Jerome Randle is the Pac-10 Player of the Year and a major key to victory for Cal.
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The Pacific Life Pac-10 men's basketball Tournament begins Thursday night at Staples Center with California as the prohibitive favorite.

There a few important differences between this tournament and the ones held in the past. Instead of two opening round
games, there will be just one, and, instead of last year's champions
trying to fend off their rivals on the court, the USC Trojans will have
to buy a ticket or watch on television because of self-imposed sanctions to the program.

Even
without the local Trojans, the tournament will assuredly be
action-packed as the nine teams competing have
battled each other throughout the season in one of the tighest
conference races in the country.

The
Neon Tommy Sports staff previews the tournament below, including record,
key players, recent play and tournament
outlooks for each team. USC coach Kevin O'Neill was also gracious enough to take the
time to discuss each of the teams.

1. Cal Golden Bears

Coach: Mike Montgomery (2nd season)
Record: 21-9 (13-5)

Players to Watch: PG Jerome Randle (senior), SG Patrick Christopher (senior)
Signature Wins: Arizona State (twice), Pacific, Murray State
 
Coach's Keys:
"Their biggest two strengths, to me, are veteran players and shooting.
I think they're a really, really good shooting team. It looks like
they're playing their best basketball of the year right now. So I think
they're a legitimate team." - USC coach Kevin O'Neill

Coming In:
The Golden Bears have won their last four games going into the
tournament. The team has only suffered two losses dating back to the
start of February.

Outlook: Cal enters as the
No. 1 seed and is considered the tournament favorite. A solid core of
seniors that includes Randle, Christopher, Jamal Boykin and Theo
Robertson headlines the roster.

Randle leads the Golden
Bears with 18.7 points per game and was named the Pac-10 Player of the
Year Monday. He is one of the toughest players in the conference to
stop. He is quick, elusive and once he gets hot...watch out. Randle can also salt the game away by making free throws at the end of the game. He is shooting nearly 93 percent from the line this season.

Cal presently ranks 20th in RPI, but
has no wins against top-50 teams. The Bears will rely heavily on 3-point shooting from Randle and Christopher throughout the
tournament. With an undersized frontcourt, Cal will use its speed and
outside shooting to carry them through the tournament.

2. Arizona State Sun Devils

Coach: Herb Sendek (4th season)
Record: 22-9 (12-6)

Players to Watch: PG Derek Glasser (senior), SG Ty Abbott (junior), C Eric Boateng (senior)
Signature Wins: San Diego State, Washington
 
Coach's Keys: "Arizona State plays great zone [defense]. They're playing great
basketball right now...They have veteran players and shooting. They, to
me, have, along with Cal, the best shooting in the league." - USC coach Kevin
O'Neill

Coming In: The Sun Devils have been on a roll lately, winning four of their last five games; including wins over USC, UCLA and Arizona.
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Outlook: Coach O'Neill is right. Arizona State is wicked from
beyond the arc. The Sun Devils lead the Pac-10 not only in 3-pointers
made, 8.2 per game, but also in 3-point percentage, 37.1 percent.
Amazingly, they have four starters -- Glasser, Abbott, Rihards Kuksiks
and Jamelle McMillan -- shooting over 37 percent from downtown.

The
Sun Devils aren't just about offense, though. Their zone defense has
been highly effective this season. Arizona State allows the
second-fewest points per game in the conference, 58.1, and limits
opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field. If Herb Sendek's squad has a weakness, it's rebounding. They're at the bottom of the Pac-10 in that department. 

Cal
has been a thorn in Arizona State's side this season, beating them in
both regular season games. If they square off again in the Pac-10
finale, look for a closely contested game, but a similar result. An appearance in the championship game may be enough to secure an
NCAA Tournament at-large bid though.

3. Washington Huskies

Coach: Lorenzo Romar (7th season)

Record: 21-9 (11-7)

Players to Watch: F Quincy Pondexter (senior), G Isaiah Thomas (soph.), F Matt Bryan-Amaning (junior)

Signature Wins: Texas A&M, Cal, Portland

Coach's Keys: "Washington has great, great talent. They can
score in bunches against you. They've got great quickness. I think
they're a team that, if they're on a roll, shooting the ball and
playing in transition, they're going to be tough to beat." - USC coach Kevin
O'Neill

Coming In: The Huskies closed their season with a four-game winning streak. They are 4-6 on the road.

Outlook: The Huskies come into the Pac-10 Tournament as
the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Oregon State. The game will be
a rematch of the season finale, when Washington beat the Beavers with Bryan-Amaning leading the way with a double-double.

