Washington freshman guard Isaiah Thomas, center, is No. 15 in the Pac-10 in scoring thus far, averaging 13.8 points per game.

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The most difficult part of December basketball is knowing what to believe.

About four weeks into the Pac-10 men's season, Stanford is the only undefeated team in the conference. But because of a two-week break for finals, the Cardinal has played only five games.

UCLA, which has reached the Final Four in each of the past four seasons, has fewer wins than Cal.

In another four weeks, teams will know infinitely more about where they fit in the Pac-10. The development of the conference's best freshmen will be a major determining factor.

Only two first-year players rank in the conference's top 20 in points. Washington's Isaiah Thomas is No. 15 with 13.8 points per game, and Oregon's Michael Dunigan is No. 18 with 12 per game.

Last year, four freshmen ranked in the top seven — O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless, James Harden and Kevin Love.

Neither Thomas nor Dunigan is as highly regarded as a pair of Los Angeles freshmen — UCLA guard Jrue Holiday and USC swingman DeMar DeRozan.

The Bruins' star-to-be is averaging 11.1 points in 26.1 minutes. He guards the opponent's most dangerous guard.

"He's really improving, and a lot of it just has to do with experience," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "Freshmen are seeing things for the first time. He's coming in — rightfully so — highly touted as one of the best freshman in the country. He's got these juniors and seniors out headhunting for him."

DeRozan, who averages 9.8 points in 28.2 minutes, is getting more comfortable. As is the case with all freshmen, coach Tim Floyd said, DeRozan needs to learn to play his hardest every second he's on the floor.

"I think his ability speaks for itself," Floyd said. "The adjustment that he's making (is) one of trying to have his skill level fit into games that can become half-court. He's played in a lot of open-floor situations in high school and AAU ball. What we've noticed the past two weeks is tremendous improvement as far as comfort in knowing when to, and when not to, offensively."

The 4-5 Ducks have started four freshmen, including center Dunigan. All average more than 10 minutes per game.

"There are going to be some steps forward, some steps backward," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "You have to continue to remind yourself that they're just freshmen."

In December, patience is paramount.

"You want so much more out of them," Kent said, "yet at times you understand they're going to make mistakes."