As teams try to build one last burst of momentum in the second-to-last week of the regular season, Drew VonScio brings you his weekly Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings.
Matchup of the Week: Arizona vs. Oregon (Mar. 2 – 2 p.m.)
Sneaky Good Matchup of the Week: Washington State vs. UCLA (Mar. 2 – 7 p.m.)
All games listed are EST.
Seed projections are based on the latest bracketology reports as of Feb. 26.
1. Arizona Wildcats
Last Week’s Ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 21-6 (12-4)
Last Week: L vs. Washington State (77-74), W vs. Washington (91-75)
Next Week: at Arizona State (Feb. 28 – 10 p.m.), vs. Oregon (Mar. 2 – 2 p.m.)
Quality Wins: at Duke, Alabama, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Colorado (x2), Utah (x2), at Oregon
Bad Losses: at Oregon State
Seed Projection: 1 – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), 1 – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), 2 – Jerry Palm (CBS)
Things just got a little more interesting at the top of the Pac-12 as the gap Arizona once had has now shrunk. The Wildcats got 27 points from Caleb Love in the loss against Washington State, but they shot just 28% from behind the arc and 63% from the free throw line. When you add the bench contributed just five points, it makes winning difficult against a tough Washington State team. Arizona responded against Washington with much better shooting numbers, but the bench still struggled. The Wildcats are still the favorite to win the Pac-12 regular season title and conference championship, but the pressure is on now.
2. Washington State
Last Week’s Ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 21-7 (12-5)
Last Week: W at Arizona (77-74), L at Arizona State (73-61)
Next Week: vs. USC (Feb. 29 – 10:30 p.m.), vs. UCLA (Mar. 2 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Arizona (x2), Boise State, at Oregon, Colorado, Utah
Bad Losses: at Cal
Seed Projection: 7 – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), 5 – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), 7 – Jerry Palm (CBS)
Washington State did what most thought was impossible not once, but twice this season: beating Arizona. The Cougars were propelled to victory by Jaylen Wells scoring 27 points on the road and taking care of the basketball with just nine turnovers. Rueben Chinyelu stepped up in a big way with 12 points off the bench in 28 minutes of action. Yet, the offense went stagnant against Arizona State when the Cougars shot an abysmal 17% from behind the arc. Only having two players score double digits isn’t going to be enough, but it’s better to get that bad night out of the way now.
3. Colorado Buffaloes
Last Week’s Ranking: 4 (+1)
Record: 18-9 (9-7)
Last Week: W vs. Utah (89-65)
Next Week: vs. Cal (Feb. 28 – 8 p.m.), vs. Stanford (Mar. 3 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Washington State, Oregon, Utah, Richmond
Bad Losses: at Arizona State, at Cal
Seed Projection: Last Four In – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), First Four Out – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), Last Four In – Jerry Palm (CBS)
The Buffaloes had a dominant offensive display at home against Utah as they shot 54% from the field and missed just one free throw in each half. That kind of play will help win games, and Colorado has shown much of the season why it deserves to be in the tournament. KJ Simpson produced another 28-point night, and he shows why that he should be in the conversation for Player of the Year. If the Buffaloes can get through the rest of the regular season and Pac-12 tournament without another “bad loss,” they should be fine heading into Selection Sunday.
4. Oregon Ducks
Last Week’s Ranking: 3 (-1)
Record: 18-9 (10-6)
Last Week: W at Stanford (78-65), L at Cal (69-64)
Next Week: vs. Oregon State (Feb. 28 – 11 p.m.), at Arizona (Mar. 2 – 2 p.m.)
Quality Wins: at Washington, at Washington State
Bad Losses: Santa Clara
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), First Four Out – Jerry Palm (CBS)
Jadrian Tracey and Jackson Shelstad led the Oregon offense against Stanford as the Ducks shot 50% from the perimeter and 48% from deep. One interesting note is that Oregon had just five free throws which showed how disciplined Stanford was on both ends of the ball. This was a win in typical Oregon fashion with strong shooting and solid defense. Against Cal though, cold shooting from three-point range ruined the chance at a perfect week for the Ducks as they shot 22%. Oregon also lost the battle of the boards which only made things worse. A lack of resume makes the Ducks a longshot for the NCAA Tournament unless something drastically changes.
