With another week of Pac-12 men’s basketball in the books, Daily Bruin Sports returns with its weekly installment of Pac-12 power rankings.
1. No. 7 Arizona (22-3, 10-2)(Last week: 1)
Not much change here. Another week, another pair of 20-plus-point wins. Arizona dismantled both Washington and Washington State with hyper-efficient offensive efforts and smothering one-on-one defense. Coach Sean Miller’s team shot higher than 50 percent against both the Huskies and Cougars, and forced 26 combined turnovers over the two games. There’s not much reason to think that won’t continue this week as the Wildcats return home – where they have yet to lose this season – for games against USC and UCLA this week.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
2. No. 9 Utah (20-4, 10-2) (Last week: 2)
The scary thing about Utah’s two wins over Stanford and Cal – by scores of 75-59 and 76-61, respectively – is that they were just below average. The Utes average 74.3 points per game and yield only 56.4 points per game to opposing squads. So that’s what Utah has done so far this season: turned 16 and 15-point victories into something of a disappointment. Scarier still is that the Utes took down the Cardinal while getting just five points on 0-4 shooting from starting guard Brandon Taylor. This team is deep, talented, efficient and yes, scary at times. The Utes head to Oregon to battle the Ducks and Beavers this week, which means they’ll have to avoid looking ahead to their rematch with the Wildcats at the end of the month.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
3. UCLA (16-10, 8-5) (Last week: 6)
It’s hard to understate just how crucial UCLA’s pair of victories last week were. In defeating the Beavers and Ducks, the Bruins dominated two teams that had beat them soundly in Oregon. UCLA also demonstrated that it could close out a game, after failing to do so a week prior against Cal. And, most importantly, UCLA moved into third-place tie with Oregon in the Pac-12 standings by winning Saturday. To keep pace in the conference race, UCLA will need a pair of strong performances in its final road trip this year as it faces Arizona State and No. 7 Arizona for the first time this week. UCLA is 3-4 in its initial meetings with Pac-12 schools this year and 5-1 in rematches.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
4. Oregon (18-8, 8-5) (Last week: 4)
This past week, the Ducks did what they’ve done all year: They won when they were favored and lost when they were the underdog. Oregon avoided embarrassment by defeating USC 80-75 Wednesday, but the team crumbled in a statement game at UCLA Saturday. The Ducks’ struggles against the Bruins rested sorely on their porous defense – which ranks No. 295 in the nation, allowing 71.4 points per game. Oregon imposed its home environment onto Westwood, making it rain from beyond the arc, but the Ducks’ fruitless defense conspired to weaken them, allowing the Bruins to emerge as the better team.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
5. Cal (16-10, 6-7) (Last week: 5)
Cal had its season-changing five-game win streak snapped this weekend, but there’s no reason for the Bears to lose their optimism. Cal’s streak-ending loss occurred at Utah – a place where no visiting team has won all season. That loss aside, Cal played well on its Rocky Mountain road trip, defeating a Colorado team which had its full squad back at full strength for the first time in weeks. The Bears have depth in the 3-point shooting department, as junior guard Tyrone Wallace, sophomore guards Jordan Mathews, Sam Singer and graduate transfer forward Dwight Tarwater are all legitimate threats from beyond the arc. Cal struggles with rebounding and assisting, but the Bears’ strong perimeter play makes them capable of beating most teams in the conference on any given night.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
6. Stanford (16-9, 7-6) (Last week: 7)
The Cardinal’s usually proficient offense didn’t travel with the team to Utah and Colorado this past week. Stanford’s season average for points per game is 73.6, but the Cardinal put up 59 and 58 points in losses to Utah and Colorado, respectively. It’s hard to tell whether these Cardinal offensive woes are a harbinger for things to come or merely a red herring, as certain teams tend to struggle with shooting in the high-altitude environments of Utah and Colorado. My bet is that sharp-shooting guards senior Chasson Randle and redshirt senior Anthony Brown get it back on track when they return home to face Cal and the Oregon schools over the next two weeks.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
