Death, taxes and competitive Pac-12 basketball. Some things never change.
Welcome to my second Pac-12 basketball power rankings. It’s been an eventful two weeks of conference play with plenty of noteworthy games. Obviously, great wins for some mean bad losses for others. That’s just the way it goes when you play in the Conference of Champions.
But no need for a long-winded intro. This time, let’s just jump right into the rankings.
1) Arizona (24-2 overall, 14-1 conference)
Arizona keeps winning and continues to look like the best team in the conference. Since the last power rankings, Arizona rattled off four wins against (mostly) quality teams. The Wildcats went on the road and handily beat Washington and Washington State. To the surprise of no one, the Oregon State game wasn’t close either.
The game against Oregon, however, was a little tighter. There were a total of 16 lead changes, and the Wildcats narrowly came out on top, 84-81. Sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin was a huge factor in all four games and had at least 20 points in each of them. Needless to say, Mathurin hasn’t slowed down at all and looks like the frontrunner for Pac-12 Player of the Year. The Wildcats have looked good all season, and nothing has changed recently, cementing Arizona as the conference’s top team at the moment.
2) USC (23-4 overall, 12-4 conference)
Yes, after the cross-town rivalry I had to move USC above UCLA. USC refuses to win by large margins, but you can’t knock a win over your biggest rival regardless of margin. In the last two weeks, USC also beat Washington handily and squeaked past Washington State on a clutch basket from junior guard Boogie Ellis with 0.2 seconds left. USC still hasn’t reached its full potential but as long as the Trojans are winning games, no USC fan can complain too much.
3) UCLA (20-5 overall, 12-4 conference)
That brings us to UCLA. To be fair, UCLA played almost as bad as they possibly could have in its loss to USC. Was it the huge, boisterous crowd of USC students? Sure, USC fans will gladly take credit for UCLA’s poor performance. Regardless, this is still a team with the talent to make the Final Four for the second year in a row.
Junior forward Jaime Jaquez played terribly against USC, shooting 2-11 from the field, and that’s just not the type of player that he is. The Bruins bounced back and won their next three games against Washington State, Washington and Arizona State. The recent struggles from Jaquez and junior guard Johnny Juzang are troublesome for Bruins fans but certainly can be corrected before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
4) Oregon (17-10 overall, 10-6 conference)
Oregon went from one of the hottest teams in the conference to … well, the opposite of that. The Ducks have lost three of their last four with two of those losses coming from Cal and Arizona State. Against Cal, Oregon allowed a 24-0 run in the first half. Granted, Cal was playing well, but the Oregon defense still didn’t look great. The loss to Arizona by three in a thriller showed that the Ducks are still a good but a streaky team and a clear step down from the top three teams in the conference.
5) Colorado (18-9 overall, 10-7 conference)
Colorado is a team on a little bit of a hot streak. They’ve won their last five, albeit against teams toward the bottom of the pack, but you take wins when you can in the Conference of Champions. The Buffaloes have developed a balanced scoring attack with at least three players in double digits in their last five wins. Colorado’s frontcourt has looked very solid and played smart basketball. The Buffs have flown a bit under the radar this year but have the talent to make some noise at the end of the season.
6) Washington State (15-12 overall, 8-8 conference)
The Cougars are a good team and continue to play teams close. But this isn’t horseshoes or hand grenades, and close just isn’t good enough. In just the past two weeks, WSU almost beat Arizona State (bad loss), Oregon and USC (understandable losses). This team has the talent to keep up with the best teams but can’t seem to come out on top in tight games.
With that being said, WSU got a much-needed win over Washington. The Cougars got big contributions from freshman forward Mouhamed Gueye who had 25 points and sophomore forward Efe Abogidi who had 21 points and 14 rebounds. Neither averages more than eight points. If the Cougs can keep up their stellar defense and get points from role players like Gueye and Abogidi, they could be a scary matchup for anyone.
7) Stanford (15-12 overall, 8-9 conference)
Stanford, Stanford, Stanford. What is going on? The Cardinal had a very bad two weeks, going 1-3. I’ll be honest, I thought Stanford was better than that. The loss to Utah was the real kicker. Losing to Oregon and Colorado makes sense, but Utah (no offense to the Utes) is not in any way better than the Cardinal. Stanford doesn’t have a consistent scoring option, and they are struggling down the stretch in games. I still believe in freshman forward Harrison Ingram, but he’s going to have to pick it up if the Cardinal want to turn their season around.
8) Washington (13-13 overall, 8-8 conference)
Washington had a tough schedule the past two weeks, having to play Arizona, USC, UCLA and Washington State. The Huskies lost all of those games, and the losses exposed that Washington is just not good enough on offense to make up for their poor defense. Their best player, graduate guard Terrell Brown Jr., has played fine, but when you expect him to put up 25 points or more every night, that is a big ask. Washington is a team that could be dangerous if they get hot, but even then the Huskies are still a beatable team.
9) Arizona State (10-16 overall, 6-10 conference)
The Sun Devils are heating up after an abysmal start to the year. ASU beat Washington State, Oregon State and, surprisingly, Oregon. Arizona State didn’t just beat Oregon — the Sun Devils crushed them like a varsity team playing JV and winning by a margin of 24. When this team gets on a roll, they are tough to beat. This team could be a very tough out in the Pac-12 tournament. Look out for the Sun Devils.
10) Utah (11-16 overall, 4-13 conference)
Utah competed over these past two weeks and came out with a few solid wins. The Utes beat Stanford and Cal in tight games and lost to Colorado in a battle. They still don’t have a go-to guy who can take over games down the stretch, but they do have a solid all-around team. Without a true star, Utah’s ceiling will be limited as the season comes to a close.
11) Cal (11-17 overall, 4-13 conference)
The Golden Bears had a pretty good two weeks all things considered. Graduate guard Jordan Shepard dropped 33 points in a win over Oregon and was in control for most of the game. Cal also lost to both Colorado and Utah in close games. The win against Oregon was nice, but it’s a little too late to salvage the season.
12) Oregon State (3-22 overall, 1-14 conference)
This is not the Oregon State team from last year. The Beavers have now lost 12 straight with no signs of that streak coming to an end any time soon. The only way the Beavers can turn this season around is if Michael Jordan in his prime or Jesus stepped on the court for them. And unfortunately for the Beavers (but fortunately for Jordan and Jesus), that isn’t going to happen.
“Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings” runs every other Thursday.