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Talking Points: Pac-12 basketball continues to struggle

The Columbian
Published: February 10, 2012, 4:00pm

What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:

1

Because there is no NFL this weekend, the calendar says it’s time for Talking Points to pay a little attention to college basketball. Which is something the Pac-12 schools probably would prefer we not do.

Going into this week, Cal was the highest-rated Pac-12 team on the NCAA’s official Ratings Percentage Index, standing at 48th nationally. Arizona was next at No. 62, and Colorado was No. 73.

It’s looking more and more like the Pac-12 will wind up with one team in the NCAA Tournament. The bad news is that it would be an unfettered embarrassment for the league. The good news is that the conference tournament will actually be meaningful this year.

2

Speaking of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index, some good news can be found there for the West Coast Conference. St. Mary’s entered this week ranked 23rd, with Gonzaga at No. 26 and BYU at No. 41.

The Pac-12 has the bigger schools and the bigger reputation, but the performance suggests that the WCC is the premier basketball conference in the West.

3

The news of recent days that an arena might be built in Seattle to lure an NBA team has been interesting but short-sighted. The real bombshell in all this is that the arena almost certainly would attract an NHL team.

Portland has had several opportunities since the Rose Garden opened to bring in an NHL team, but Paul Allen has never had the will to do so.

Talking Points can understand the business reasons for Allen not wanting an NHL team in the building, but we think all our lives would have been better if Paul Allen was a hockey fan.

For more Talking Points, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/talkpoints360

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