A solid win over a ranked opponent at home.

What might be too little too late to get Washington back on the NCAA bubble might just be what the Huskies needed going into Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Pac-10 champion UCLA.

Build upon this win, then take it to what could be a lackadaisical Bruin team that has little to play for tomorrow night. Take the momentum of two home wins into a be-all and end-all conference tournament.

It isn’t over.

We all know that the Dawgs have the talent to succeed; now it’s the time to see if they have the focus and determination to play to that ability when they need to.

“The thing we talked about is: How good can we get within the next two weeks?” said coach Lorenzo Romar.

One thing is certain; No matter how down the team appears, playing in Hec Ed is still going to give you all you can ask for.

Too bad Los Angeles has a stranglehold on the Pac-10 tournament location.

Regardless of the setting, last night we saw an effort that was worthy of a contender.

Early on, Justin Dentmon gave a vintage Christian Laettner performance, a perfect four for four in the first half. Then Ryan Appleby went off like, well, Ryan Appleby, hitting four 3-pointers to extend the lead to double digits.

Jon Brockman battled, Spencer Hawes dominated down the stretch and Artem Wallace brought the crowd to its feet with an inspired effort and some clutch free throws.

So what have these guys been focusing on this week?

“Keep fighting — that’s been our thing all year,” Appleby said.

“Keep pushing, keep working hard, keep getting after it, playing like madmen out there,” Brockman echoed.

The team is remarkably upbeat despite the 7-10 conference record.

And why not? This was the performance most expected from them.

With 10 turnovers — just three by the backcourt — we saw how crisp the offense could look in the first half. The Husky guards had their best collective effort of the year.

It isn’t over.

“We haven’t given up all year,” Appleby said. “We’ve had some tough times, but we’ve never given up. We come to practice every day working hard.”

Up next are the champs in their Baby Blue.

Hec Ed had better be rocking. Last night, the student spillover section up top was barer than Britney Spears’ head. I want an LSU-type effort from the Dawg Pack, making it so the Bruins want nothing to do with the Dawgs.

Whether or not UCLA’s starters play, or as Romar said, even if they bring in Shaq, this is Washington’s last chance to become the team they need to be for next week’s Pac-10 tournament.

Last night was just the start.

“To come out and play this way, we showed that we made a little progress,” Romar said. “Hopefully, we can make a little on Saturday, and next week make enough to where we can reach our goal.”

The goal has not changed. Anything less than participation in the NCAA tournament is a failure, and the Huskies have not lost sight of that.

It would’ve been easy for Washington to take the week off to rest for the upcoming Pac-10 tournament, but last night we saw that for the 2007 Huskies, it isn’t over.

Reach columnist Joshua Mayers at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.