Drew VonScio gives his Pac-12 basketball power rankings heading into week 2 of the 2023 season.
Matchup of the Week: Xavier vs Washington (Nov. 18 – Midnight)
Sneaky Good Matchup of the Week: Appalachian State vs Oregon State (Nov. 14 – 10 p.m.)
All games listed are EST.
1.Arizona Wildcats
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Duke (78-73), W vs. Morgan State (122-59)
Next Week: vs. Southern (Nov. 13 – 8 p.m), vs. Belmont (Nov. 17 – 11 p.m.), vs. UT Arlington (Nov. 19 – 6 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Duke
Bad Losses: N/A
While most teams are playing buy games at the start of the season, Arizona had a true test in just its second game of the season with last season’s ACC Champions… in Durham. The Wildcats made a strong statement on the road and while it may just be November, they are a team to watch out for when March rolls around. All five starters for Arizona posted double digits proving that this team has one of the deepest lineups in the conference. Oh, and let’s not forget about Caleb Love showing off his range with a half-court shot just before the end of the first half.
2. USC Trojans
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. CSUB (85-59), W vs. Kansas State (82-69)
Next Week: vs. UC Irvine (Nov. 14 – 11 p.m.), vs. Brown (Nov. 19 – 8 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Kansas State
Bad Losses: N/A
The Trojans have cruised to a pair of early season wins over CSU Bakersfield and Kansas State led by the duo of Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis. Ellis posted 24 points in the win over K-State while Collier has averaged 18.5 points per game. USC has shot over 51% from the field and over 77% from the foul line in each of its first two games. In the win over the Wildcats, the Trojans posted 50 (of 82) points in the paint. There’s a reason USC moved up in the AP Top 25, and it continues to be a strong squad in the early goings on the season.
3. Colorado Buffaloes
Last Week’s Ranking: NA
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Grambling State (95-63), W vs. Towson (75-57)
Next Week: vs. Milwaukee (Nov. 14 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Colorado has shown through its opening two games that this a team that will turn a lot of heads this season. The Buffaloes have averaged 85 points per game and limited opponents to just 60 points per game. This is a team that is sinking shots at an incredible rate of 54% while showing its size and physicality in the paint, averaging 39.5 rebounds per game. When a team shoots this well and rebounds at a high rate, it’s clear Colorado can be a team to look out for as the season progresses.
4. Utah Utes
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. UC Riverside (82-53), W vs. Eastern Washington (101-66)
Next Week: at Wake Forest (Nov. 16 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Utah has gone on a tear offensively to start the season at the Utes have posted 183 points through the opening pair of games, including 101 against Eastern Washington. This is a Utah team that is very deep with seven (yes, seven) players who have averaged 10+ points per game to start the year. They have posted 25+ points off the bench in both games so far, and it’s hard to imagine a team being better than Utah in the country with averaging 50 rebounds per game. If the Utes can keep this up as the season progresses, they could be a sleeper team to win the Pac-12.
5. UCLA Bruins
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Lafayette (68-50), W vs. St. Francis PA (75-44)
Next Week: vs. LIU (Nov. 15 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Sebastian Makowski, Dylan Andrews and Adam Bona have led the Bruins through their opening two games. Bona’s 28 points against St. Francis were a career high for the sophomore forward as he looks to provide a boost to the scoring for UCLA. The Bruins defense was questionable in the first half against Lafayette when the Leopards posted 33 points, but UCLA locked things down in the second half. If that defense can continue to show up every time the Bruins take the floor, Mick Cronin can show that this group is just as good as the squad he had last year that went to the Sweet 16, if not better.
6. Oregon Ducks
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Montana (75-61), W vs.Georgia (82-71)
Next Week: vs. Tennessee State (Nov. 17 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Oregon put together a solid first week after it comfortably got past Georgia in the Hall of Fame Series before coming back home and locking things down defensively against Montana. In both games so far this season, Oregon has had at least four players post double digits and spreading the wealth offensively. The Ducks have shown they can capitalize off of turnovers as they scored 28 in that manner in the win over the Bulldogs. As the season progress though, Oregon must improve on their free throw shooting where they currently are posting just a 52% mark. They took a step forward in this regard the win over Montana, but continuing to improve will be a must.
