These are no Siskels and Eberts, but a handful of Pac-12 beat writers had the best – or worst? – view of what was one rotten men’s basketball season. Jeff Faraudo of the Oakland Tribune (Cal), Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic (Arizona State), Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune (Washington) and Tom Kensler of the Denver Post (Colorado) join the Daily News’ Jon Gold for a roundtable discussion on what doomed the conference…and what it can do to fix itself.

7) What was the worst game you saw this year?

Jon Gold:: UCLA’s 66-47 demolition of USC on Jan. 15 wasajd;nfAk;Lj’akldsnflshg. Sorry, my head hit the keyboard. I fell asleep again just now thinking about it.

Jeff Faraudo: Anytime I had to watch USC.

Doug Haller: Come on. I saw USC vs Arizona State — twice. I saw Utah vs. Arizona State — twice. I’ve had nightmares about these games. Don’t make me relive them.

Bill Oram: USC 62, Utah 45. Once again, when you covered these Utes you saw a lot of bad basketball. A lot. But this was a pretty lousy performance from both teams, though I’m sure Trojans backers will take umbrage.

Ryan Divish: The worst game I saw probably Washington vs. Seattle University where there were over 50 fouls whistled and Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar’s response to the officiating was, “Those guys were sure excited about reffing tonight.” As for conference play, the worst game I saw in person was Washington vs. USC. The Trojans were down to five scholarship players, and the Huskies seemed disinterested and sloppy.

Tom Kensler: Colorado 73, Utah 33 in Boulder. The score speaks for itself.

These are no Siskels and Eberts, but a handful of Pac-12 beat writers had the best – or worst? – view of what was one rotten men’s basketball season. Jeff Faraudo of the Oakland Tribune (Cal), Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic (Arizona State), Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune (Washington) and Tom Kensler of the Denver Post (Colorado) join the Daily News’ Jon Gold for a roundtable discussion on what doomed the conference…and what it can do to fix itself.

6) What was the best game you saw this year?

Jon Gold:: Maybe it was just the venue – Madison Square Garden – or the plot – Steve Lavin, sidelined by cancer, but up in the box watching against his former team and head coach Ben Howland. Or maybe it was just a good game. But St. John’s 66-63 win over the Bruins in New York City was an intriguing matchup of two different styles.

Jeff Faraudo: Cal’s 78-74 home loss to Arizona was a game played at a high level. Arizona was impressive and Cal, despite the loss, competed well. Was a great atmosphere.

Doug Haller: Oddly enough, it was the one I just covered. Arizona at Arizona State. Twenty-two lead changes. Eleven ties. No team led by more than seven points. And somehow, Arizona State won. For once, I got to write a different story.

Bill Oram: Utah 62, Washington State 60 (OT). OK, so not exactly a Final Four preview, but this was a tremendous game. Utah was coming off a 40-point loss to Colorado in Boulder, while Wazzu was still trying (as it still is) to find an identity. Good back-and-forth game that wasn’t resolved until Josh Watkins — moment of silence for Jiggy, please — made a jumper in the paint to give the Utes the final advantage. The shot was an exact copy of the one he made at the end of regulation to force overtime. For those of us around Utah it was a really cool moment. All season we’d wondered, “Will these guys win a conference game?” Here in their second attempt, days after a history loss, they did it. It was an afternoon game and I’ll never forget Larry Krystkowiak, absolutely drained, patting his son Cam on the knee, saying, “C’mon buddy, let’s go have a day off on a Saturday.”

Ryan Divish: Arizona vs. Washington at the McKale Center. Two athletic teams that made plays and played at a high level. Any time a team comes into Tucson and wins, it’s usually going to be an entertaining game.

Tom Kensler: Colorado 72, Oregon 71 in Boulder. Game appeared headed toward overtime when CU point guard Nate Tomlinson was fouled with under 2 seconds remaining as he took the ball right at Oregon’s E.J. Singler on a fastbreak. Tomlinson me the first of two foul shots for the difference.

These are no Siskels and Eberts, but a handful of Pac-12 beat writers had the best – or worst? – view of what was one rotten men’s basketball season. Jeff Faraudo of the Oakland Tribune (Cal), Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic (Arizona State), Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune (Washington) and Tom Kensler of the Denver Post (Colorado) join the Daily News’ Jon Gold for a roundtable discussion on what doomed the conference…and what it can do to fix itself.

5) Who is the future of the conference, either current players or recruits?

Jon Gold:: If UCLA reels in the class it dreams of – adding Shabazz Muhammad and Tony Parker to the already-signed Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams – then the Bruins are right back among the nation’s elite. That hinges, though, on the maturation of Joshua Smith. If he works off the weight this summer, he’ll be the conference’s best player next year.

Jeff Faraudo:: Hard to know how many of the current young players will decide they are ready to conquer the NBA. I don’t expect to see Wroten or Terrence Ross at UW next season. Arizona has a great recruiting class coming in and they should be substantially better next season.

