UCLA’s decision this week to end Steve Alford’s six-season coaching run with the Bruins ultimately served two purposes.
One is intentional: to break from a partnership that seemed odd from the start and had barreled into a ditch over the last month.
The second was merely a happy coincidence: It provided something to discuss about Pac-12 basketball that wasn’t solely about this miserable season.
Those wanting a good West Coast hoops fix the past two months have turned to Gonzaga and Nevada. The Zags won the Maui Invitational. Nevada ran the table in nonconference play, beating three Pac-12 teams (Arizona State, Southern Cal and Utah) en route to a 13-0 start.