Who do you predict will win the Pac-10 tournament?

Mayers: While my heart leans another direction, my head tells me to pick UCLA, and being able to play in Los Angeles tips the balance. The Bruins can sleep in their own beds and are playing well within their comfort zone. Plus, motivation to be the overall No. 1 seed will give them plenty to play for.

Cameron: Hey, let's let the Cougs win something. It's nice to share. My mom told me sharing helps you make friends. I think the Cougs need friends. Hell, everyone needs friends. I don't want to be friends with them; I hate them, but if they win something maybe someone will like them besides strippers. Oh, I'm sorry that was another sport and coach. So yeah, let the lowly Cougs do something good. Besides, they beat us so badly, it's better that they be the best team, correct?

Chartrey: I foresee purple and gold hoisting the trophy on Saturday. The biggest reason is that this team is riding a serious high into the Pac-10 tourney. Beating USC and UCLA will have immeasurable effects on how intense the Dawgs come out this week. Lorenzo Romar did it once (in 2000 with St. Louis), and he can do it again.

Caple: I hate to go with the favorite, but my money is on UCLA. They're the conference's best team and they're playing in Los Angeles. Plus, they're probably motivated to pick up at least a couple wins to solidify their standing as a No. 1 seed. I just don't see any way that UCLA won't win this tournament.

Do you really think the Huskies deserve a bid to the

NCAA Tournament?

Mayers: In a perfect world, the top 64 teams in the country play in the NCAA Tournament. Do I think that Washington is one of the top 64 teams? Absolutely. There is so much talent on this team that beating the best team in the country by double digits wasn't even that big of a surprise. With that said, having only one road win is pretty sad.

Cameron: Sure, why not? Some puke of a school with a 123 RPI is going to get in. The Dawgs aren't vomit. They don't have a totally, unbelievably terrible rating. Let 'em in. They have quality wins. They deserve a bid as much as any other team out there. It's the fair way to play, give everyone a chance. Why should only good teams make the tourney?

Chartrey: Having watched this team all season I can say that this is the most mind-boggling team I've seen in a long time. On the road, this is a middling team that has serious confidence issues and cannot close, evidenced by its anemic 1-10 record away from Hec Edmundson Pavilion. At home, however, this team has shown flashes of greatness –— lnocking off UCLA, LSU and USC, while going to the wire with Arizona and WSU. Are they deserving of a bid? Depends on how they do on a neutral court.

Caple: Um ... no. There's pretty much no doubt in anyone's mind that the Huskies didn't do enough to earn an at-large bid. Their only quality wins were over USC, UCLA and Oregon (without Aaron "a handshake says I'm sorry" Brooks), and they only won one road game. Besides that, look at their losses. They were blown out by WSU, UCLA, Gonzaga and Arizona. Despite their great play at home, the Huskies completely trashed their season by not coming to play on the road this year.

Which player is most crucial to the Huskies' success this week?

Mayers: Ryan "Smokin' Pistols" Appleby. When he's on, it's a beautiful thing to watch, and with the frontcourt play pretty consistent, I think the junior sharpshooter will be the difference for the Dawgs. Can he maintain his form over a potential four-day run? His defense on Arron Afflalo the other night was downright filthy too.

Cameron: I said it before and I'll say it again: Justin Dentmon is gonna lead the Dawgs — somewhere. Where he goes, they seem to follow. He's a good player. Let's hope he shows it in L.A. Point to the point to point the team in the right direction or something.

Chartrey: Two names would normally come to mind here: Jon Brockman and Spencer Hawes, because they are absolute beasts this year. But really, the success of the Huskies hinges solely on the play of its floor general, Dentmon. This past weekend he committed just two turnovers, leading me to believe that he has turned a corner. But the intensity will certainly ratchet up a notch, and if he struggles the Huskies will go home early.

Caple: The play of Dentmon will absolutely be the most crucial aspect of the Huskies' Pac-10 tournament success. If he plays like he did in the UW's win over Oregon, expect the Huskies to have a good weekend. But if he plays like he has in almost every road game this season, the Dawgs will very quickly have to turn their focus to the NIT. If Dentmon has a good weekend and his play parlays into a Pac-10 tournament title and an automatic tourney bid, the sophomore from Carbondale, Ill. will quiet his critics and gain back some much-needed confidence. But if the turnover bug bites him again, as it has so many times this year, we may be hearing the name Venoy Overton a lot more during the offseason.

Do the wins this past weekend mean anything, or is it too little, too late?

Mayers: On paper it means very little. Everyone in the country knows the Huskies at home are an unforgiving beast of a team. A high RPI and one win all season away from Hec Ed will be too much to overcome — in my valueless opinion as a Daily sportswriter. But for the team it's huge. No team in the conference is riding a bigger high into the tournament.

Cameron: Wins are wins are wins. New wins are shiny and fresh in the feeble, small-capacity brains of selection committees. I say they mean mucho. I mean, I say they are as important as any other sports statistic out there right now. Sports are the most important thing in the world, right? If so, then winning is the most important thing about sports. If so, yes, they matter.

Chartrey: It's too little too late to earn a bid based on regular-season merits, but wins like that give the team a huge boost going forward. Momentum is a fickle thing, and if the Huskies can catch fire from that spark, who knows? It could ignite a tournament run for the ages, or it could over-inflate their egos and cause them to overlook a dangerous ASU team and send them home early.

Caple: Why is this even a question? Of course they don't mean anything, with regard to their tournament resume. I guess you could say that they'll give the Dawgs some momentum heading into the Pac-10 tourney, but honestly — unless they play it at Hec Ed, it's not going to matter. Clear your schedules for the NIT, Husky fans. This March will lack the madness that we've all come to expect.