http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-pac-10-basketball-20101228,0,7853888.story
Job 1 for the Pac-10: Find, restore missing mojo in men's hoops
Creative Artists Agency, please help! Pacific 10 basketball has lost more than games — it has lost its luster. The conference could be left out of the final rankings for a second consecutive season. Still, some see glimmers of hope.
Good thing the Pacific 10 Conference hired Creative Artists Agency as part of its image makeover, because it could take some imagination to put a positive spin on the state of the conference's basketball teams.
Among the possible slogans heading into the start of conference play Wednesday:
The Pac-10: We're no longer behind the Colonial Athletic Assn. in RPI
The Pac-10: We may be 0-2 against Montana, but we own Montana State
The Pac-10: No need to waste part of your Mondays checking for us in the rankings
No Pac-10 team appears in the Associated Press rankings for a third consecutive week, raising the possibility that the conference could be left out of the final rankings for a second consecutive season. Before last season, that had not happened since 1949.
The conference was so bad last season that Arizona State went 12-6 in Pac-10 play, won 22 games . . . and still didn't get into the NCAA tournament.
An anomaly? More like a trend.
The conference is 5-13 against ranked teams this season and has fared only marginally better against unranked opponents. UCLA lost to Montana. Arizona State lost to Richmond. USC lost to Rider — by 20 points. And Oregon State hit a troubling trifecta, losing to Montana, Utah Valley and Texas Southern.
Job 1 for the Pac-10: Find, restore missing mojo in men's hoops
Creative Artists Agency, please help! Pacific 10 basketball has lost more than games — it has lost its luster. The conference could be left out of the final rankings for a second consecutive season. Still, some see glimmers of hope.
Good thing the Pacific 10 Conference hired Creative Artists Agency as part of its image makeover, because it could take some imagination to put a positive spin on the state of the conference's basketball teams.
Among the possible slogans heading into the start of conference play Wednesday:
The Pac-10: We're no longer behind the Colonial Athletic Assn. in RPI
The Pac-10: We may be 0-2 against Montana, but we own Montana State
The Pac-10: No need to waste part of your Mondays checking for us in the rankings
No Pac-10 team appears in the Associated Press rankings for a third consecutive week, raising the possibility that the conference could be left out of the final rankings for a second consecutive season. Before last season, that had not happened since 1949.
The conference was so bad last season that Arizona State went 12-6 in Pac-10 play, won 22 games . . . and still didn't get into the NCAA tournament.
An anomaly? More like a trend.
The conference is 5-13 against ranked teams this season and has fared only marginally better against unranked opponents. UCLA lost to Montana. Arizona State lost to Richmond. USC lost to Rider — by 20 points. And Oregon State hit a troubling trifecta, losing to Montana, Utah Valley and Texas Southern.
