MEN'S TOP 25 Cal downs Oregon; Arizona routs WSU

The Bears are looking for respect in the Pac-10.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Don't tell Oregon coach Ernie Kent that the Pac-10 is a two-team conference.
After the No. 12 Ducks lost 88-72 to California, Kent was ready to include the Golden Bears right up there with his team and Arizona.
"Everybody has said it's a two-team conference race, and it's not," Kent said. "They're a player."
Amit Tamir scored 25 points and Joe Shipp added 22 points and eight rebounds to lead Cal to its third straight victory Thursday night.
Tamir is averaging 27.7 points in his last three games against the Ducks -- including 39 points in Cal's 107-103 double-overtime victory last season.
"I tried not to think about last year," he said. "But somehow it just happens that I feel pretty comfortable against Oregon."
Brian Wethers added 16 points for the Golden Bears (9-2, 2-0 Pac-10), who won at home for the 12th straight time.
Luke Jackson had 17 points, eight assists and five rebounds for Oregon. The Pac-10's top scoring team had only 38 points with 14:54 left, and the Ducks have been averaging nearly 90 per game. They had been doing just about everything right coming into this game.
"They just got on a roll and we kind of came out and played sloppy right off the bat," Jackson said. "We didn't get a lot of rhythm shots. We rushed things."
Oregon (10-3, 1-2) leads the conference in scoring, field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage, as well as free-throw percentage, steals and assists. Even assist-to-turnover ratio.
But the Ducks never got in sync against the aggressive and up-tempo Bears, who couldn't seem to miss when it mattered most. Oregon was sloppy with the ball to fall behind early, and its top players struggled to score all game. The Ducks often rushed their shots as the 35-second clock was winding down.
At least four players had scored in double figures in all but two of the team's previous 12 games this season. The Ducks had three this game, with Luke Ridnour and Andre Joseph adding 14 and 12 points, respectively.
"They did a great job defensively knocking us out of sync for this game," Kent said. "We never had an opportunity to gain momentum."
No. 2 Arizona 82, Washington St. 69
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Jason Gardner scored 19 points as the Wildcats (10-1, 3-0 Pac-10) beat Washington State for the 35th consecutive time.
Luke Walton, back after missing last week's Oregon trip because of a sprained ankle, had nine points and eight assists.
Marcus Moore, the Pac-10's leading scorer, scored 35 points for the Cougars (5-7, 0-3). He was 8-for-12 from 3-point range.