7. Oregon State (16-9, 7-6) (Last week: 3)
Oregon State took a major step back this week – a regression so severe that the Beavers may have removed themselves from NCAA tournament contention because of it. Oregon State’s loss to UCLA wasn’t so bad, even though it was by 16 points, but the team’s 13-point loss to bottom-dwelling USC Saturday was flat-out fatal. It’s understandable if a team gets upset on the road – that happens frequently across the country – but to lose to the worst team in the conference by double-digits is unacceptable. Unless the Beavers pull off an impressive run in the Pac-12 tournament, they will miss the NCAA tournament for the 25th-straight year.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
8. Arizona State (13-12, 5-7) (Last week: 8)
The Sun Devils came out of their Washington road trip with a 1-1 record, which should be considered a winning weekend for them. Prior to this weekend, Arizona State had lost five of its last six road games against the Washington schools, and hadn’t won at Washington since 2008. With that in mind, the Sun Devils’ 78-68 win against the Huskies in Seattle should be viewed as an accomplishment – even though the Huskies are as bad as they’ve been in years. Another sign of optimism for ASU: guard Gerry Blakes. The junior averaged 23.5 points in the two games, which more than doubled his season average.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
9. Colorado (12-12, 5-7) (Last week: 9)
Colorado ended a three-game skid by surprisingly taking down Stanford at home. Actually, given the way the Cardinal team has played in the latter half of the Pac-12 slate – it has lost four of its last five games – maybe the Buffs’ win wasn’t that surprising. That Colorado was able to do it while shooting 32.8 percent from the field and 5-18 from 3-point territory may be more of an indictment of how bad Stanford is playing than anything the Buffs did right. Still, a win is a win and Colorado hasn’t had many of those over the past month. It likely won’t have many over its final six – four of which are on the road, where the Buffs have just one conference win. Enjoy senior guard Askia Booker while you can, folks!
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
10. Washington State (11-14, 5-8) (Last week: 11)
Washington State had another short-lived moment of glory this week. The Cougars defeated the Sun Devils 74-71 Friday night to end a two-game slide, but then got hammered by 27 points against the Wildcats Sunday. Perhaps the most consistent bright spot of the weekend for WSU was redshirt senior Dexter Kernich-Drew, who scored 27 and 20 points against Arizona State and Arizona, respectively. The 6-foot-7 guard has emerged over his last three Pac-12 games, dropping 18 or more in each after failing to score over six in any of the Cougars’ first 10 conference games this year. If Kernich-Drew continues his ascent, look for the Cougars to potentially pull off an upset in the Pac-12 tournament.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
11. Washington (14-11, 3-10) (Last week: 10)
The Huskies’ tailspin continued for yet another week, as Washington lost two more to extend its season-high losing streak to seven games. Washington’s 24-point loss to Arizona Friday was one of its worst home-court defeats in coach Lorenzo Romar’s era – which may be coming to an end very soon. Then, two days later, Washington was outscored 14-4 over the final 4:49 against a subpar Arizona State squad, allowing the Sun Devils to turn a tie game into a runaway 78-68 win. The Huskies are in dire need of answers right now, and may be looking for a new coach to provide them.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
12. USC (10-15, 2-11) (Last week: 12)
The Trojans struggled to start the season, dropping 11 of their first 12 games. So what, USC lost to Oregon by five – did anyone expect anything different? What I didn’t expect – but maybe should’ve after the Trojans lost in Corvallis, Ore. by just four points – was for USC to blowout Oregon State 68-55 and for freshman guard Elijah Stewart to drop a game-high 19 points in relief of Jordan McLaughlin – who didn’t play. Give credit to a pretty young team for not giving up when they surely could’ve. Suddenly, it looks like USC might not finish last in the conference after all. It trails Washington by just one game and faces the Huskies at the end of the month. But first a trip to the Arizona schools which will most likely keep the Trojans locked in the Pac-12 cellar.
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.