Pac-10 Putting Up Impressive Numbers

While much of the Pacific 10’s national attention has been focused on UCLA and its problems, the conference’s other teams have quietly made their mark.

Led by No. 24 Oregon (9-0), the Pacific 10 has compiled the third-best preconference record (63-22, .741 winning percentage) since it became a 10-team league in 1978-79. No. 9 Arizona (6-2) and No. 23 Stanford (7-1) have performed up to preseason expectations, while California (8-2) and Washington (7-1) appear capable of cracking the national rankings.

In 1990-91, Pacific 10 teams compiled an 82-25 preconference record (.773) and the league had four representatives in the NCAA tournament (Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and USC) and the NIT champion (Stanford). In 1994-95, Pacific 10 teams had a 72-25 record (.742) before conference play, with UCLA winning the national championship and four other teams (Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and Stanford) reaching the NCAA tournament.

The Pacific 10’s preconference winning percentage is fourth to the Atlantic Coast (.833), Big 10 (.789) and Big 12 (.783).

Pacific 10 teams won four of seven games Saturday, with Oregon beating Oregon State, 66-64, in the championship game of the Far West Classic in Portland. Here’s how Pac-10 teams, excluding UCLA, USC and Washington (idle), did:

No. 9 Arizona 118, Robert Morris 54--The Wildcats set a school record for victory margin in the Fiesta Bowl Classic at Tucson. Arizona will play Penn (3-2), a 71-63 winner over Florida (6-5), in Monday’s championship game.

Forward Bennett Davidson, a junior college transfer, scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first to help the Wildcats take a 65-33 lead at halftime lead. In one 26-second span he stole the ball and scored on breakaway dunks.

Another junior college transfer, Jason Lee, had 15 points in his first game for Arizona. Lee was expected to redshirt until Coach Lute Olson began to worry about the academic loss of Miles Simon and injuries.

Robert Morris (1-6) had no double figure scorers.

No. 23 Stanford 85, Navy 68--Center Tim Young scored 25 points and Arthur Lee, starting at point guard in place of the ailing Brevin Knight, had 18 for the Cardinal in its home-court victory.

Young, coming off a career-high 31 points in an overtime victory against Seton Hall, also had 15 of Stanford’s 37 rebounds.

Knight, battling flu, didn’t start for the first time in 93 games at Stanford. He played only 12 minutes, scoring six points, all on free throws.

Michael Heary had 25 points for Navy (6-5).

No. 24 Oregon 66, Oregon State 64--Guard Kenya Wilkins’ 10-foot jumper with 4.8 seconds left provided the decisive points for the Ducks in what could have been the final game of the 40-year-old Far West Classic. Neither school wants a continuation of the tournament.

Wilkins, who scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, dribbled the ball into the key and made the soft jumper for the game-winning basket.

Guard Carson Cunningham, one of four freshman who play regularly for Oregon State (4-5), missed a running 15-footer at the buzzer. Freshman guard Ron Grady had tied the score, 64-64, for the Beavers on a three-point basket with 15 seconds left.

Oregon and Oregon State open their Pacific 10 season next Saturday at Corvallis.

California 86, Howard 61--Guard Ed Gray scored 24 points for the Bears in their tournament at Berkeley.

California, which plays Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (6-4) in the championship game today, was without starting point guard Prentice McGruder, who was suspended one game for violating team rules.

Forward Tony Gonzalez, who played tight end in Cal’s 42-38 loss to Navy in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day, scored six points in eight minutes.

Cal has a better preconference record than last season’s highly regarded team led by since-departed Shareef Abdur-Rahim, which was 6-4.

Howard (0-7) made all 20 of its free throws.

St. Bonaventure 68, Arizona State 57--The Bonnies (6-2) held the Sun Devils (7-4) without a field goal for two spans covering 15:22 in the championship game of the Tribune Classic at Tempe, Ariz.

Freshman guard Eddie House had 17 points for Arizona State, which lost in the championship game of its tournament for the second consecutive year after winning the previous 14.

Georgia 64, Washington State 61--Guard Isaac Fontaine missed a 25-foot shot at the buzzer as the Cougars (7-2) fell to the Bulldogs (9-1) in the first round of the Rainbow Classic at Honolulu.

Georgia trailed 59-56 with 2:16 left reserves Derrick Dukes and Eric DeYoung followed with baskets that put the Bulldogs ahead for good.

