From top to bottom, there isn’t a better conference in college basketball than our very own Pac-10. After years of mediocrity, both in the regular season and in the NCAA Tournament, the Pac-10 is finally the best conference in college basketball. I take a lot of pleasure in saying this, having been an avid fan of the conference for most of my life.

The facts are there. The conference has the highest ranking according to the computers, has featured the No. 1 team in the country for most of the season to date, and has five teams in the top 25 of the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.

Aside from these things, though, the parity of the conference is remarkable.

After the first two weeks of conference play, there aren’t any undefeated teams. Not one of the conference’s ten teams was able to go 4-0. Even UCLA, which breezed through its non-league schedule with victories over such highly regarded national programs as Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Texas A&M, couldn’t get out of the first two weeks unscathed.

Arizona, aware of UCLA’s loss at Oregon, had a fleeting chance to take sole possession of first place this past Saturday. They had no such luck against Washington State, which was freshly anointed a top 25 team after years of mediocrity in the Northwest. Arizona’s loss left us with a four-way tie for first place in the Pac-10 between Washington State, Arizona, USC and UCLA.

Seriously, what’s going on?

The Pac-10 is a heckuva conference, that’s what. But what’s behind this sudden surge in the power of West Coast hoops?

It starts with the coaches. There really isn’t a weak spot anywhere in the conference. From Ben Howland to Tim Floyd to Lute Olson to Herb Sendek to Washington State’s up-and-coming Tony Bennett, the Pac-10 boasts the best collection of basketball coaches in the country. Even guys like Ben Braun and our own Trent Johnson who head teams that appear to be in the lower echelon of the conference have proven track records.

You also have to look at the experience that pervades the conference. While players from a team such as Ohio State are still getting their feet wet after their first few months of college basketball, the Pac-10 has a plethora of players with extensive experience under their belts.

Oregon is flourishing under the experience of their senior point guard Aaron Brooks, UCLA is continuing its dominance under seasoned veteran Arron Afflalo and Arizona has plenty of experience and ability in guys like Mustafa Shakur and Ivan Radenovic.

This is the year of the Pac. Forget the ACC, the SEC and even the Big Ten. They all have their individual standout teams, but none of them has the depth that the Pac-10 possesses all the way through.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the Pac-10 will get six teams into the NCAA Tournament this year.

It sounds crazy and farfetched at first, but think about it.

UCLA, Arizona, Washington and Oregon are locks. UCLA and Arizona don’t need explaining. They both have the firepower and the kind of experience needed to compete for the national championship. Washington is still shaky with a current Pac-10 record of 1-4, but they have too much talent with players like Spencer Hawes and Jon Brockman not to make the Big Dance. Oregon is a one-loss team, ranked in the top 20, and has good wins over programs like Georgetown, and, oh, the number one team in the nation, UCLA.

As for the other two teams, Washington State and USC are definitely strong prospects.

Washington State is now ranked in the top 25 for the first time in forever. They only have two losses this season, have already beaten a top ten Arizona team and took UCLA to the ropes at Pauley Pavilion. As for the Trojans, Tim Floyd has revived the program with the help of Freshman Center Taj Gibson. USC has looked impressive after the first two weeks of conference play.

It’s pretty clear to me that both of these teams are legitimate contenders for at-large bids to the Big Dance in March.

Even the lower teams in the conference like, well, us, have had strong performances. Stanford gave Arizona all they could handle at McKale Center, and got a great non-conference road victory over Virginia. As far as I’m concerned, any Pac-10 team is a good team.

In case you couldn’t tell, I really like West Coast basketball — maybe even a little too much. Long live the Pac-10.

Jack Salisbury is a freshman. Email him at jack24@stanford.edu.