College basketball continues on its roller-coaster path, and Drew VonScio brings you his week 13 Pac-12 basketball power rankings.
Matchup of the Week: Colorado vs Utah (Feb. 3 – 5 p.m.)
Sneaky Good Matchup of the Week: Stanford vs Arizona (Feb. 4 – 8 p.m.)
All games listed are EST.
1. Arizona Wildcats
Last Week’s Ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 15-5 (6-3)
Last Week: L at Oregon State (83-80), W at Oregon (87-78)
Next Week: vs. California (Feb. 1 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. Stanford (Feb. 4 – 8 p.m.)
Quality Wins: at Duke, Wisconsin, Alabama, at Oregon, Utah, Michigan State, Colorado
Bad Losses: at Stanford, at Oregon State
First and foremost, Arizona is still the top team in the Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings. Even with the Wildcats only shooting 21% from behind the arc, Oregon State still needed the game of the season with shooting 60% from three-point range to edge Arizona. Caleb Love had a strong performance both from the field (6-of-12) and at the foul line (9-10) that led him to scoring 23 points. He outdid himself against Oregon where he dropped 36 points in what was a strong overall performance against the Ducks. The Wildcats stepped it up their three-point shooting and increased it by 31% from the previous game. While you wouldn’t have imagined Arizona to be at five losses before February, it is still in a strong position moving forward.
2. Colorado Buffaloes
Last Week’s Ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 15-6 (6-4)
Last Week: W at Washington (98-81), L at Washington State (78-69)
Next Week: at Utah (Feb. 3 – 5 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Oregon, Washington State, Richmond, Miami (Fla)
Bad Losses: at Arizona State, at Cal
Colorado’s offense got off to a strong start last week against Washington where it seemed like every shot was going in its favor. The Buffaloes racked up almost 100 points from shooting 55% from the field and drawing a lot of fouls to go 26-28 at the foul line. Like much of the season, the Buffaloes scored half of their points in the paint. After scoring 24 against Washington, J’Vonne Hadley had his scoring reduced significantly while KJ Simpson generated 25 points against Washington State. Rebounding and going just 9-20 on layups resulted in a loss against the Cougars, and you know Colorado will be spending a lot of time in practice this week working on those layups ahead of a big matchup with Utah.
3. Oregon Ducks
Last Week’s Ranking: 4 (-1)
Record: 14-6 (6-3)
Last Week: W vs. Arizona State (80-61), L vs. #9 Arizona (87-78)
Next Week: at USC (Feb. 1 – 10:30, p.m.), at UCLA (Feb. 3 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: at Washington State, Georgia
Bad Losses: N/A
Jermaine Couisnard led the way for the Ducks against Arizona State with 19 points as one of three players in double digits. Oregon benefitted from having 10 different players generate points. Only one free throw was missed in the game which certainly set up the Ducks to be successful because as everyone knows, free throws matter! Couisnard came back with another 20 points against Arizona, but Oregon just couldn’t keep up with an Arizona team that knew it had to make a statement. The Ducks weren’t perfect, but they didn’t play as badly as one would think. It was just a matter of the Wildcats having a bounce-back night.
4. Utah Utes
Last Week’s Ranking: 3 (-1)
Record: 14-7 (5-5)
Last Week: L at Washington State (79-57), L at Washington (98-73)
Next Week: vs. Colorado (Feb. 3 – 5 p.m.)
Quality Wins: at Saint Mary’s, BYU, Oregon, Wake Forest, Washington State
Bad Losses: at Arizona State, at Stanford
It wasn’t a pretty week for Utah fans as bad shooting caused the demise against Washington State. The Utes shot just 18% from behind the arc while only hitting on three of seven free throws. Without Branden Carlson putting up 20 points, this loss would have been even uglier for Utah. Poor defense (and bad free throw shooting again) told the story against Washington as the Huskies had three players score 15+ points as a result of a few extra possessions; the Utes turned it over 14 times in the loss. There’s a little bit of pressure heading into the matchup with Colorado, but it’s nothing this group can’t handle.
5. Stanford Cardinal
Last Week’s Ranking: 6 (+1)
Record: 10-9 (5-4)
Last Week: L at California (73-71)
Next Week: at Arizona State (Feb. 1 – 9 p.m.), at Arizona (Feb. 4 – 8 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Arizona, Utah
Bad Losses: Michigan, Northern Iowa, at USC, at Cal
Stanford fought for 40 minutes against Cal and came out on the wrong side of what was a hard-fought game. Spencer Jones paced the Cardinal with 13 points in the win while Maxime Raynaud recorded a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. Stanford went toe-to-toe with Cal in almost every statistical category, but the one difference was in turnovers as the Cardinal had 12 compared to just nine for the Golden Bears. Even if just one of those 12 turnovers doesn’t happen, there’s a chance this game goes to overtime. It’s a hard lesson, but one that Stanford will make a note of heading into this week.
6. Washington State Cougars
Last Week’s Ranking: 8 (+2)
Record: 15-6 (6-4)
Last Week: W vs. Utah (79-57), W vs. Colorado (78-69)
Next Week: at Washington (Feb. 3 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Arizona, Utah, Boise State, Colorado
Bad Losses: at Cal
Depth scoring was the story this week for the Cougars as both games saw 4+ players score 10 or more points with five reaching that threshold against Utah. The offensive performances between the games were so similar that the leading scorer in both games finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds; it was Isaac Jones against Utah and Jaylen Wells against Colorado. Jones added another double-double against the Buffaloes with 13 points and 11 rebounds. After what was a slow start to Pac-12 play for Washington State, finding a way to tack on two wins in one week is a step in the right direction.
