Virtually nothing went according to form in the Pac-10.

Oregon State expected a breakout year. Instead, coach Eddie Payne was fired after the Beavers finished tied for eighth. Arizona thought it had the nation's deepest bench. Instead, the transfer- and injury-depleted Wildcats probably had the thinnest.

UCLA felt it would challenge Arizona and Stanford for the title. Instead, the Bruins challenged Arizona State and Southern California for fifth place. Stanford thought it would need some time to replace four starters, instead the Cardinal won 25 of their first 27 games and catapulted to No. 1 in the nation in midseason.

And then when the NCAA Tournament began, there were the Wildcats and Cardinal as No. 1 seeds ... yet, UCLA was the only team to reach the Sweet 16.

It was the Year of the Freshmen. Perhaps the most difficult vote the conference coaches have ever taken was the balloting for Freshman of the Year. UCLA's Jason Kapono and Stanford's Casey Jacobsen squeezed past Arizona's super guards, Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner.

It was also the season of the injury, more so than in recent memory. Arizona played without Richard Jefferson for two months, and spent the last month without Loren Woods. Stanford spent an early month with Mark Madsen hobbled by a hamstring injury. UCLA's JaRon Rush wasn't injured, but his pride was. He spent 21 games sidelined by an NCAA investigation. USC looked like a potential league champ until its imposing forward, Sam Clancy, broke his foot in mid-January and was gone for 10 games.

It was almost fitting Oregon forward A.D. Smith finished the season wearing a facemask to protect his broken cheekbone. The way the season went, it should have been required equipment for all Pac-10 players.

In the end, Stanford and Arizona dominated, overcoming freshmen-laden lineups and vast lineup changes. The Ducks had their best season in a quarter-century, but were unable to produce a breakthrough road victory at Arizona, Stanford or UCLA, relegating them to third place.

Conference Champion

The record book will forever show Arizona and Stanford in a 15-3 tie, but the Wildcats clipped down the nets at McKale Center, symbolic of their season sweep of the Cardinal.

Arizona had too much quickness for Stanford, and too much firepower at home, which was the ultimate difference. The Wildcats went 9-0 at McKale Center, while no other conference team was better than 7-2 at home. The Wildcats will return all of their players next season, including three freshmen starters -- Arenas, Gardner and forward Luke Walton -- and should be favored to win it again.

Biggest Disappointment

The conference's NCAA Tournament performance left much to be desired.

Three of the league's four teams went out in a seedings upset in the first round, and UCLA was hammered by Iowa State in the regional semifinals.

The 4-4 mark does nothing for the Pac-10's national image, and probably destroys the likelihood of ever having two No. 1 seeds for the next half-dozen years.

Biggest Surprise

UCLA was all over the charts. Good, bad, good, bad.

Ultimately, the Bruins were good when least expected to be, winning six consecutive to finish the season -- including a wild overtime victory at then-No. 1 Stanford -- to reverse a 1-6 run in February that seemed to have them headed to the NIT. The return of Rush was the source of motivation the Bruins lacked for three months.

Player of the Year

The coaches voted for ASU shooting guard Eddie House, the conference scoring leader, but that seems to be a cop-out. House was a no-show in key losses to Arizona (twice), UCLA (twice) and Stanford, the five most important games of the year for the Sun Devils.

He hit for 61 in a game against an average Cal team, but wasn't a big-game player. The vote was probably better suited for Arizona center Loren Woods, who became the league's most dominant player -- 14 blocks against Oregon -- but then missed the final five games with a back injury. USC's Brian Scalabrine and Stanford's Mark Madsen were a shade behind Woods.

Newcomer of the Year

The difference between three fabulous freshmen -- Gardner, Kapono and Jacobsen -- is infinitesimal. But Gardner played the most demanding position, point guard, and averaged a bare 1.2 turnovers in the last two months of the season while posting 12 points a game. He was also the league's best defensive guard, never backing down, averaging 38 minutes and holding up to the final game. Give it to Gardner.

Coach of the Year

Not much doubt Arizona's Lute Olson gets this award. The Wildcats swept Stanford, beating the Cardinal in their first game minus Olson's most talented player, Richard Jefferson, and in the second meeting without his center, Woods. Olson started three freshmen, had just seven scholarship players and the toughest overall schedule in the conference. Getting a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament equals being the Pac-10's No. 1 coach.

The Future

The best is yet to come.

The Pac-10 enjoyed its most productive season in 1997-98, when four teams reached the Sweet 16. Next year could match or better that.

Arizona returns intact, a potential No. 1 national pick in the preseason. Stanford loses David Moseley and Madsen, but otherwise seems destined to return to the Top 10. USC doesn't lose a single player, and gets Sam Clancy back for the whole season. Cal returns 10 of its top 11 scorers. If Jason Kapono pulls his name out of the NBA hat, UCLA might have a shot at the conference title. As it is, the Bruins are losing Rush and Jerome Moiso to the NBA -- they can't afford to lose Kapono too.

The only significant dropoff next year figures to come at Oregon, where the Ducks will have difficulty replacing the core of their NCAA team, Smith, Alex Scales and Darius Wright. ASU loses House, but otherwise remains together. Maybe the Sun Devils will be better without him, sharing the ball, keeping a young roster happy.

Washington State can't be any worse than its 1-17 record, and coach Paul Graham brings in a recruiting class some rank in the Top 25 nationally. Oregon State is hopeful a new coaching staff will be able to build a contender around center Brian Jackson and the inconsistent Tanner.