It’s the heart of college basketball season, and Drew VonScio brings you his week 12 power rankings for the Pac-12.
Matchup of the Week: Arizona vs Oregon (Jan. 27 – 5:30 p.m.)
Sneaky Good Matchup of the Week: Colorado vs Washington (Jan. 24 – 11 p.m.)
All games listed are EST.
1.Arizona Wildcats
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
Record: 14-4 (5-2)
Last Week: W vs USC (82-67), W vs UCLA (77-71)
Next Week: at Oregon State (Jan. 25 – 11 p.m.), at Oregon (Jan. 27 – 5:30 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Duke, Michigan State, Colgate, Wisconsin, Colorado
Bad Losses: Stanford, Washington State
Business as usual for Arizona this past week with a pair of wins in as many games. The Wildcats defense forced 19 turnovers against USC which certainly aided their ability to come out on top and have five players score double-digit points. Caleb Love is still thriving under Tommy Lloyd while Oumar Ballo continues to rack up double-doubles with two more this week. Against UCLA, it was a tougher matchup for the Wildcats as the Bruins shot 44.6% from the field, Pelle Larsson stepped up as UCLA tried to contain Love as much as possible in this matchup. One thing for certain is that Arizona is still the best team in the Pac-12 by far.
2. Colorado Buffaloes
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
Record: 14-5 (5-3)
Last Week: W vs Oregon (86-70), W vs Oregon State (90-57)
Next Week: at Washington (Jan. 24 – 11 p.m.), at Washington State (Jan. 27 – 5 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Miami
Bad Losses: Arizona State, California
Colorado bounced back to its winning ways this week after a big win over Oregon at home. Cody Williams and KJ Simpson both racked up 20+ points against the Ducks as the Buffaloes shot over 50% from the floor. It was much like the Colorado we saw in nonconference with the team working the ball down low into the paint as 40 of 86 points were scored that way against Oregon. It was much of the same against Oregon State as 52 of 90 were tacked on in the paint. This time, it was Tristan da Silva and Eddie Lampkin Jr leading the way for the Buffaloes. Colorado has found its recipe for success once again, but it needs to be careful about being viewed by the Pac-12 as a “one-trick pony.”
3. Utah Utes
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
Record: 14-5 (5-3)
Last Week: W vs Oregon State (74-47), W vs Oregon (80-77)
Next Week: at Washington State (Jan. 24 – 10 p.m.), at Washington (Jan. 27 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Saint Mary’s, BYU
Bad Losses: Arizona State
Utah moves up the rankings this week after a pair of wins on the road. Against Oregon State, it was Keba Keita who paced the Utes with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Branden Carlson also had a double-double (17 points/10 rebounds). Utah played stellar defense as the Beavers shot just 29% from the field. It was a much tougher trail to victory against Oregon, but 24 points from Deivon Smith pushed the Utes over the top. Free throws were a little skeptical from Utah, particularly in the second half, but it was able to pull through and secure the win. If the Utes can keep playing like this, they’ll give every team in the conference a run for its money.
4. Oregon Ducks
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
Record: 13-5 (5-2)
Last Week: L at Colorado (86-70), L at Utah (80-77)
Next Week: vs Arizona State (Jan. 25 – 9 p.m.), vs Arizona (Jan. 27 – 5:30 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Michigan, Washington
Bad Losses: N/A
Oregon got hit with a little reality check this past week with losses to Colorado and Utah. Against the Buffaloes, Jadrian Tracey and Jermaine Couisnard were the only players who scored over 10 points. Fortunately for Oregon, it was able to get some production from nine different players which allowed the game to be somewhat competitive. Shooting 10-17 from the foul line only hinders your chances of winning even more. The Ducks tried to respond against the Utes, but there were only two players again in double digits (Couisnard and N’Faly Dante). It almost worked but Utah got the better of Dana Altman’s group. Fortunately for Ducks fans, they won’t have to see Colorado and Utah again until the very end of the season.
5. Stanford Cardinal
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
Record: 10-8 (5-3)
Last Week: L vs Washington State (89-75), W vs Washington (90-80)
Next Week: at California (Jan. 26 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Arizona, Utah
Bad Losses: Santa Clara, UNI
Stanford was humbled by Washington State last week even with Kanaan Carlyle and Maxime Raynaud scoring 53 combined points. The Cardinal did everything right offensively except for turning the ball over 17 times. Shots from the field and behind the arc were consistently hitting, and the team only missed two free throws. Turnovers and offensive rebounds were the difference makers. Stanford improved in both of those categories against the Huskies and came out on top. Spencer Jones dropped 30 points against Washington as he went 8-12 from deep and propelled his team to victory. It wasn’t a strong start to the season for the Cardinal, but they have found a way to turn it around.
6. Washington Huskies
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
Record: 11-8 (3-5)
Last Week: W at California (77-75), L at Stanford (90-80)
Next Week: vs Colorado (Jan. 24 – 11 p.m.), vs Utah (Jan. 27 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Xavier, Gonzaga
Bad Losses: N/A
The Huskies squeaked past California early last week as Keion Brooks Jr paced them with 21 points. Washington held a significant advantage on the glass, and that made a huge difference in the game as it found a way to dominate the offensive boards. It wasn’t the best three-point shooting day for the Huskies, but a stellar performance at the free throw line made up for it. Against Stanford, Washington was not able to dominate rebounds despite similar shooting trends. Even with Brooks Jr posting another 20-point performance, it wasn’t enough as the supplementary scoring was not adequate.
7. Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
Record: 11-7 (5-2)
Last Week: L vs UCLA (68-66), W vs USC (82-67)
Next Week: at Oregon (Jan. 25 – 9 p.m.), at Oregon State (Jan. 27 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Arizona State lost its matchup against UCLA for two reasons: rebounding and free throws. Being out-rebounded 33-27 and shooting just 9-14 from the foul line are the difference makers in just a one-possession game. Adam Miller and Frankie Collins each scored 16 points with Miller adding six rebounds. The Sun Devils could care of the basketball as well which makes this loss hurt even more. Against USC, the free throw shooting improved, but rebounding did not. The main difference between the games though was Jose Perez stepping up to score 20 points and Jamiya Neal scoring 17. Two players stepping up like that to help out will flip results. Arizona State is still heading in the right direction.
8. Washington State Cougars
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
Record: 13-6 (4-4)
Last Week: W at Stanford (89-75), L at California (81-75 OT)
Next Week: vs Utah (Jan. 24 – 10 p.m.), vs Colorado (Jan. 27 – 5 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: Santa Clara
Washington State didn’t have the best of starts to conference play, but it made a statement in the win over Stanford. Myles Rice netted 35 points as he went 15-24 from the field and 5-10 from deep. Oscar Cluff picked up a double-double as well in the win which made a difference for the Cougars. The team was just 2-10 from three excluding Rice which is concerning to say the least, but it was just one game and bad shooting nights happen. Besides, they made up for it elsewhere. Andrej Jakimovski picked up his performance with 20 points in the matchup against Cal. The Cougars fought back to force overtime, but they could not get anything going in the extra frame. Cal clamped them down defensively and limited Washington State to just nine shot attempts.
9. USC Trojans
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Record: 8-11 (2-6)
Last Week: L at Arizona (82-67), L at Arizona State (82-67)
Next Week: vs UCLA (Jan. 27 – 8 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Kansas State
Bad Losses: UC Irvine, Long Beach State
USC continues to suffer without Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier as the Trojans somehow managed to lose with the exact same score two games in a row. DJ Rodman stepped up in their absence against Arizona with 16 points. Turning the ball over 19 times though… no bueno for USC. The turnover number went from bad to worse against Arizona State when the Trojans gave the ball away 22 times in the loss. Vincent Iwuchukwu paced USC with 14 points, but it wasn’t enough as his team only shot 26.7% from behind the arc. Don’t expect the results to change too much for the Trojans until Ellis or Collier return to action.
10. California Golden Bears
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
Record: 7-12 (3-5)
Last Week: L vs Washington (77-75), W vs Washington State (81-75 OT)
Next Week: vs Stanford (Jan. 26 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Santa Clara, UCLA, Colorado
Bad Losses: N/A
After a rough non-conference slate, the Golden Bears are getting better each week of Pac-12 play. Fairdaws Aimaq’s 18 points and 10 rebounds weren’t quite enough even though Cal was the better-shooting team in this contest except for the foul line. Free throws were rough for the Golden Bears as they shot 13-22; three or four of them going in makes it a completely different game. Jaylon Tyson seemed to have taken that loss personally as he came out against Washington State and dropped 30 points while Aimaq produced another double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds. Cal’s shooting percentages dropped slightly from the matchup with the Huskies, but it’s free throw numbers went up which helped pull out a win.
11. UCLA Bruins
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
Record: 8-11 (3-5)
Last Week: W at Arizona State (68-66), L at Arizona (77-71)
Next Week: at USC (Jan. 27 – 8 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: California
UCLA battled in the win over Arizona State thanks to Lazar Stefanovic producing 18 points. The Bruins, despite turning the ball over five more times, still found a way to win thanks to the bench adding 22. UCLA’s strong shooting in the second half made a difference when it shot 54% from the field. Against Arizona, it was Sebastian Mack who tried to carry the team to a win with 21 points, but rebounding hurt the Bruins. UCLA was the better team offensively, but losing the glass can lead to defeat. The Bruins had to find that one out the hard way as possessions were extended for Arizona on more than one occasion.
12. Oregon State Beavers
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
Record: 9-9 (1-6)
Last Week: L at Utah (74-47), L at Colorado (90-57)
Next Week: vs Arizona (Jan. 25 – 11 p.m.), vs Arizona State (Jan. 27 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: N/A
Things continue to be miserable for Oregon State who has just seen poor results time and time again. Only one player scored double digits against Utah, and that was Dexter Akanno with 12. The Beavers could only muster 29% from the field and went just 8-13 from the foul line. Defensive issues continued to pile on as Oregon State could not get a stop. Those issues escalated against Colorado who scored 45 points in each half. Tyler Bilodeau’s 18 points tried to keep it a game, but the Buffaloes overpowered the Beavers very early on. Oregon State’s 17.6% from outside the perimeter didn’t help matters either.