Fontaine led all scorers with 20 points.

OTHER TOP 25 GAMES

No. 3 Kentucky 81, Ohio State 65--Guard Derek Anderson, who transferred from Ohio State in 1994, had 22 points for the Wildcats (10-1) in the first game of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Shootout in Cleveland.

The game was delayed twice in the first half for several minutes when a foul was given to the wrong team and Ohio State (5-4) was given credit on the scoreboard for a Kentucky basket. Pitino ran onto the court to get the referees to stop the game so the scoreboard could be changed.

The game had to be stopped again in the second half because of a scorekeeping error. With the Buckeyes getting ready to shoot a free throw and the scoreboard reading Kentucky 63, Ohio State 56, Pitino came running over to the scoreboard operator yelling, “Are you sure about the score?”

Turned out Ohio State’s Otis Winston was given credit for a three-point basket on a high-arcing baseline jumper taken inside the line. The point was taken away.

“Guys, it’s not how high you shoot the ball that determines the three,” Pitino told the scorekeeping crew.

No. 7 Cincinnati 81, Western Kentucky 57--Forward Danny Fortson had 24 points and the Bearcats (5-2) used a 16-0 run in the second half to pull away from the Hilltoppers (5-3) in the second game of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Shootout in Cleveland.

Cincinnati, the preseason No. 1 team which fell from that spot after consecutive losses to Xavier and Kansas, led by as many as 28 points in the second half.

No. 10 Villanova 75, Rider 61--Freshman center Tim Thomas had 16 points and five steals as the Wildcats (9-10 continued their dominance of the undermanned Broncs (3-5) at Villanova, Pa.

Villanova has won 13 consecutive games and 21 of 22 in the series with Rider, which posted its only victory in 1944.

Thomas had seven points and three steals in a 19-8 run midway in the second half that gave the Wildcats their biggest lead at 66-48.

Villanova, with a frontline that often averages 6 feet 10, had nine blocked shots. Rider’s biggest player, 6-foot-9 freshman center Ken Lacey, had 19 points. “It was kind of funny to see so many guys that big,” Lacey said. “At times I felt like was a pinball.”

No. 13 Indiana 72, Valparaiso 51--Forward Andrae Patterson had 20 points and nine rebounds as the Hoosiers (13-1) won their holiday tournament at Indianapolis for the 15th consecutive year.

Valparaiso (7-2), a participant in last season’s NCAA tournament, had its winning streak ended at seven. Leading scorer Bryce Drew was held to 10 points.

No. 14 New Mexico 75, Mississippi 64--Backup center Ben Baum scored a career-high 18 points to bail out the foul-plagued Lobos (11-1) against the Rebels (7-2) in the championship game of their tournament at Albuquerque.

Baum, who had a total of 23 points in New Mexico’s first 11 games, entered the game after starting center Kenny Thomas and leading scorer Charles Smith each picked up three fouls in the first 10 1/2 minutes.

Baum made his first five shots, was eight of 10 for the game and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 17,421 when Thomas finally returned with 12:06 left in the game. Baum had been a backup to Bryant “Big Country” Reeves at Oklahoma State before transferring to New Mexico.

Forward Clayton Shields scored 19 points and became the 19th New Mexico player to go over 1,000.

No. 15 Minnesota 104, Long Island 84--The Golden Gophers (10-1), coming off an 80-point victory over Alabama State, led by as many as 39 points at Minneapolis.

Minnesota shot 61% and had five players score in double figures, led by forward Sam Jacobson’s 18 points. The Gophers led, 57-37, at halftime and had a 21-3 run to open the second half.

Long Island is 3-5. Guard Charles Jones, the nation’s second-leading scorer with a 27.6 average, had 28 points.

Long Island assistant coach Julius Allen and junior forward Jason Cragan both were thrown out of the game in the second half after Cragan was involved in a shoving match with Minnesota reserve forward Miles Tarver.

Allen, who was ejected after a heated exchange with the referee, was running the team in place of Coach Ray Haskins, who missed the game because of a family emergency.

Santa Clara 77, No. 19 Alabama 62--The Crimson Tide (10-2) lost for the second time in as many nights in the Cable Car Classic in San Jose.

Guard Craig Johnson, a junior college transfer, had 16 points and eight rebounds for Santa Clara (6-6).

Alabama’s leading scorer Eric Washington had 19 points, but only two in the second half in which his team was outscored, 44-32. The Crimson Tide lost, 60-59, in overtime to San Jose State Friday night.

