As conference play gets set to begin, Drew VonScio gives his Pac-12 power rankings ahead of week 8 in college basketball.
Matchup of the Week: Washington vs Colorado (Dec. 29 – 9 p.m.)
Sneaky Good Matchups of the Week: Washington State vs Colorado (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.) and Washington vs Utah (Dec. 31 – 6 p.m.)
All games listed are EST.
1. Arizona Wildcats
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
Record: 9-2 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Alabama (87-74), L vs. #14 FAU (96-95)
Next Week: at California (Dec. 29 – 10:30 p.m.), at Stanford (Dec. 31 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Duke, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Alabama
Bad Losses: N/A
The Wildcats are still the best team in the Pac-12 even after being knocked off against Florida Atlantic. Prior to that though, Arizona ground out a 40-minute performance against Alabama where the first half went down to the very end. In the second half however, the Wildcats improved both offensively and defensively. The three-point shooting success more than doubled in the final 20 minutes. Oumar Ballo posted back-to-back double-doubles this week: 16 points/12 rebounds against the Crimson Tide and 13 points/21 rebounds against the Owls. The second half against FAU pushed the game to overtime with the Wildcats being edged in double overtime.
2. Colorado Buffaloes
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
Record: 9-2 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs Utah Tech (98-71)
Next Week: vs. Washington (Dec. 29 – 9 p.m.), vs. Washington State (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Miami (Fla)
Bad Losses: Florida State
Colorado continues its strong start to the season with a big win over Utah Tech. The Buffaloes shot over 60% from the field in the opening 20 minutes and went 5-for-8 from behind the arc. The defense was also much stronger in the first half as Utah Tech shot 51.5% in the second half and scored 46 points. While that could be attributed to Colorado going deeper into its bench, it’s still not the best look for the Buffaloes. Eddie Lampkin posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while KJ Simpson paced Colorado with 23 as he went 8-of-14 from the field. The Buffaloes continue to miss the top 25 rankings, but they will prove the doubters wrong in conference play.
3. Washington Huskies
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
Record: 8-3 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs Eastern Washington (73-66)
Next Week: at Colorado (Dec. 29 – 9 p.m.), at Utah (Dec. 31 – 6 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Xavier, Gonzaga
Bad Losses: N/A
Washington probably would’ve liked to have this game be wider open than it was, but Keion Brooks Jr and Moses Wood led the way for the Huskies. The two combined for 5-for-9 from distance and 12-for-13 from the foul line. Defensively, Washington limited Eastern Washington to under 25% from behind the arc which allowed the Huskies to only concede 26 points in the second half. Eastern Washington was strong from the field in the first half and scored 40 points in the pain which is a little concerning for the Huskies defense, but this group has shown to be resilient and grind out wins just like this one.
4. Utah Utes
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
Record: 9-2 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs Bellarmine (85-43)
Next Week: vs. Washington State (Dec. 29 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. Washington (Dec. 31 – 6 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Wake Forest, Saint Mary’s, BYU
Bad Losses: N/A
The Utes came to play against Bellarmine with a 42-point win even though only three Utes were in double digits. 11 of 12 players that Utah had on the court found a way to connect at least one bucket. Bellarmine was subpar in the second half as it only scored 17 points, a statement of praise for the Utes’ defense. Lawson Lovering led Utah with 17 points in the win and added 17 rebounds. The schedule this season hasn’t been the most challenging for the Utes, but statement wins have been made over Saint Mary’s and BYU. Expect to see Utah have several strong performances in Pac-12 basketball play.
5. Oregon Ducks
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
Record: 8-3 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs Kent State (84-70)
Next Week: vs. USC (Dec. 28 – 9 p.m.), vs. UCLA (Dec. 30 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Georgia, Michigan
Bad Losses: Santa Clara
Oregon dropped this week only as a result of less quality wins heading into conference play, not as a result of how it performed against Kent State. The Ducks offensively were led by Jermaine Couisnard and Kario Oquendo who posted 27 and 20 points between the pair. It was not the best of shooting performances in the second half for Oregon as they went 0-of-11 from behind the line. While that stat may have been a coincidence, the Ducks found a way to work around it by forcing 14 turnovers and taking advantage of ways to produce second-chance points. Kent State only posted 14 points in the paint, a considerably low number.
6. Washington State Cougars
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
Record: 9-2 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs. Boise State (66-61)
Next Week: at Utah (Dec. 29 – 8:30 p.m.), at Colorado (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Boise State
Bad Losses: Santa Clara
Washington State did what it needed to do against Boise State even with three-point shooting being questionable for the Cougars who finished just 4-for-14 from behind the arc. Isaac Jones led Washington State with 21 points while Andrej Jakimovski grabbed 13 rebounds. The Cougars were disciplined and only committed one shooting foul in the first half which certainly made a difference in hindsight. Boise State really took care of the basketball as they only turned the ball over 7 times against a Washington State group that forces 11.8 per game. It’s a tough start to conference play for the Cougars, but this group will give both teams everything they have.
