From Press Row

The Pac-10 season came to a close today, with the Bruins falling 61-51 to Washington. The loss wasn't all that surprising considering UCLA had already wrapped up the undisputed league title, was without forward Alfred Aboya, and already has a No. 1 seed sewn up. Motivation was likely an issue. Plus they were on the road. The Huskies had everything to gain, and it was essentially a throw-away game for the Bruins. The outcome likely has little bearing on the rest of the season.

What WAS worrisome though was the play of Darren Collison. He's officially in a shooting slump, and as well as he played Thursday against Wazzu, he played equally poorly today. UCLA is going nowhere if DC doesn't pick up his game. That being said, UCLA is clearly (when motivated and healthy) a truly elite team in the country and are one of the better bets at the moment to make the Final Four based primarily on coaching and talent.

In other Pac-10 games:

Arizona 85, Stanford 80 (OT) - The 'Cats almost choked away a huge lead before settling down in overtime to pull out the victory. The last seconds of regulation were clearly indicative of why Mustafa Shakur has never lived up to the hype coming out of Philadelphia four years ago. After the Cardinal's Kenny Brown tied the game with a three, Shakur raced up the floor drove the lane and had a chance to snatch the victory right back with a lay-up or by getting to the line, but instead he threw a pass out to Daniel Dillon for a contested jumper. Leaders want to decide games themselves, and understand clock and situation. Shakur displayed none of those things. He's got skills though, and if he's ever able to grasp the mental side of the game, he'll make himself a career in the pros. That's a large "if" however.

Arizona St. 42, California 41 - Herb Sendek gets his second Pac-10 win, and plenty more are to follow. He's a very good coach, and probably should have never been fired from NC St. The talent is starting to come into Tempe.

Oregon 70, Oregon St. 49 - Not much to glean from this game. The Beavers are simply a bad team. The Ducks finish the regular season back on the upswing with three straight wins. They're going to need Malik Hairston to start playing better though if they're going to make any noise at Staples in the Pac-10 tournament and the following week in the NCAAs.

Washington St. 88, USC 86 (2OT) - Aaron Baynes finished with 25 points to lead the Cougs to a season sweep over the Trojans. He finished 10-10 from the field. Think about that for a second. Aaron Baynes. Seriously. The Trojans lost a shot at sharing second place in conference, although Lodrick Stewart sent the game into both overtimes by making a three in regulation and hitting two free throws in the first overtime. The two teams combined for an incredible 34 points in the last five minutes of the game.

Time to hand out some awards:

Player of the Year - Arron Afflalo (UCLA)

Others - Darren Collison (UCLA), Aaron Brooks (Oregon)

Collison has been getting all the national publicity lately, but Afflalo means more to the Bruins than anybody because of his heart, intensity and desire to win.

Coach of the Year - Tony Bennett (Washington St.)

Others - Ben Howland (UCLA), Tim Floyd (USC)

Bennett should be a shoo-in for national honors. How he got his roster to be one of the best teams in the nation this year will be a mystery no one will be able to solve. He'll be the hottest coaching candidate this offseason for any opening that comes along.

Freshman of the Year - Brook Lopez (Stanford)

Others - Chase Budinger (Arizona), Spencer Hawes (Washington), Taj Gibson (USC), Ryan Anderson (Cal)

I'm partial to this 1/2 of the twin towers up on the farm because he does what the other first-year candidates don't do: play defense. Lopez is probably the best NBA prospect in the conference, as evidenced by his triple-double against USC. Budinger was up and down all season, but showed great potential. Hawes might have secured the award had he not fallen ill in the middle of the year. This was easily the deepest, and best class of froshs to enter the conference in years.

All-Conference Team

Arron Afflalo, UCLA

Aaron Brooks, Oregon

Darren Collison, UCLA

Nick Young, USC

Kyle Weaver, Washington St.

Ivan Radenovic, Arizona

Marcus Williams, Arizona

Jon Brockman, Washington

Brook Lopez, Stanford

Lawrence Hill, Stanford