While pondering at what point Washington should be considered a real Pacific 10 Conference contender, and if Cal would have done better against the Huskies on Saturday if they thought of them as such, here are notes from around the Pac-10.

Year of the Dog: Well, more like the year of the Husky. Washington (12-4, 5-2) is off to its best start in 10 years. If this keeps up, people in Seattle will start to mention the years 1986 and 1987. 1986 was the last time UW visited the NCAA Tournament, losing to Michigan State 72-70 in the first round. 1987 was the last time the Huskies played in the postseason at all, making it to the third round of the NIT before losing to Nebraska.

People in the conference are starting to take notice, the hard way. During the final moments of their 71-69 win over Cal in Seattle, newly reinstated forward Tremaine Fowlkes remarked to the Huskies' all-everything forward Mark Sanford that Cal's opinion of UW had changed.

Fowlkes told Sanford that before the game the Golden Bears didn't think Washington was a team to be taken seriously, but that they did now.

While UW is not the most rugged team - they were out-rebounded 52-34 by Cal - the Huskies did not shoot themselves in the foot, turning the ball over only eight times against the Golden Bears. Additionally, Washington has held 15 of their 16 opponents to under 50 percent shooting. UCLA was the lone exception, shooting 63 percent in a 78-70 Bruin win in Seattle, Jan. 6.

But before Husky fans get all excited, remember the only road trip they've taken was through the Oregon schools. Washington still has to travel to Los Angeles, Arizona and the Bay Area schools.

More on Sanford: The 6-foot-8, 200-pound sophomore, who led all Pac-10 freshmen in scoring last season, isn't showing signs of going through a second-year slump. Sanford, this week's Pac-10 player of the week, leads the team with 18.7 points, a mark that is fourth in the conference. Sanford is particularly lethal at home, averaging 21.9 points. But with seven of their final 11 games on the road, Sanford will be tested, as he only averages 11.6 points away from Seattle.

Big man for the Trees: Guards Brevin Knight and Dion Cross and center Tim Young were to provide the firepower and leadership for a Stanford team picked to finish second in the conference before the season began. But Young, a sophomore, has been hindered by a bulging disk in his lower back and will be out indefinitely. He has played in five games to this point in the season, averaging 10 points and nine rebounds in those games.

"Tim's moving around well, getting a little spunkier," Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery said. "The doctors are nowhere close to releasing him to practice for a good month, in my guess. They're going to be cautious with the back."

In Young's absence, Stanford (11-5, 3-2) has gone to a three-guard, two-forward lineup, inserting senior guard David Harbour into a starting role.

Bumbling, stumbling Bruins: Saturday's 78-76 loss to Louisville marked the first time UCLA had ever lost to the Cardinals at Pauley Pavilion, but the defeat could have been avoided. UCLA (13-5, 6-1) committed 25 turnovers in the contest, exposing a problem that has haunted the Bruins all season long. UCLA is last in the Pac-10 in turnovers committed at 18.5 a game and last in turnovers forced with 14.6 a game. Add that up and it's a conference-low 3.9 turnover margin.

UCLA is tops in rebounding and field-goals percentage.