7. USC Trojans
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
Record: 6-5 (0-0)
Last Week: W at Alabama State (79-59)
Next Week: at Oregon (Dec. 28 – 9 p.m.), at Oregon State (Dec. 30 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Kansas State, Seton Hall
Bad Losses: UC Irvine, Long Beach State
USC avoided a losing record for the time being win a 20-point win over Alabama State. It was Arrinten Page who led the way with 12 points while Kobe Johnson and Isaiah Collier each added 11; DJ Rodman had 10 rebounds while Collier added 6 assists. It was strong defense (and a lack of execution) from Alabama State in the first half that made the difference with the Trojans allowing just seven field goals in the first half and a duo of free throws. It wasn’t perfect for USC, but it was a much-needed win heading into conference play against a strong Oregon team.
8. Oregon State Beavers
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Record: 8-3 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs Idaho State (76-57)
Next Week: vs. UCLA (Dec. 28 – 10 p.m.), vs. USC (Dec. 30 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Oregon State shot just under 51% from the field in its 19-point victory over Idaho State where Jordan Pope’s skill sets were only full display with 25 points and 8 assists, and Dexter Akanno was right behind Pope with 16 points. The Beavers’ offense thrived in the paint as 40 of the 76 total points were scored down low. Defensively, Oregon State forced 13 turnovers and turned them into an additional 21 points. These Beavers have had a solid start to the season with taking care of business as only one loss has happened outside of the Preseason NIT Tournament in Brooklyn. A handful of Pac-12 basketball wins will certainly be on the table moving forward.
9. Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Record: 6-5 (0-0)
Last Week: L vs. Northwestern (65-46)
Next Week: at Stanford (Dec. 29 – 11 p.m.), at California (Dec. 31 – 8 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: San Diego
Even with the loss to Northwestern, Arizona State fell victim to one of the worst first halves of basketball the Sun Devils hope to see this season. They scored just 13 points and were 5-of-26 from the field. The lack of points wasn’t from not getting opportunities, but the shots were just not falling for Arizona State. Had the second half performance been replicated in the opening 20 minutes, the game would’ve gone a lot differently. Frankie Collins was the only Sun Devil to produce 10+ points as Arizona State was out-rebounded by 10. Not the best way to head into Pac-12 basketball play, but perhaps the conference opponents will be a chance to reset.
10. UCLA Bruins
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
Record: 5-6 (0-0)
Last Week: L vs. Cal State Northridge (76-72), L vs. Maryland (69-60)
Next Week: at Oregon State (Dec. 28 – 10 p.m.), at Oregon (Dec. 30 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: Cal State Northridge
Just when you thought things can’t get any worse for UCLA… they do just that. The Bruins lost a buy-game at home to CSUN after being outscored by 14 points in the first half, and the hosts shot under 30% from the field. Even with Sebastian Mack’s 27 points and Dylan Andrews adding 22, it still wasn’t enough. Those struggled carried over into the matchup with Maryland where UCLA’s shooting from the field only improved by a few percentage points. Mack and Andrews led the Bruins in scoring again but with less than they had against CSUN. Time is up for UCLA to figure things out, and results need to start happening for a team that wants to play well into March.
11. Stanford Cardinal
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
Record: 5-5 (0-0)
Last Week: L at San Diego State (74-60)
Next Week: vs. Arizona State (Dec. 29 – 11 p.m.), vs. #4 Arizona (Dec. 31 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: Santa Clara, Northern Iowa
Stanford gave San Diego State a run for its money as the two went toe-to-toe in the opening 20 minutes before the Aztecs’ experience proved to be too much for the Cardinal to handle. Maxime Raynaud had another strong performance for Stanford with 15 points and seven rebounds while Michael Jones and Brandon Angel were also in double digits. Shooting from behind the arc was the kryptonite for the Cardinal as they went 3-for-20 against San Diego State. It’s hard to win games with any shooting percentage at 15%, and this game was no different. Stanford will need to throw everything at Arizona State before host a top 10 team in the country.
12. California Golden Bears
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
Record: 4-7 (0-0)
Last Week: W vs UC San Diego (71-67)
Next Week: vs. #4 Arizona (Dec. 29 – 10:30 p.m.), vs. Arizona State (Dec. 31 – 8 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: Pacific, Montana State, UTEP
Cal’s impressive first-half performance got the Golden Bears over the edge over UC San Diego with the second half not being as stellar for Cal. Fardaws Aimaq posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds as Jalen Cone added 15 of his own. Free throw shooting particularly in the first half hurt the Golden Bears who went just 1-of-7 from the foul line, but that is part of the growing pains of a rebuild. This win for Cal has already allowed the young group of Golden Bears to have surpassed last season’s win total. It’s small steps forward for Cal who have a tough task at hand with starting conference play against Arizona.