No. 20 Texas Tech 77, Wyoming 74--Guard Cory Carr had 23 points, including five free throws in the final 53 seconds, as the Red Raiders (8-2) bounced back from Friday’s 122-105 loss to New Mexico State in the third-place game of the Cowboy Shootout in Casper, Wyo.

Guard LaDrell Whitehead had 34 points, 27 in the second half, for Wyoming (3-7).

No. 22 Arkansas 92, Southern Utah 52--The Razorbacks (6-2) led 47-15 at halftime at Fayetteville, Ark., in their rout of the Thunderbirds (2-7), who suited up only seven players because of injuries and illness.

It was the lowest first-half point total by an Arkansas opponent since Mississippi had 14 in 1987.

OTHER GAMES

Seven-foot center Michael Olowokandi had 16 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as Pacific (8-1) was a surprising 73-56 winner over Georgetown (8-2) in Las Vegas. The game originally was scheduled for Halifax, Nova Scotia. On Dec. 11, the promoter, Peach Basket Productions, notified Pacific that it had become insolvent. The game was then moved to Las Vegas and was played at the Thomas & Mack Center as the first game of a doubleheader that included USC-Nevada Las Vegas. . . . Cal Poly San Luis Obispo overcame a 33-point performance by freshman guard Donnie Carr--the nation’s leading scorer--in a 78-71 victory over LaSalle (3-4) in the Golden Bear Classic at Berkeley. . . . New Mexico State (6-4) had four players score in double figures in a 91-78 victory over Southern Illinois (6-4) for the championship of the Cowboy Shootout in Casper, Wyo.

Princeton (7-3) spoiled Texas El Paso Coach Don Haskins’ 1,000th college game with a 76-64 victory over the Miners (6-3) at El Paso. Haskins is 684-316 in 35 seasons at Texas El Paso. . . . Guard Shea Seals had 28 points to lead Tulsa (8-3) to a 78-75 victory over Oklahoma (8-2) in the championship game of the All-College Tournament at Oklahoma City. Oklahoma guard Corey Brewer had 27 points, including a school-record 18 free throws. . . . Baylor (10-1), with a 65-56 victory over Northwest Louisiana (4-5), increased its win streak to 10 and is off to its best start since 1945-46. . . . Northeast Louisiana (3-6), which had three starters suspended by Coach Mike Vining before the game, was an 83-80 winner over Houston (6-4) at Monroe, La.

Louisiana State (6-6) rallied from a 22-point first-half deficit in a 79-75 victory over Fresno State (7-4) at Baton Rouge, La. LSU forward Louis Earl had 23 points, including two free throws with four seconds left. Fresno State had entered the game ranked sixth nationally in scoring with 90.5 points a game but shot 27% in a 31-point second half. The Bulldogs are 2-4 in a 10-game road trip. . . . Senior forward Jerald Honeycutt scored a career-high 36 points for Tulane (6-5) in a 92-73 victory over Lafayette (4-6) at New Orleans. Tulane’s other forward Rayshard Allen had 18 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists, the first time in school history that a player reached double figures in all three categories.

Auburn senior guard Wes Flannigan became the school 22nd player to score 1,000 points in the Tigers’ 95-57 victory over Florida A&M; (0-7) in the Capital City Classic at Tallahassee, Fla. Auburn is 8-4. . . . Arkansas Little Rock forward Muntrelle Dobbins also became a 1,000-point scorer with 25 as the Trojans (6-3) were 89-73 home-court winners over Lamar (5-4) in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams. . . . Georgia Tech (5-4) went scoreless for a span of 8:26 in the second half in a 67-55 loss to St. John’s (5-4) in the championship game of ECAC Holiday Festival in New York. Georgia Tech shot 24% in the second half and missed 17 of 20 three-point shots for the game.

Virginia (7-3) opened the game with 26-5 in a 95-47 victory over Radford (5-5) at Charlottesville, Va. The Cavaliers had a 58-25 rebounding advantage, including 24 on the offensive end. . . . Florida State (7-1) held Marist (0-7) to 21% shooting and 13 points in the first half of a 76-48 victory at Tallahassee, Fla. . . . Missouri (7-4) committed 27 turnovers in an 85-69 loss to Illinois (10-2) at Kiel Center in St. Louis. The crowd of 22,371 was the largest ever for a basketball game in Missouri.