Drew VonScio gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 11 of the 2023-24 season.
Matchup of the Week: Oregon vs Colorado (Jan. 18 – 10:30 p.m.)
Sneaky Good Matchup of the Week: Oregon vs Utah (Jan. 21 – 3 p.m.)
All games listed are EST.
1.Arizona Wildcats
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
Record: 12-4 (3-2)
Last Week: L at Washington State (73-70)
Next Week: vs USC (Jan. 17 – 10 p.m.), vs UCLA (Jan. 20 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Duke, Michigan State, Colgate, Wisconsin, Colorado
Bad Losses: Stanford, Washington State
Arizona was one of many Top 25 teams to lose this past week in the chaos of college basketball and if it wasn’t for Caleb Love’s 28 points, the loss against Washington State could have been a whole lot worse. Shooting in the first half was not kind to the Wildcats who went just 2-11 from behind the arc and 2-6 at the foul line… not a good look for a team trying to stay among the best of the best in the rankings. Oumar Ballo continued to be strong in the five spot with 11 points and 14 rebounds. It’s not panic time yet for Arizona, but work needs to be done.
2. Oregon Ducks
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
Record: 13-3 (5-0)
Last Week: W vs California (80-73)
Next Week: at Colorado (Jan. 18 – 10:30 p.m.), at Utah (Jan. 21 – 3 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Michigan, Washington
Bad Losses: N/A
Oregon is completely riding the momentum wave right now, and it absolutely should be. The Ducks have won their last six in a row and haven’t lost in about a month. Having four players score 12+ points always boosts your chances of winning, and it helped Oregon against Cal. This team knows how to take care of the basketball: just four turnovers in 40 minutes against Golden Bears. Oh, and it got almost half of its offensive production from the bench. If Oregon makes a statement this week, it could certainly see itself in the Top 25.
3. Colorado Buffaloes
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
Record: 12-5 (3-3)
Last Week: L at California (82-78), W vs USC (68-58)
Next Week: vs Oregon (Jan. 18 – 10:30 p.m.), vs Oregon State (Jan. 20 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Miami
Bad Losses: Arizona State, California
Colorado suffered its second loss of the season that was a bit of a head scratcher. Even with a double-double from Eddie Lampkin Jr of 22 points and 11 rebounds, it wasn’t enough for the Buffaloes. This game simply came down to Colorado not wanting it as much as Cal. The Buffaloes also seemed off in the first half against USC heading into the locker room down by 13, but they used a strong second half to pull off the win. Colorado shot 56% from the field in the second half while also producing lock down defense. Consistency is the make or break for Colorado, and that alone will dictate how the season ends for this team.
4. Utah Utes
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
Record: 12-5 (3-3)
Last Week: W vs UCLA (90-44), L vs Stanford (79-73)
Next Week: vs Oregon State (Jan. 18 – 9 p.m.), vs Oregon (Jan. 21 – 3 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Saint Mary’s, BYU
Bad Losses: Arizona State
Utah had just about the perfect start to the week before getting hit with a reality check. Holding UCLA to just 44 points without any player scoring more than nine points is certainly a strong defensive statement. Five Utes produced 11+ points. Branden Carlson picked up another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Utah rode that high into Stanford and despite fighting for much of the game, Stanford got the edge and held on. Free throw shooting killed the Utes in this matchup as they went just 4-12 from the foul line. You can’t win games if you can’t make free throws, and every player on the Utes will admit that game should have had a different ending.
5. Washington Huskies
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
Record: 10-7 (2-4)
Last Week: W vs Arizona State (82-67), L at UCLA (73-61)
Next Week: at California (Jan. 18 – 9 p.m.), at Stanford (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Xavier, Gonzaga
Bad Losses: N/A
The Huskies are still trying to find their traction in Pac-12 play, and the win against Arizona State may just be the igniter. Sahvir Wheeler and Keion Brooks Jr led the way for Washington’s offense once again as it shot 48% or higher from the field and behind the arc all game. Brooks is currently second the Pac-12 in scoring with 20.1 points per game as he continues to be lethal all over the floor. He didn’t produce as much against UCLA as he only picked up 12 points, but nothing was going the Huskies way against the Bruins. Washington shot just 1-10 from behind the arc in the first half, and it has to start ripping off wins again.
6. Stanford Cardinal
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
Record: 9-7 (4-2)
Last Week: W at Oregon State (88-84 OT), W vs Utah (79-73)
Next Week: vs Washington State (Jan. 18 – 11 p.m.), vs Washington (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Arizona, Utah
Bad Losses: Santa Clara, UNI
What a week it was for Stanford as one of only two teams in the conference to go 2-0! The Cardinal had to rally from behind against Oregon State and did so through the 22 points from Kanaan Carlyle and Maxime Raynaud’s 18 point-13 rebound double-double. Oregon State couldn’t keep up defensively and sent Stanford to the line quite frequently as Carlyle was 10-16 on the day. This performance carried the team into the matchup at home against Utah despite only shooting 4-13 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes. Raynaud produced another double-double (20 points/11 rebounds) to help propel his team to victory. Add in only coughing up the basketball five times against the Utes, and it was another solid performance.
7. Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
Record: 10-6 (4-1)
Last Week: L at Washington (82-67)
Next Week: vs UCLA (Jan. 17 – 9 p.m.), vs USC (Jan. 20 – 2 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Arizona State gave a good fight against Washington, but could not get any luck from behind the arc. The Sun Devils were just 2-7 in the first half and then dropped to 2-10 in the second half. Partner that with less-than-stellar defense and an inability to rebound from Arizona State and those three factors dug the grave. Jamiya Neal did lead the way with 14 points for the Sun Devils, but it was far from a good performance overall. Arizona State has still had a great start to conference play with a 4-1 record, and there are two golden opportunities for it to bounce back this week.
8. Washington State Cougars
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
Record: 12-5 (3-3)
Last Week: W at USC (72-64), W vs Arizona (73-70)
Next Week: at Stanford (Jan. 18 – 11 p.m.), at California (Jan. 20 – 5 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: Santa Clara
Washington State was the other team in the Pac-12 to go 2-0 this week as the Cougars used a strong second half to knock off USC. Isaac Jones’ 26 point-11 rebound double-double led the way in this matchup. Shooting from behind the arc wasn’t friendly to Washington State, but the team made up for it by going 18/23 at the foul line. Jones kept his strong week going with 24 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Arizona. It was a similar recipe for success against the Wildcats with subpar three-point shooting and thriving at the foul line. Whether this style of play is sustainable remains to be seen, but it’s currently working for the Cougars.
9. USC Trojans
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
Record: 8-9 (2-4)
Last Week: L vs Washington State (72-64), L vs Colorado (68-58)
Next Week: at Arizona (Jan. 17 – 10 p.m.), at Arizona State (Jan. 20 – 2 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Kansas State
Bad Losses: UC Irvine, Long Beach State
It wasn’t a good week at all for USC who showed some signs of life last week. The Trojans struggled from deep in both games against Washington State and Colorado. Against Washington State, it was Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier who led the way, but USC was without their star duo against Colorado as a result of injuries. Bronny James hasn’t had the impact he would like to be having at this point coming off of the bench, but there’s plenty of time to grow for him. If Ellis and Collier are out for an extended period of time, consider USC to be a huge disadvantage.
10. Oregon State Beavers
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Record: 9-7 (1-4)
Last Week: L vs Stanford (88-84 OT)
Next Week: at Utah (Jan. 18 – 9 p.m.), at Colorado (Jan. 20 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Oregon State gave Stanford a run for its money as Jordan Pope led the way with 21 points. The Beavers trailed after 20 minutes, but they used a strong second half to force overtime. Compared to regulation, shooting for Oregon State wasn’t as good in the extra five minutes of play which made the difference in the end. Turning the ball over 17 times didn’t help either despite Stanford only scoring 16 points from those turnovers. It was the possessions ending early that hindered the Beavers. Oregon State has a tough schedule this week but as we’ve seen this year in college basketball, no team is safe from being upset.
11. California Golden Bears
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
Record: 6-11 (2-4)
Last Week: W vs Colorado (82-78), L at Oregon (80-73)
Next Week: vs Washington (Jan. 18 – 9 p.m.), vs Washington State (Jan. 20 – 5 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Santa Clara, UCLA, Colorado
Bad Losses: N/A
For the first time this season, Cal is not at the bottom of the rankings. The Golden Bears impressive performance over Colorado showed this team is continuing to get better. Cal scored 56 points in the second half as Jaylon Tyson dropped 30 on the Buffaloes. Fairdaws Aimaq grabbed another 10 rebounds as he is currently the only player in the Pac-12 to be averaging a double-double. He continued that strong play with 18 points and nine rebounds against Oregon while Tyson picked up a double-double of his own (20 points and 10 rebounds). The Golden Bears were horrendous from three in the second half against the Ducks going 1-12 and could have won if that shooting was better.
12. UCLA Bruins
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
Record: 7-10 (2-4)
Last Week: L at Utah (90-44), W vs Washington (73-61)
Next Week: at Arizona State (Jan. 17 – 9 p.m.), at Arizona (Jan. 20 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: California
UCLA has officially hit the bottom of the barrel. Even though it was away from home, this team was absolutely embarrassed by Utah. Not a single player scored double digits, and the Bruins shot less than 20% from behind the arc. Add that on to going 7-14 from the foul line, and it was pretty much a complete disaster for UCLA. The Bruins took that beating to heart, and rightfully so, as they threw the kitchen sink at Washington and came away with the win. Adem Bona scored 22 points in the win as UCLA actually looked like a college basketball team. The only chance the Bruins have of making the NCAA Tournament now is to be the automatic qualifier.