After rattling off Stanford’s abysmal shooting numbers from Saturday’s ugly 52-46 win over USC Saturday evening, head coach Trent Johnson sighed and offered a sobering assessment of the Cardinal’s Pac-10 conference schedule.

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Junior guard Kenny Brown and the Stanford men will have their work cut out for them in the Pac-10 this year, with three teams in the AP Top 25 and four more receiving votes. Stanford is No. 23 in the most recent poll. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/8312
Alex Oppenheimer

Junior guard Kenny Brown and the Stanford men will have their work cut out for them in the Pac-10 this year, with three teams in the AP Top 25 and four more receiving votes. Stanford is No. 23 in the most recent poll.

“I knew the game was going to be tough for us,” Johnson said, always cordial and complimentary toward the opposition. “Much like the next sixteen.”

Stanford split its opening weekend of conference play against fifth-ranked UCLA and then-No. 22 USC, perhaps the only weekend it will face two ranked opponents until the Pac-10 tournament in March. Still, the Cardinal stayed right with the Bruins before making some key mistakes and missing shots down the stretch. And Saturday’s defensive display against the Trojans demonstrated that Stanford can still win despite poor shooting — the Cardinal were only 27 percent from the field.

“Obviously we want them both, especially at home,” junior forward Lawrence Hill said of his team’s start to the Pac-10 season. “But our mindset is always on the next game. Losing to UCLA is tough, but we have a lot of games to go.”

It should get easier for the Cardinal from here on out, but not by much. If one thing is clear about the Pac-10 this season, it’s that the conference is one of the most competitive in the nation. Six teams — UCLA, Washington State, Stanford, Arizona, USC and Oregon — have appeared in the AP top-25 poll so far on the year.

That should change, now that the teams will be beating each other up on a regular basis, but this week Arizona and Cal received votes as well. The Golden Bears beat USC last Thursday, while the Sun Devils downed then-No. 21 Arizona in Tuscon, a rare feat. Washington gave Washington State a scare in Seattle, another sign that in the Pac-10, no team is safe.

“I have never seen it this competitive from one to 10,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said on Pac-10 media day in November. “There have been times when it has been tough at the top, one to five, but never this tough from the top to bottom. Please don’t ask me who I would pick to finish in any spot, because I have no clue.”

The conference’s top tier still belongs to No. 4 Washington State (13-0, 1-0 Pac-10) and No. 5 UCLA (14-1, 2-0). The Cougars are once again winning with defense, leading the conference in points allowed at just under 50 per game. The Bruins, meanwhile, have dominated at both ends of the floor and lead the league with an average 20-point margin of victory.

After those two, the conference rankings remain anybody’s guess. Arizona (10-4, 1-1) leads the conference in the RPI ranking, which takes strength of schedule into account, at No. 12. Injuries and questions regarding the coaching situation linger for the Wildcats with longtime head coach Lute Olson out on a yearlong leave of absence.

USC (9-5, 0-2), relying on its highly touted freshman class to offset the losses of key contributors to graduation and the NBA, is off to a disappointing start in conference play after being swept in the Bay Area. Oregon (10-4, 1-1) has been a mixed bag so far but has received strong performances from seniors Malik Hairston (18.2 scoring average) and Maarty Leunen (15 points, 10.2 rebounds).

Sophomore forward Ryan Anderson leads the Pac-10 in scoring with over 20 points per game for Cal (10-3, 1-1), who has senior big man DeVon Hardin finally healthy as well. Reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, freshman James Harden (17.6 scoring average), has upstart Arizona State (12-2, 2-0) performing well in conference play. Both teams have found success in the underdog role so far in the young Pac-10 season.

Already a two-time conference Player of the Week, junior big man Jon Brockman continues to power Washington (9-5, 0-1) with his bruising play inside, averaging 18.4 points and leading the Pac-10 in rebounds with 11.4 per game. Rounding out the bottom, Oregon State (6-8, 0-2) gained the services of big man C.J. Giles, a transfer from Kansas, but has made little noise thus far.

For No. 23 Stanford (12-2, 1-1) Trent Johnson continues to hammer home the point of consistency, especially on the defensive end.

“For us, it’s just a matter of getting better and making shots,” Johnson said after Saturday’s win over USC. “We didn’t have a lot of shots go down, but guys kept grinding.”