Maybe They Are Who We Thought They Were

Quick, without looking, who's the leading scorer in Pac-10 Conference play? Here's a hint: you won't get it. Arizona State's James Harden is the overall scoring leader who's getting a lot of publicity, but strictly in league play, he's a close second to...Justin Dentmon. UW's senior guard is one of the pleasant surprises for a team that is surprisingly tied for the league lead halfway through the conference season.

At 16-5 (and 7-2 in the Pac-10), UW is ranked in both polls for the first time in two years. The Huskies lead the conference in scoring, rebounding and rebounding margin, and have the league's top individual window cleaner in Jon Brockman. But if Washington is going to make noise in March, it's their trilogy of guards who will make it for them.

Dentmon, freshman stud Isaiah Thomas (third in conference scoring) and Venoy Overton provide the kind of solid guard play that's thought to be a key to March Madness success. In UW's recent win over UCLA, the guards showed the range of their abilities, for better or worse. They looked sloppy and outclassed by Darren Collison and Jrue Holiday as the Bruins jumped out to a 9-1 lead. Then they completely turned it around on the offensive and defensive ends as UW came back and then pulled away in the second half.

Because the Huskies guards can be erratic, they look like a team that could either flame out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament or make a run. ESPN's Bracketology expert has UW tabbed as a rising #6 seed against a Utah State team that's more experienced in March than you think. Brockman's leadership and inside play will be vital if UW's guards go off the rails. Rebounding margin also tends to be a good predictor of March success, so Washington will have to keep banging the boards to stay successful.

Regardless of what happens, the fact we're talking about UW as the conference leader and a tourney lock shows how far they've come. The Huskies were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-10, but their inside-outside combo has been better than advertised. Plus they've been making their free throws much more than last year, when they were the worst in the nation in that category. This is an exciting team that's fun to watch and easy to root for -- in Seattle of all places. The rest of the country shouldn't sleep on UW, even if they haven't heard of the guy who's leading the Pac-10 in scoring.