7. Washington Huskies
Last Week’s Ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 12-9 (4-6)
Last Week: L vs. Colorado (98-81), W vs. Utah (98-73)
Next Week: vs. Washington State (Feb. 3 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Utah, Gonzaga
Bad Losses: at UCLA, at Stanford
The Huskies fell short against Colorado due to only shooting 26% from deep but even if that number was slightly higher, I’m not sure it would have been enough with the defense conceding 98 points. It’s hard to win in college basketball when your team struggles to get stops consistently. Keion Brooks Jr had another amazing week with 22 points against Colorado and then 27 in the win over Utah. The Huskies went out and shot 57% from the floor against the Utes and essentially flipped the script from the game against Colorado. If Washington can establish any consistency at all, it will be a tough team to play against in the Pac-12 tournament.
8. Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Week’s Ranking: 7 (-1)
Record: 11-9 (5-4)
Last Week: L at Oregon (80-61), L at Oregon State (84-71)
Next Week: vs. Stanford (Feb. 1 – 9 p.m.), vs. California (Feb. 3 – 3 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Utah, Colorado, San Francisco
Bad Losses: at San Diego, UCLA, at Oregon State
Both Oregon teams got the better of Arizona State this past week. Against the Ducks, Jose Perez was the only player to score double digits with 20 points. Pair that with bad three-point shooting as well as losing the rebound battle, and it’s a recipe for disaster. The wealth was spread around more offensively against Oregon State, but the Sun Devils struggled from behind the arc once again as they shot just 11.5% while the Beavers pulled in almost twice as many rebounds. The good news for Arizona State is… well they know what needs to improve before Stanford. The bad news though, improving in those areas is more difficult than you would expect.
9. California Golden Bears
Last Week’s Ranking: 10 (+1)
Record: 8-12 (4-5)
Last Week: W vs Stanford (73-71)
Next Week: at #11 Arizona (Feb. 1 – 8:30 p.m.), at Arizona State (Feb. 3 – 3 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Colorado, Santa Clara
Bad Losses: Montana State, UTEP, Tulane, at USC
In just one game this past week, the offensive performance was about as balanced as it could get for the Golden Bears. They had six players score 10+ points, but all of them fell in the 10-14 points range. That made it extremely difficult for Stanford to pick out one player to defend as they were all consistently finding the basket. Fardaws Aimaq and Grant Newell each pulled in double-doubles for Cal. Three-point shooting and free throws could have been better for the Golden Bears, but young teams have to grind out wins from time to time. That’s exactly what this group did against Stanford.
10. UCLA Bruins
Last Week’s Ranking: 11 (+1)
Record: 9-11 (4-5)
Last Week: W at USC (65-50)
Next Week: vs. Oregon State (Feb. 1 – 10:30 p.m.), vs. Oregon (Feb. 3 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: N/A
Bad Losses: CSU Northridge, Stanford, Cal
For as bad as things started for UCLA this season, it has found a way to turn the corner slightly as of late. Dylan Andrews scoring 20 points in the win over the Trojans certainly helped the Bruins’ cause while Lazar Stefanovic added 17. Adem Bona produced a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The storyline though was the rebounds as UCLA grabbed twice as many offensive boards and six more defensive rebounds. Extending possessions allowed UCLA to get some extra shots up which certainly made a difference. Things aren’t perfect right now for the Bruins, but they could certainly be a lot worse. (Just look at who they beat last week.)
11. Oregon State Beavers
Last Week’s Ranking: 12 (+1)
Record: 11-9 (3-6)
Last Week: W vs. #9 Arizona (83-80), W vs. Arizona State (84-71)
Next Week: at UCLA (Feb. 1 – 10:30 p.m.), at USC (Feb. 3 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Arizona
Bad Losses: UCLA, Stanford
If you had asked me this time last week if Oregon State would have won against both Arizona teams, the answer would’ve been a resounding no. Jordan Pope tore it up against the Wildcats with 31 points while Tyler Bilodeau, who hit the game-winning shot, added 22 of his own. It was one of the best shooting performances you’ll see all season as the Beavers shot 60% from behind the arc. That magic wore off quickly as Oregon State shot just 21% from three against Arizona State, but it worked its magic in the perimeter. A lack of success on free throws was quite surprising from the Beavers in this matchup, but it didn’t matter because of Arizona State somehow shooting even worse behind the arc.
12. USC Trojans
Last Week’s Ranking: 9 (-3)
Record: 8-12 (2-7)
Last Week: L vs. UCLA (65-50)
Next Week: vs. Oregon (Feb. 1 – 10:30 p.m.), vs. Oregon State (Feb. 3 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Seton Hall, Kansas State
Bad Losses: UC Irvine, Long Beach State, at Oregon State, UCLA
Even with the return of Boogie Ellis, the skid continues for USC. The Trojans were embarrassed at home against the Bruins as Oziyah Sellers was the leading scorer with 10 points. Second chance points were the nail in the coffin as the Trojans were outscored 17-4 in that fashion, in part due to only pulling in seven offensive boards… which wouldn’t be bad if your opponent didn’t bring in 15 of them. Bronny James still hasn’t produced at the level USC fans were certainly expecting him to be at by now even with the setback, but it’s only up from here for the Trojans.