Losers. That’s what I thought of Pac-12 basketball for a long time. Living on the East Coast for all of my life up until college, I had some “East Coast bias” when it came to college basketball. The games were on too late, no one ever talked about them and a lot of West Coast schools tended to underperform in the tournament during my lifetime. Since I’ve been alive, no team in the Pac-12 has cut down the nets at the end of the year, and the last team to make the title game was UCLA in 2006 (objectively not good).
With that being said, I’ve come to realize that the Pac-12 — or the Conference of Champions (shout-out Bill Walton) — is legit. This conference doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves and people often underestimate these teams.
Last year’s tournament is a perfect example. The Pac-12 had three teams in the Elite Eight when a lot of experts didn’t think they’d even have one. The East Coast bias may not have completely gone away, but last year opened everyone’s eyes as to how good Pac-12 basketball can be.
This year has been no different and conference play in the Conference of Champions has been highly competitive. We are in the latter half of the season, and there has been plenty of incredible basketball.
All 12 teams have had their ups and downs and, as always, it’s a cutthroat conference where anybody can beat anybody. All of these teams can play basketball at a high level, and all of them are talented — obviously some more than others. But the margin between the best and worst team in the Pac-12 is smaller than most people think.
Since this is my first power ranking of the season, I’ll try my best to give a view of each team over the course of the entire season rather than only the past two weeks. I’ll still hold more recent games with greater value (this is still a power ranking after all), but these are rankings considering records, stats and the eye test over the entire season. With all that being said, let’s get into my power rankings of the Pac-12 as we’re deep into conference play.
1) Arizona (20-2 overall, 10-1 conference)
After a great week of beating both LA teams, it seems like a no-brainer to have Arizona at number one. Arizona has all the pieces of a legitimate title contender. Sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin is an athletic 6-foot-6 guard who is looking like a future lottery pick in the NBA.
Mathurin is leading Arizona in scoring with 16.5 points per game and shooting 45.8% from the field and 35.5% from the 3-point line.
Sophomore forward Ąžuolus Tubelis is a force down low and is about as consistent as they come. He’s Arizona’s second-leading scorer at 14.6 points per game and is shooting 54.8% from the field. Junior center Christian Koloko anchors them on defense and has a staggering 68 blocks on the season.
Oh, did I mention they’re huge? Like bigger than the hype around “Squid Game” (maybe not that big but you get my point). Koloko is a legit 7-foot-1, Tubelis is 6-foot-11, backup junior center Oumar Ballo is 7-foot, and sophomore guard Dalen Terry is 6-foot-7. This team has seemingly endless length. They are a group full of matchup nightmares for most teams on both sides of the court.
If you’ve seen them play you probably don’t need me to tell you that they’re a good team. And if you haven’t… they’re a good team. Trust me.
2) UCLA (17-4 overall, 9-3 conference)
Although UCLA lost two straight last week for the first time all season, don’t let that fool you. They lost to a very good Arizona team followed by a not-so-good Arizona State (in triple overtime I might add) in two tough road battles.
Regardless, UCLA has two of the most important things for success in college basketball: talent and experience. Their big three of Redshirt junior guard Tyger Campbell, junior guard Jaime Jaquez and junior guard Johnny Juzang encapsulate those two things. Campbell was First Team All-Pac-12 last year and Jaquez and Juzang were both on the second team. They have all continued to show why this year.
Campbell is a great true point guard and runs the offense masterfully, Juzang is a certified bucket-getter and Jaquez does it all on both sides of the floor as he also made the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team last year. All three guys can get hot on offense and their role players in senior guard Jules Bernard and redshirt senior forward Cody Riley would be the centerpieces on a lot of other teams.
UCLA plays excellent team basketball and can beat teams in a variety of ways. The rivalry game with USC this Saturday is a must-watch for any fan of the Pac-12 and really college basketball.
3) USC (20-4 overall, 9-4 conference)
That brings us to good ol’ USC. As is true for many USC fans this season, this team simultaneously entices me and baffles me. They will look like a legitimate powerhouse that could beat anyone in the country for 10 minutes and then go scoreless for the next 10.
The Trojans are a confusing team. The talent and coaching are there but the execution is sometimes not. Their offensive woes can’t really be overstated. With limited perimeter shooting, opposing teams can pack the paint and stifle USC’s offense.
On Tuesday they were in a one-possession game with Pacific with one minute remaining in the game.
PACIFIC!
They did win that game, but it wasn’t pretty. Yes, they were without their best player in junior forwardIsaiah Mobley, but it shouldn’t have been that close. USC is still a team with plenty of question marks and a lot left to prove in my eyes. They’ve shown they can play close with great teams like Arizona, but can they win those games? I’d like to think so with talent as impressive as junior guard Boogie Ellis and Mobley, but that remains to be seen.4) Oregon (15-7 overall, 8-3 conference)
5) Washington State (14-7 overall, 7-3 conference)
6) Stanford (14-9 overall, 7-6 conference)
These three teams are all very good but just a step below the top three. Oregon started off the year slow, but their best basketball is ahead of them. After starting the season 6-6, they’ve since won nine of their last 10 – two of those wins against USC and UCLA – and are continuing to climb the rankings ladder.
The Cougars have won five straight (albeit two of those have come against Cal) and have played balanced basketball all season long. This team doesn’t have any big-time stars and they seem to pride themselves on the defensive end. As of February 9, they lead the Pac-12 in scoring defense, only allowing 62.2 points per game. Watch out for the Cougars at home today against Arizona as they look for a marquee win.
Stanford is a team that I am very high on. Is it because they have beaten USC twice and I’m trying to convince myself that those weren’t bad, bad losses? Not at all. OK, maybe a little. But that would be an oversimplified view because this team is legitimately good. I’m a big fan of freshman phenom forward Harrison Ingram who does it all for the Cardinal. He leads them in points and rebounds and is second in assists.
All three of these teams are tournament hopefuls that certainly have the talent to get there and would be a dangerous matchup for anyone.
7) Colorado (14-9 overall, 6-7 conference)
8) Washington (12-9 overall, 7-4 conference)
These two teams are teams that I’m a bit more skeptical about. Colorado has won only three of their last nine — one of those losses being a beating at Washington State losing 70-43. Washington has an electrifying graduate guard in Terrell Brown Jr. who leads the conference in scoring, but I’m still unsure of how good they truly are. Both teams have shown potential throughout the season, but I don’t think they have the talent to move out of the middle of the “Pac.”
9) Arizona State (7-14 overall, 3-8 conference)
10) Utah (9-15 overall, 2-12 conference)
11) Cal (10-15 overall, 3-11 conference)
12) Oregon State (3-18 overall, 1-10 conference)
This is the group that has struggled all season long. There have been very few positives for all these teams. If you’re a fan of any of these teams you might want to look up your recruits for next season because the current season looks like a wash.
“Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings” runs Thursdays