After another week of Pac-12 basketball action, Daily Bruin Sports returns with its newest edition of Pac-12 power rankings.
1. No. 6 Arizona (20-2, 8-1) [Last week: 1]
Arizona holds on to the top spot in the rankings in part due to Utah’s loss on the road to UCLA, but mostly for its two emphatic victories over Oregon and Oregon State. The Wildcats stymied the conference’s top offense in their 90-56 victory over the Ducks on Wednesday, while shooting lights out themselves. They then avenged their lone conference loss in routing the Beavers 57-34. At the conference’s halfway mark, Arizona appears to be a clear cut above the rest and one of the most well-rounded teams in all of college basketball.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
2. No. 13 Utah (17-4, 7-2) [Last week: 2]
The loss to UCLA was a major letdown on the road, especially after the Utes completely handled the Bruins in their first meeting. UCLA played strong defense but the effort didn’t seem to be there for Utah. That can’t happen come tournament time. Still, the sky isn’t falling since Utah regained form, easily dispatching USC by 28 two nights later. The Utes have one of the best recipes in college basketball, as they combine a stellar defense with high percentage shooting, and one of the best point guards in college basketball, Delon Wright.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
3. Oregon State (14-7, 5-4) [Last week: 3]
Oregon State’s credibility took a significant hit this past week, as the Beavers traveled to Arizona and got bludgeoned by Pac-12 bottom-feeder Arizona State and powerhouse Arizona. Each of these losses marked new low points for the Beavers this season – their 73 points allowed against Arizona State were a season-high, and their 34 points scored versus Arizona were a new season low. It’s hard to knock on the Beavers too much, because these are just two blemishes on what has otherwise been a solid campaign thus far, but consider it a potential warning for a Beaver slide down the stretch.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
4. Stanford (15-6, 6-3) [Last week: 4]
Stanford looked poised to blow out Washington State and complete an undefeated road trip to the state of Washington. The Cardinal drained five 3-pointers in the first 9:30 of the game, taking a 27-14 lead. But then Stanford’s problematic defense came to the fore, catalyzing a Cardinal demise that sullied the team’s national reputation. Stanford’s 89-88 loss to Washington State is just one loss – but it revealed that Stanford should not be placed in the same echelon as Utah and Arizona. The Cardinal rely too much on the 3-pointers, and not enough on team defense.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
5. Oregon (15-7, 5-4) [Last week: 5]
The bright spot for the Ducks this past week was that they escaped their Arizona road trip with at least one win. Oregon’s in-state rivals from Corvallis can’t come close to saying that. But once again, Oregon proved it’s a good – but not great – team. The Ducks edged the Sun Devils by one point in overtime, then lost by 34 points to the Wildcats. So, while the Ducks’ overall record looks pretty good, their 0-4 record against teams in kenpom.com’s top-50 remains a huge question mark.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
6. UCLA (13-9, 5-4) [Last week: 8]
Any chance the Bruins can get the Pac-12 tourney moved to Pauley Pavilion? Saturday’s upset of No. 11 Utah moved UCLA to 11-1 at home and boosted its tournament resume with a signature win. The Bruins are a profoundly different team when playing on Nell and John Wooden Court, where they average 81.7 points per game as opposed to just 51.7 when playing elsewhere. But this past week the story for the Bruins was their defense as UCLA held Utah and Colorado to 59 points apiece en route to avenging a pair of losses earlier in the season. Now the Bruins look to claim the season sweep – and prove they can win on the road – as UCLA heads north to take on Stanford and Cal.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
7. Colorado (11-10, 4-5) [Last week: 7]
Colorado’s disappointing season continued as it squeaked by USC in triple overtime before being thoroughly handled by UCLA in the final leg of its road trip to Los Angeles. Askia Booker – who scored 43 in his team’s 98-94 victory over the Trojans – can’t do it alone, although right now he pretty much has to. Talented forward Josh Scott has missed eight of the Buffaloes’ last nine games while they have won just two of their last seven. Colorado needs to take advantage of its upcoming home stand, where it hosts Utah, Cal and Stanford in its next three games.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
8. Arizona State (11-11, 3-6) [Last week: 9]
The Sun Devils started conference play by dropping their first four games, but since then have played decently over the latter half of January. Arizona State routed Cal and Oregon State and fell to Oregon by just one in overtime. While the Sun Devils aren’t good, that’s not a bad stretch for a team that looked to be the worst in the conference a few weeks ago.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
9. Cal (13-9, 3-6) [Last week: 12]
Cal got its season back on track this past week, notching road wins against the Washington schools. The Bears looked to finally have their resolve and toughness back, as they eked out a hard-fought 90-88 win against the Washington Huskies. Cal’s talent is far better than its record suggests, but for the Bears to take a significant rise in these rankings, they’ll need to string together a winning streak of longer than two games.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
10. Washington State (10-11, 4-5) [Last week: 10]
Just when it looked like bad was turning to worse for the Cougars, they pulled out an impressive win over the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday night. That win snapped a four-game losing streak, and kept the Cougars’ hope for a first-round bye at the Pac-12 tournament alive. At this point, that’s about all the Cougars have to look forward to, as their dismal defense – which ranks No. 339 in points allowed per game –prevents them from being taken seriously.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
11. Washington (14-7, 3-6) [Last week: 6]
I officially give up on trying to accurately rank the Huskies. They are one of the most enigmatic teams in the country, as they possess some of the best perimeter talent in the conference, yet have four losses against teams outside of kenpom.com’s top-140. The one thing that is clear is that the team’s dismissal of starting center Robert Upshaw has significantly weakened the Huskies’ defense. Without Upshaw – the nation’s leading shot blocker – for the first time this past week, Washington set new season-highs for points allowed in losses to Stanford and Cal.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
12. USC (9-12, 1-8) [Last week: 11]
The race to the bottom of the Pac-12 has a runaway winner at this point. The Trojans have dropped six in a row, capped off by a drubbing at the hands of the Utes. The one bright spot for USC is that three of the losses have come by four points or fewer. Yikes. Coach Andy Enfield’s group is what it is at this point: a young squad that will be competitive against the middle of the pack in the conference, but one that isn’t close to competing against the Pac-12’s top tier. A trip up to Cal on Thursday represents USC’s best shot for a second conference win.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.