7. Stanford Cardinal
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Sacramento State (91-73), W vs. CSUN (88-79)
Next Week: vs. Santa Clara (Nov. 14 – 9 p.m.), vs. Eastern Washington (Nov. 17 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
The Cardinal are off to a 2-0 start and what positives they show offensively are quickly negated by poor defensive play. Stanford is conceding an average of 76 points per game with opponents shooting 43% from the field. CSUN also scored 58 points in the paint against the Cardinal, a stat that Jerod Haase will quickly want to correct. Strong performances from Brandon Angel, Maxime Raynaud and Michael Jones have lifted Stanford’s offense in its pair of wins. While things may look good for Stanford now, the season can turn upside down in the blink of an eye if the defense continues to perform this way.
8. Washington State Cougars
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Prairie View A&M (83-65), W vs. Idaho (84-59)
Next Week: vs. Mississippi State (Nov. 18 – Noon), vs. Northwestern OR Rhode Island (Nov. 19 – Time TBD)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
The Cougars have a trio of Isaac Jones, Myles Rice and Andrej Jakimovski leading the way for them with Oscar Cluff providing a spark from the bench. Washington State has shot the ball extremely well in its first two contests, sitting at an average of 54% from the opening games. After falling out of the NIT in the first round last year and now with this trio in the starting lineup, the odds of making a deep NIT run or getting to Dayton this season are certainly on the table.
9. Washington Huskies
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-1 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Bellarmine (91-57), W vs. Northern Kentucky (75-67), L vs. Nevada (83-76)
Next Week: vs. Xavier (Nov. 17 – 9 p.m), vs. San Diego State OR Saint Mary’s (Nov. 19 – Time TBD)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Washington’s defense in the loss against Nevada was not pretty as the Wolf Pack scored 40+ points in both halves. Kenan Blackshear ripped through the Huskies as he went on to put up 31 points. Offensively, Keion Brooks Jr has led the Washington offense through the first two games. He currently leads the team with an average of 25.5 points per game and has logged over 30 minutes in each start. Sahvir Wheeler is providing an alternate scoring option, but the Huskies don’t have a whole lot behind those two shooting threats.
10. Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 1-1 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Texas Southern (63-52), L vs. Mississippi State (71-56)
Next Week: vs. UMass Lowell (Nov. 16 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Trying to replace four of five starters was never going to be easy for Bobby Hurley as Arizona State goes through a bit of a rebuild. Louisville transfer Kamari Lands has shown early on that he is going to fill one of those spots as he averages 12.5 points per game; he led the Sun Devils in scoring in the loss against Mississippi State. The first half against Bulldogs was one to forget for Arizona State as it scored just 18 points and was 0-of-9 from behind the arc. Figuring out a strong five heading into Pac-12 play is the primary goal for Hurley.
11. Oregon State Beavers
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Troy (81-80 2OT), W vs. Linfield (82-46)
Next Week: vs. Appalachian State (Nov. 14 – 10 p.m.), vs. Nebraska (Nov. 18 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Oregon State has a strong trio of its own with Jordan Pope, Tyler Bilodeau and Dexter Akanno who have been the leading scorers for the Beavers in both games this season. The Beavers offense looked much stronger against a weaker Linfield team, but Troy certainly gave Oregon State a run for its money. Three-point shooting has been a weakness so far this season with clips of 23.8% against Troy and 26.1% against Linfield. This is one area where the Beavers can improve internally as they had very little impact in the transfer portal to bolster the team. Pending big changes, Oregon State will struggle this year.
12. California Golden Bears
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
Record: 1-1 (0-0)
Last Week: L vs. Pacific (87-79), W vs. St. Thomas MN (71-66)
Next Week: vs. CSU Bakersfield (Nov. 13 – 10 p.m.), vs. Montana State (Nov. 16 – 11 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
This will probably be as close to the top of the conference as the Golden Bears will be all season, but it is certainly not the fault of Mark Madsen. Even though California’s team is undergoing a complete rebuild, Madsen may potentially have two players who can make a big difference in Fardaws Aimaq and Jalen Cone who have posted double digits in both appearances. Jaylon Tyson did not play against St. Thomas but balled out against Pacific with double-double. It’s all about the pieces starting to slowly come together this season for the Golden Bears who will look to improve upon their 3-29 record from a season ago.