Doug Haller: : You know what? Colorado guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker will be fun to watch the next three years. Dinwiddie was a Pac-12 All-Freshman choice this season and Booker (he reminds me of Venoy Overton in some ways) was just as effective. But the future of the conference resides in Tucson. I hate to pump up a recruiting class too much — because truth is, you never know how a player will turn out — but Sean Miller is recruiting on another level right now. Can’t wait to see Grant Jerrett, Brandon Ashley, Gabe York and Kaleb Tarczewski in college.

Bill Oram: : I’m hearing good things about Larry Krystkowiak’s son, Luc, but he’s about a decade away. Assuming we’re looking in the more immediate future, I don’t see how you can start anywhere other than with Arizona’s heralded class. If Kaleb Tarczewski ends up being as good as advertised, he will dominate this conference. The Pac-12 has never been a league for great centers — OK, Bill and Lew, I hear you, not “never” — but a skilled 7-footer is rare. UCLA’s class is also elite, and will be even greater if it can the country’s top recruit, Shabazz Muhammad. I’ll tell you what: If you want the Pac-12 to be nationally relevant again, having two of the top five recruiting classes in the country is a good start. While I think there are good, young players in the Pac-12, I’m not sure how much of a “future” they have in the conference. Tony Wroten may stick around, but don’t bet on it. Guards like Spencer Dinwiddie and Allen Crabbe have the potential to be even more elite in the next couple of seasons, but they also have NBA potential.

Ryan Divish: : People may think I’m crazy, but the future of this Pac-12 conference are players like David Kravish of Cal, Desmond Simmons and Andrew Andrews of Washington, Davonte Lacy of Washington State, Eric Moreland of OSU, Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker of Colorado and Chasson Randle of Stanford. The conference has been decimated by players either transferring (usually from UCLA) or leaving for the draft earlier than they should. The players listed above are players that aren’t going to leave early. They are four- and five-yea players. With the exception of Andrews, who redshirted, all the other players saw significant minutes as freshmen this season and made contributions. Those types of players provide a better foundation for teams than one-and-dones. Just look at Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kamp at Cal or how much Solomon Hill means to Arizona and EJ Singler and Garrett Sim mean to Oregon. Good quality upper classmen make the league strong consistently.

Tom Kensler:: Wroten, Cal’s Shasson Randle and Colorado’s Spencer Dinwiddie may have been the top freshmen. And remember, Cal’s Allen Crabbe, Washington’s Terrence Ross and Colorado double-double machine Andre Roberson are only sophomores. Arizona’s incoming recruits will change the face of the conference, and incoming Colorado signee Josh Scott, a 6-9 forward-center, will be a difficult matchup.

These are no Siskels and Eberts, but a handful of Pac-12 beat writers had the best – or worst? – view of what was one rotten men’s basketball season. Jeff Faraudo of the Oakland Tribune (Cal), Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic (Arizona State), Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune (Washington) and Tom Kensler of the Denver Post (Colorado) join the Daily News’ Jon Gold for a roundtable discussion on what doomed the conference…and what it can do to fix itself.

4) Who should’ve won conference player of the year?

Jon Gold:: No brainer – Gutierrez.

Jeff Faraudo: Despite rough games at Colorado and Stanford to end the season, Gutierrez was the right choice.

Doug Haller: : Although Ross had some unstoppable stretches, Tony Wroten is the Player of the Year. In a key game against Arizona, the Wildcats couldn’t keep him out of the lane or off the offensive boards. I asked Kyle Fogg about it after the game and the Arizona guard simply shrugged and said, “He’s a pro.”

Bill Oram: Before Sunday my vote would have gone for Gutierrez, hands down. And if you consider the body of work throughout the season, I still think that was the right choice. Gutierrez was harmed by the fact two of his worst games of the season came at the very end of the year, when his team really could have used him. I recognize that this is a big piece of making a “player of the year.” But Gutierrez bailed his team out of so many jams, and diffused so many situations, that I don’t think he deserved to be bumped from the spot. I wouldn’t have complained, however, if Washington’s Terrence Ross or Joseph won. I suspect Joseph was dinged because he was ineligible for the first three weeks of the season following his transfer from Minnesota. Not sure that’s fair, particularly considering he led Oregon to an unexpected run throughout the Pac-12 schedule.

Ryan Divish: I have no problem with Gutierrez being the player of the year. I can understand why the coaches chose him and their reasons behind it. But I guess I would have chosen Terrence Ross. He was the best player on the best team in the league. Yes, having Tony Wroten helped him. But Gutierrez had Justin Cobbs and Allen Crabbe. Ross carried the Huskies in about four games, and saved them from losses to UCLA, WSU, Stanford and even Utah.

Tom Kensler: I didn’t have any problem with the selection of Gutierrez. But strong consideration should have been given to Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham, who leads to conference in scoring and steals.