The scene has changed, and it isn't only the sight of Fourth-ranked Washington State, led by 'Iolani alum Derek Low's 13.1 points per game, is one of six remaining Division I unbeatens with UCLA looking up at the Cougars from No. 5.

There's also the sight of Arizona State at 10-2, with two more wins than the Sun Devils had all last season — and an upset of then-No. 17 Xavier in their pockets.

"Right now I know people have picked them ninth and 10th, but I don't see how they can finish ninth or 10th," Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar said. "I can't see who is going to finish ninth and 10th."

We'll settle 10th anyway, with conference play opening Thursday. It will be Oregon State, in what should be Jay John's final season.

At the top? UCLA, after consecutive Final Fours, should still be the favorite over Washington State, despite the Bruins' loss to Texas. But not by much, especially with UCLA seemingly short on zone-busting shooters.

"It will be a very, very tough January, February and March in the Pac-10," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.

After years under the domain of Lute Olson and Mike Montgomery, the Pac-10 has rather quickly changed into a defense-oriented league overseen by Howland and Washington State's Tony Bennett.

Every good wish to Olson, who has faced his life's difficulties with such dignity, but it's difficult to believe the 73-year-old coach will return to the Arizona bench next season after this season's personal leave. For now, at the least, there is a hole.

"Him not being around this year, in spite of us all being competitive, is something we'll all miss," Romar said.

If the nonconference season has not proved the Pac-10 to be quite the juggernaut many expected, it still has been very strong.

There isn't a team in the league with a losing record, and eight have three or fewer losses. Washington State has none, UCLA and Stanford have one, and Arizona State and California have only two.

All told, the league's 95 regular-season nonconference wins already are the most in Pac-10 history. And in a little-noted statistic that confirms the league's defensive shift, five teams are holding opponents under 40 percent shooting.

If there has been a laggard in the nonconference season, both in the win-loss column and the defensive statistics, it has been Oregon.

With every starter except Aaron Brooks back from an Elite Eight team, the Ducks were supposed to be set. But defense and homecoming trips have proved thorny.

Ranked No. 12 in late November, they were upset on a visit to St. Mary's, Ernie Kent's former school — though, granted, they were without guard Bryce Taylor for that game.

Worse, they lost to little-known Oakland in a December visit to Michigan that was to be a homecoming trip for Detroit natives Malik Hairston and Tajuan Porter. Oregon also lost to Nebraska in Omaha.

The Ducks lead the Pac-10 in scoring, averaging almost 86 points a game, but defense has been the bugaboo, with Oregon giving up almost 75 points a game.

"It's taken us a little bit longer than I would think with four veteran players coming back to get into that rhythm defensively," Coach Ernie Kent said.

Looking at the conference schedule, there is one early disadvantage for Washington State: Five of the Cougars' first seven Pac-10 games are on the road, including difficult Los Angeles and Arizona swings.

UCLA and USC must start in the Bay Area, just as Stanford gets used to having 7-footer Brook Lopez back after he missed the first nine games because of academic ineligibility. (He has averaged 19.3 points since returning.) California has added Duke transfer Jamal Boykin, who had an 18-point, 10-rebound performance against Long Beach State in one of his first games.

Potential spoilers for UCLA and Washington State are the Pac-10's other three top-25 teams — Arizona, Stanford and USC, which has proved it can play with top-five teams Memphis and Kansas and also proved it can lose to Mercer when the Trojans are at less than full strength.

"It's a deep, deep league," Bennett said. "We'll have to play at a high level, probably play better than we've played."

With a team led by seniors Low and Kyle Weaver — starters for most of their four seasons — Washington State at least has something on teams led by star freshmen.

UCLA's Kevin Love, USC's O.J. Mayo and Arizona's Jerryd Bayless, after all, have never played the Cougars in Pullman.

"We don't blow people away with our talent," Bennett said. "We have to play very well and hope we'll find ourselves in a competitive spot."