With the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament set to tip off tonight, here is a look at the teams of the Pac-10, from worst to first.

THE CANNON FODDER

Tenth-seeded Washington State (1-17 Pac-10) probably cannot wait for this season to end. The Cougars have yet to win a contest in 2007 and are on a 17-game losing streak. The lone ray of hope: WSU lost to UCLA (its first-round opponent) by only three points in their two meetings this year.

THE YEAR TOO SOON

Next year could be when No. 9 tournament seed Arizona (4-14) takes the next step, but this postseason is too early for the team. The Wildcats improved in the second half of the year, notching three of their wins, but they are still a step below the rest of the conference.

THE PESTS

Eighth-seeded Oregon State (4-14) might have an ugly record, but the Beavers lost by double-digits only five times in the Pac-10 — and four of those defeats were to Stanford and Arizona State. Conference scoring leader and All-Pac-10 team member Casey Nash (20.1 points per game) makes them competitive, as they showed by taking Cal into double-overtime two weeks ago and by building up two 11-point leads over Stanford before capitulating in both games.

THE UNPREDICATBLES

You can never know what you’re getting with seventh-seeded UCLA (7-11) . The Bruins did give Stanford and Arizona State tough games recently, but those came on the heels of a loss to Arizona. Senior guard and All-Pac-10 winner Noelle Quinn (17 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game) provides the Bruins’ firepower, but the teams drops off after her.

To grab their second victory of the season against Cal in the quarterfinals, the Ducks will need to rely on their conference-best three-point shooting (36.9 percent).

THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK

Fifth-seededWashington (10-8) and fourth-seeded USC (11-7) will meet in a tossup of a quarterfinal, as the pair split its regular season match-up. Washington has won four games in a row while USC lost their last two. The semifinal spot may come down to whether USC’s scoring trio of Shay Murphy (17.6 ppg), Jamie Hagiya (10.8 ppg) and Chloe Kerr (10.2 ppg) can do more than Washington’s deep, third-ranked offense.

THE DARK HORSE

The lowest-seeded of three teams with a serious shot at the title, third-seeded California (12-6) still deserves special notice, as they were responsible for top-seeded Stanford’s lone conference loss. The Bears are all about post play; Pac-10 Player of the Year Devanei Hampton and fellow All-Pac-10 forward Ashley Walker are first and second in the conference in rebounding, as well as in the top eight in scoring, too. But if Hampton, Walker or stand-in point guard Natasha Vital gets in foul trouble, Cal will be in serious trouble.

THE CONTENDER

Second-seeded Arizona State (16-2) topped last year’s 14-4 record but still found themselves behind Stanford in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils have a potent, balanced offense in which six players average over nine points per game (although one of them, Dymond Simon, is out on injury). In a tournament where the champion must win three games in three days, ASU’s depth makes them incredibly dangerous. Do not be surprised if the Sun Devils are fresher than their opponents in their match-ups after day one.

THE FAVORITE

First-seeded Stanford (17-1) was upset by UCLA in last year’s final, and they will be eager to avoid a similar fate this year. Coach Tara VanDerveer is not eager enough, though, to commit to playing the injury-plagued junior Candice Wiggins in this tournament. Stanford has several other potent weapons — Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Jayne Appel (14.9 ppg, 7.5 rebounds per game) and senior forward Brooke Smith (13.4 points, 7.9 rebounds) are two of the best posts in the country. But if Wiggins is out, the Cardinal will need its conference-best defense (56.2 points allowed per game) to step up.