With the third week of Pac-12 conference play in the books, Daily Bruin Sports delivers its third installment of its Pac-12 power rankings.
1. No. 7 Arizona (16-2, 4-1)
The Wildcats silenced any doubts regarding their conference hegemony on Saturday, as they trounced the conference’s emergent power – the Utah Utes – 69-51. In that game, Arizona floor general T.J. McConnell impressively outplayed his counterpart – Utah’s Delon Wright. McConnell bested the Utes’ player of the year candidate in points, assists and field goal percentage, and ignited an Arizona home crowd of nearly 15,000 people. That being said, credit for the win must also must be given to Arizona forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who guarded Wright for basically the whole game and made one of the nation’s best guards look somewhat average. Lastly, forward Stanley Johnson acted as the game’s closer, as he scored all 18 of his points in the second half to ensure a Wildcat victory. Bottom line: If the Wildcats play at their full potential, they are undoubtedly the most dangerous team in the conference.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
2. No. 12 Utah (14-3, 4-1)
Utah fans probably hate this stat, but it must be said: The Utes are 1-3 against top-25 teams this season. Last week, that record didn’t look quite as bad, as it stood at 1-2, with the two losses coming by an average of 3.5 points. But when Utah faced then-No. 10 Arizona on Saturday, that margin of defeat increased significantly. The Utes lost by 18 to the Wildcats, and were thoroughly outplayed for the game’s final 28 minutes. Some fans may look at this loss and render the Utes a pretender, but I wouldn’t say that just yet. Realistically, the Wildcats probably would’ve defeated most teams in the country Saturday night, considering how well they played on both sides of the ball. On top of that, the game was played at a packed McKale Center, where Arizona has won its last 32 games. Utah is still a solid team, but just lacks an elite win.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
3. Stanford (13-4, 4-1)
After a slight slip-up to start conference play, with two of its first four Pac-12 games going to overtime and a third being decided by just two points, Stanford regained its footing last week. The Cardinal earned double-digit wins over the Cal Golden Bears and the Connecticut Huskies to remain tied for first place in the conference and to claim the Pac-12’s third-best overall record. Senior guard Chasson Randle has been the catalyst for Stanford’s recent stretch of improved play, topping 20 points in both of last week’s games. Stanford will get its first true test of Pac-12 play this week as it hosts No. 7 Arizona Thursday.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
4. Oregon State (12-5, 3-2)
Sure, the Beavers can’t do much offensively but so far that hasn’t mattered. Despite ranking in the bottom half of the conference in nearly every major offensive category, first-year coach Wayne Tinkle has Oregon State playing good basketball, which was seen as a long shot at the beginning of the year. The Beavers still boast the top defensive squad in the Pac-12 as few teams have been able to break through Oregon State’s stingy zone defense, especially at Gill Coliseum where the Beavers are a perfect 10-0.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
5. UCLA (11-7, 3-2)
Somehow, the Bruins have followed up their worst stretch of play of the season in which they lost five straight games with three of their best performances of the year. Coach Steve Alford seems to have found a winning formula by making his frontcourt players, freshman forward Kevon Looney and junior forward/center Tony Parker, more integral pieces of the offense. The duo are averaging 23.8 combined points per game this season, but have scored 34.3 points per game during UCLA’s three-game winning streak. If UCLA’s guards can hit their outside shots more consistently to support Parker and Looney, this season may not be lost after all.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.
6. Washington (13-4, 2-3)
Washington assuaged some of the concerns surrounding it during a dismal four-game losing streak that saw it fall to the likes of Stony Brook, California and Washington State. The Huskies righted the ship a bit by sweeping the two Oregon schools this past week. I’d expect that to continue as Washington is a strong defensive team and has an outstanding point guard in Nigel Williams-Goss, which is typically a recipe for success in college basketball. However, the team simply cannot shoot the ball from beyond-the-arc and must travel to Utah this week.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
7. Oregon (12-6, 2-3)
There are a lot of reasons to like the Ducks. And then there are plenty of reasons to prevent putting them near the top of the rankings. At 77.8 points per game, they lead the conference in scoring and they also rebound and move the ball well. But then there’s the fact that Oregon has lost two straight, barely got past Arizona State and gave up 108 points to Washington State. Joseph Young paces the offense while Jordan Bell is an enforcer inside but it remains to be seen if the Ducks can slow anyone down.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
8. Washington State (9-8, 3-2)
The Cougars have trended toward the bottom of our rankings dating back to the preseason. And while that most likely won’t change, Washington State has already surpassed the number of conference wins it had a year ago after defeating Oregon last week. Sophomore forward Josh Hawkinson, who averages a double-double, is a bright spot on a team that has surprisingly won five of its last seven. While the program is trending upward, don’t expect the Cougars to do so in the rankings. They are limited offensively and have their share of struggles on defense.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
9. Colorado (9-8, 2-3)
For a team that returned most of its main pieces from last season – save for guard Spencer Dinwiddie who missed most of last season due to injury – the Buffs have been particularly disappointing this season. After a rough showing during non-conference play, Colorado has fared even worse against Pac-12 competition, losing its past three games. In Colorado’s defense, two of those losses were against No. 9 Utah and No. 10 Arizona and the third, against Arizona State, was a three-point game with 19 seconds remaining. Still, the Buffaloes are teetering on the brink of .500 overall and need to turn things around this week against the Washington schools.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.
10. California (11-7, 1-4)
A month ago the Golden Bears were 10-1 with their lone loss coming against a top-10 team, their resume reinforced with a victory over a top-25 school. My, how things have changed. Cal has lost six of its last seven, four of them by double-digits and are currently tied for the worst record in the conference. While Jordan Mathews and Tyrone Wallace continue to have great individual seasons, the Golden Bears look far away from salvaging theirs. Cal takes on fellow Pac-12 bottom-dweller Arizona State before taking on Arizona this week.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
11. USC (9-8, 1-4)
Things seemed to be turning around for USC after a double-digit victory over Cal and a narrow two-point loss to Stanford two weeks ago. UCLA was quick to end any optimism, though. The Bruins raced past the Trojans to an 83-66 win last week and exposed what seems to be a huge weakness: USC was outrebounded by UCLA 41-20 and have the second-worst rebounding margin in the Pac-12. USC will look to snap its two-game losing streak against Oregon and Oregon State this week.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.
12. Arizona State (9-9, 1-4)
With the loss of its top two players from last season, guard Jahii Carson and center Jordan Bachynski, the Sun Devils were expected to see a drop in performance, but the drop from finishing tied for third place in the Pac-12 last season to dead last this year is still shocking. Things have been looking up recently for Arizona State, though, relatively speaking. With a victory over Colorado last week, ASU snapped a four-game losing streak and finally earned its first Pac-12 win. The Sun Devils still sit at last place in the conference and don’t have much hope in improving upon that.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.