Bryan-Amaning
has come on strong at the end of the season, scoring in double figures in
seven of the final eight games, but how well this team does depends on
the play of Pondexter. The 6'6" senior is second in the conference in scoring,
averaging 20.2 points per game.

The Huskies must keep
Pondexter and point guard Isaiah Thomas hot and play through their two stars in order to succeed. Both players are
solid passers who do a good job of penetrating and dishing. The Huskies will
also need to play more consistent team defense than they have shown at
times this season.

A trip to the tournament championship game is
most likely needed to get the Huskies an at-large bid, but they would
prefer to just cut down the Staples Center nets and take the automatic
bid.

4. Arizona Wildcats

Coach: Sean Miller (1st season)

Record: 16-14 (10-8)

Players to Watch: PG Nic Wise (senior), PF Derrick Williams (fresh.), G Kyle Fogg (soph.)

Signature Wins: Cal, Arizona State, Louisiana Tech

Coach's Keys: "Arizona [has a] veteran point guard in Nic Wise. Jamelle Horne's a guy
who's played a lot of minutes for a lot of years and [they have] really
good young players. Derrick Williams, to me, is the unmitigated rookie
of the year in the league. Without question." - USC coach Kevin
O'Neill

Coming In: After losing five of six, Arizona finished the season with wins over UCLA and a double-overtime thriller against USC.

Outlook: Arizona is a dangerous team. They have three guys -
Wise, Williams and Fogg - who can go for 20 points on any given night,
giving them arguably the most diversified offense in the Pac-10. As
potent as they are on offense, the Wildcats allow the most points per
game in the conference, 71.9, and have a hard time getting defensive
stops when they need them.

Defense and a lack of quality
non-conference wins are concerns for 'Zona, but first-year coach Sean
Miller has had success in the past in the NCAA tournament, which bodes
well for the Wildcats' Pac-10 tournament chances. So does Arizona's
schedule.

They open against UCLA, a team they swept this
season. Expect Fogg, who has averaged 25.5 points per game against the
Bruins this season, to shoot lights out and spur the 'Cats to victory. 

If they advance past UCLA, the Wildcats will likely play Cal,
the cream of the Pac-10. Arizona has appeared in 25 straight NCAA
tournaments. Anything less than a Pac-10 championship will see that
streak end.

5. Oregon State Beavers

Coach: Craig Robinson (2nd season)

Record: 14-16 (8-10)

Players to Watch: SF Seth Tarver (senior), SG Calvin Haynes (junior)

Signature Wins: Cal, Arizona (twice), South Dakota

Coach's Keys: "Their strength appears to be their 1-3-1 zone and
their depth. They have experience. They have a lot of guys that
have played a lot of minutes. As freshmen they may have got their ass
kicked and all that. But they're guys that have been through the wars
and are hardened, tough Pac-10 players." - USC coach Kevin
O'Neill

Coming In: Oregon State has won four of their last seven, including a win over top-seeded Cal, and wins at Arizona and USC.

Outlook: Oregon State faces a tough task in defeating
Washington, a team that has had their number this season. The Huskies have won the last six
matchups and 10 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams.

Washington's
desire to speed up the tempo and push the ball on the break has given
the Beavers trouble this season. Craig Robinson's squad would prefer to set up their 1-3-1 zone defense, rather than matching up man-to-man in transition.

While Seth Tarver, the Pac-10's
Defensive Player of the Year, can guard just about anyone on the court,
the rest of the Oregon State team doesn't have the athleticism to
otherwise match up.

Don't count the Beavers out though. They
will likely be in any game they play. They tend to take teams right down to the wire, having
lost only one conference contest by more than 12 points. The Beavers will have
to control the tempo as they don't have the offensive weapons that
other teams possess -- only Calvin Haynes is a legitimate scoring
threat.

6. UCLA Bruins

Coach: Ben Howland (7th season)

Record: 13-17 (8-10)

Players to Watch: F Tyler Honeycutt (fresh.), PG Macolm Lee (soph.)

Signature Wins: Cal, Arizona State, Washington

Coach's Keys: "If you don't
shoot well against their zone, they can beat you. They're a team that
scores the ball pretty well. And they're playing at home, they're
playing in L.A. So that's always a big help." - USC coach Kevin
O'Neill

Coming In: After previously winning four of five games, the Bruins have dropped six of their last eight, including three in a row.

