.”

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The fans at Berkeley, with the banner “Don’t Go,” and the chant, “one more year,” let sophomore Jason Kidd and junior Lamond Murray know how they felt. But the Cal players haven’t let on what they plan to do.

Kidd, who almost certainly will be named the conference’s most valuable player, said he wasn’t sure what he would do. Murray said he didn’t want to discuss it until the season ends.

“I haven’t had a chance to sit down and think about whether I’m leaving,” Kidd said. “I’m going to talk to lots of people, but it will be my decision.”

Pacific 10 Notes

Lamond Murray, who some coaches think should be co-player of the year with Jason Kidd, was conference player of the week for the third time. Murray had 44 points and 12 rebounds in Cal’s sweep of the Oregon schools. . . . In the tight race for scoring honors, Murray is averaging 24.111 points to 24.103 for Arizona guard Khalid Reeves.