Huskies Win First Pac-10 Title Since 1953

There was a forgettable movie released around 10 years ago called The Sixth Man starring Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison as brothers -- one from beyond the grave -- who lead the University of Washington to an NCAA title.

The movie always seemed like make believe. No, not that a ghost came back from the dead to lead a college basketball team to a championship. Rather, that it was Washington winning a championship. The Huskies have never been thought of as a national power.

But those days are over now that Washington has won the Pac-10 title outright for the first time since 1953.

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The key for the transformation has been point guard Isaiah Thomas. The Huskies have very good upperclassmen, such as senior Jon Brockman and junior Quincy Pondexter, but it's Thomas that makes the team go. And he's the reason that this win could kickoff the start of a run for Washington. As previously mentioned, this team hasn't had a long run of success and this Pac-10 title validates the program, and with Thomas, there is reason to believe that this will stretch into the future.

If you looked at Thomas' stat line, nothing really jumps out at you against Washington State. He didn't even reach double digits in scoring. But when Washington needed a big bucket, he delivered.

The Huskies were clinging to a four-point lead with less than two minutes to go. This is the point in the game when most teams will hold the ball and make a bunch of passes before finally settling for a bad shot. All too often, the team milking the clock blows the opportunity and lets the other team get back into the game. Washington nearly did that, but Thomas saved the possession by driving to the basket and converting to give the Huskies a six-point lead.

Shots like that are what makes the difference between a conference winner, and a conference follower. Washington, for too long, has been the follower. But now they are the conference champions, thanks to Thomas.