Will the Bruins have a real team yet this year?

The UCLA basketball team has shown me a bit over the last week with wins over Washington and Washington State. But the Pac-10 is profoundly unpredictable this year. Everyone says it's a down year for the league -- some sportswriters have speculated it may get only one invitation to the dance -- and it seems to be. But almost every school is at a similar level, which means that unless somebody busts through and wins 4 or 5 in a row, it could be close until the end, with nobody having an especially impressive record. It makes for interesting, competitive games from top to bottom. Cal is probably the class of the league at this point, but it's not beyond imagining, despite inconsistency thus far, that the Bruins could be that team. A handicapper would probably make them favorites at Oregon and Oregon State this year -- except that they've been terrible on the road and both Oregon schools have arenas thast are especially unfriendly to visitors. Looking forward to Thursday.