ESPN.com dedicates its “Shoot Around” column today entirely to Pac-10 men’s basketball. Commentator Doug Gottlieb calls the conference “the best league by a sizable margin.” Of USC, columnist Ed Graney notes that “the Trojans’ postseason dreams just might depend on how improved [Taj] Gibson is from averaging 12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds last year.”

Pac-10: Big is back out West (ESPN)