With their only exhibition game last Thursday, the Husky men’s basketball team certainly hit the ground running. After a 20-point win against Western Washington, the Dawgs need to keep this momentum as they look ahead to what will be a very challenging 2008-2009 campaign.

After their first regular season game against Portland, the Huskies will move on to the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. It is there, in Kansas City, they will encounter their first big match-ups of the season, beginning with defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks.

Though Kansas won the NCAA tournament in 2008, its team is not ranked particularly high this season. The No. 24 Jayhawks lost key starters from last year’s team to the NBA. Without Mario Chalmers, the Dawgs could take their first steps toward a highly successful season with a win here.

The men will then either go up against Syracuse or No. 19 Florida. The Gators ­­— consecutive national champions in 2006 and 2007 — remain a very tough team under coach Billy Donovan. If the Huskies can pull off a win against the Gators, they will officially become a legitimate contender this season.

Next in line is conference play. The Pac-10 is, once again, stacked with very talented rosters. Arizona State, UCLA and USC are each ranked in the top 25.

The No. 15 Sun Devils are returning all five starters, but the key for Arizona State will be consistency. After starting last season 14-2, they ended on a 5-9 downturn to finish the season 19-11.

UCLA’s third consecutive trip to the Final Four last year is proof of a strong recruiting program. After losing superstar Kevin Love, the Bruins once again restocked young talent with an outstanding group of freshmen. All-American guards Jrue Holiday and Malcolm Lee should be big-time playmakers.

USC is USC. They lose O.J. Mayo and welcome high school phenom Demar Derozan. Just like Mayo, the potential of the freshman is unbelievable and there’s no telling how far he can take the Trojans.

Of course, there will always be upsets in college basketball. Look for Arizona, Stanford and, yes, even WSU to surprise some people this season.

The Dawgs are off to a hot start, but they’ll need to continue building momentum if they hope to overcome their powerful schedule.

Reach columnist Ben Foutz at sports@dailyuw.com.