Outlook: UCLA is holding out hope that they might find the
magic of years past and run the table at the Pac-10
Tournament to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. In order to beat
Arizona in their opening game, UCLA must stop Kyle Fogg and Jamelle
Horne from receiving open looks and must keep Nic Wise from penetrating
the Bruins' 2-3 zone.

If the Bruins get by Arizona, that would
set up a potential semi-final matchup with Cal,
a team they split the regular season series with.

The Bruins are also
building toward next year as they try to get the maximum number of
minutes for their young players in hopes that it will pay dividends in
the upcoming seasons. UCLA hopes to have the services of rugged
freshman forward Reeves Nelson, who missed the last four games
following an eye injury suffered against Washington, in the tournament.

7. Stanford Cardinal

Coach: Johnny Dawkins (2nd season)

Record: 13-17 (7-11)

Players to Watch: SF Landry Fields (senior)

Signature Wins: Virginia, USC

Coach's Keys: "It's going to require a complete team effort, because we do not possess
the depth at some positions that other teams in this conference do. For
us, our ability to execute defensively while controlling tempo is a big
key. In the games that we have won down the stretch, we have played
very well defensively." - Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins

Coming In: Stanford has lost three straight games coming into the tournament after having won three of four prior.

Outlook: The Cardinal, like much of the Pac-10, have had a down year. Stanford
is a combined 0-6 against California, Arizona and Arizona State this
season. That statistic does not bode well heading into the tournament.

Senior Landry Fields has been a lone bright spot for the Cardinal,
leading the conference in points per game and coming in second in rebounds. He also leads Stanford in blocks and steals.

"I
don't think there is a player called upon to do more for his team than
Landry has had to do with us," Dawkins said. "The kid has
done pretty much
everything possible for his team."

But
Fields will need help from his supporting cast if the Cardinal hope to
make a splash in the Pac-10 tournament. Stanford has only beaten two teams with winning records this season
(USC and Washington State). With a relatively young roster, the
Cardinal will need to grow up fast when they face Arizona State in the
first round.

8. Oregon Ducks

Coach: Ernie Kent (13th season)

Record: 15-15 (7-11)

Players to Watch: SG Tajuan Porter (senior), PG Malcolm Armstead (soph.)

Signature Wins: Oakland, Washington

Coach's Keys: "Oregon has depth. I really
like their point guard, Armstead. They're a team that has enough
quickness and enough shooting that they could easily go on a three-game
run and have a chance to play in the conference final." - USC coach Kevin
O'Neill

Coming In: Oregon has won three of their last four games, including wins at USC and UCLA.

Outlook: Oregon may be Ernie Kent's alma-mater, but it is
highly unlikely that it will be his place of residence next year after
a first round exit in 2007-2008 and back-to-back abysmal performances
the past two seasons.

The Ducks do not have the talent to make a
run in the tournament. They just do not have enough offensive firepower
to keep up with the top tier teams.

The key for Oregon to shock
a couple of teams will be feeding the ball into the hands of Porter and
Armstead. When both score in double-digits the Ducks are 3-2.

9. Washington State Cougars

Coach: Ken Bone (1st season)

Record: 16-14 (6-12)

Players to Watch: G Klay Thompson (soph.), G Reggie Moore (fresh.)

Signature Wins: Arizona (twice), USC (twice)

Coach's Keys: "Washington State has two guys, Reggie Moore and Klay Thompson, that can
both light you up. I think the kid Casto is really improved, one of the
better big men in the league. Probably going to be defensive player [of
the year] in the league [before he graduates] with his shot blocking ability." - USC coach Kevin
O'Neill

Coming In: The Cougars struggled this season, winning just six games in conference. They have lost 9 of their last 11 games.

Outlook: The Cougs enter the Pac-10 Tournament with the conference's
lowest seed. They must reverse the outcome of last week's season finale, a 74-66 loss to Oregon,
in order to have the opportunity to be Cal's sacrificial lamb in the
quarterfinals.

Klay Thompson is the Pac-10's third highest scorer,
but few in the conference think of him as a star. He
does a little bit of everthing for Washington State, but can he knock
down a game-winner in an environment such as Staples Center?

...

Kevin O'Neill's final thoughts and predictions on the tournament his team is forced to miss:

"If I had to pick one team to win the Pac-10 Tournament, I couldn't
even venture a guess. You'd always think that Cal or Arizona
State would have the edge going in, because of the way they've played
during the entire regular season. But I think it's as wide open a
Pac-10 Tournament as there's ever been."