5. Utah Utes
Last Week’s Ranking: 5 (-)
Record: 16-11 (7-9)
Last Week: L at Colorado (89-65)
Next Week: vs. Stanford (Feb. 29 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. Cal (Mar. 2 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: at Saint Mary’s, BYU, Washington State, Colorado, Wake Forest, Oregon
Bad Losses: Arizona State (x2)
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), First Four Out – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), Last Four In – Jerry Palm (CBS)
The Utes just continue to fall into what feels like a bottomless pit with their fifth loss in the last six games. The only stat more horrendous in the loss against Colorado than the free throw line shooting was the three-point shooting. Utah was just 53% from the line and 17% from three, and they’re both numbers this group will want to quickly forget about. Defense was virtually nonexistent as the Utes gave up 40+ points in both halves. The resume to this point is the only saving grace for Utah as it has entered “win out” range just to get to Dayton.
6. UCLA Bruins
Last Week’s Ranking: 6 (-)
Record: 14-13 (9-7)
Last Week: L vs. USC (62-56)
Next Week: at Washington (Feb. 29 – 10:30 p.m.), at Washington State (Mar. 2 – 7 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Colorado, Oregon
Bad Losses: CSU Northridge, Stanford, Cal, USC
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), NA – Jerry Palm (CBS)
These power rankings are starting to sound like a broken record, but three-point shooting has really hurt teams in this conference over the past week, and UCLA is no stranger. The Bruins shot 21% from behind the arc as they lost by six to their rivals, USC. UCLA’s offense was very balanced in the loss with four players scoring double digits, and the team won the rebound battle. It’s a lesson learned for the Bruins about needing to step it up though in the shooting department despite this season not going anywhere for them beyond the Pac-12 Tournament pending a miracle.
7. Washington Huskies
Last Week’s Ranking: 7 (-)
Record: 15-13 (7-10)
Last Week: W at Arizona State (84-82 OT), L at Arizona (91-75)
Next Week: vs. UCLA (Feb. 29 – 10:30 p.m.), vs USC (Mar. 2 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Gonzaga, Utah
Bad Losses: at UCLA, Cal
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), NA – Jerry Palm (CBS)
It wasn’t pretty, but Washington pulled out a win against Arizona State in overtime. The Huskies rallied around Keion Brooks Jr who scored 21 points. Washington pulled off the win despite shooting 22% from behind the arc and coughing up possession 13 times. Against Arizona, the shooting numbers went up for the Huskies, but they were just no match for the Wildcats’ offense and could not get a stop until the hosts started to take their foot off the gas toward the end. The Huskies just can not get any momentum and string together wins in conference play.
8. Cal Golden Bears
Last Week’s Ranking: 10 (+2)
Record: 13-15 (9-8)
Last Week: W vs. Oregon State (81-73), W vs. Oregon (69-64)
Next Week: at Colorado (Feb. 28 – 8 p.m.), at Utah (Mar. 2 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Colorado, Oregon
Bad Losses: Montana State, UTEP, Tulane, at USC
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), NA – Jerry Palm (CBS)
The Golden Bears were the only team in the conference that played two games this past week and won them both. Against Oregon State, it was Fardaws Aimaq that led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Cal took advantage of scoring on extra possessions as it added 15 points off of the nine Beavers turnovers. Adding 18 points on fastbreaks certainly helped, too. In the matchup with Oregon, Jaylon Tyson led the way with 27 points to shock the Ducks. The Golden Bears didn’t have the best performance from behind the arc, but they made up for it in rebounding. Cal has been a pleasant surprise this season under Mark Madsen.
9. Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Week’s Ranking: 9 (-)
Record: 14-14 (8-9)
Last Week: L vs. Washington (84-82 OT), W vs. Washington State (73-61)
Next Week: vs. Arizona (Feb. 28 – 10 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Washington State, Colorado, Utah (x2), San Francisco
Bad Losses: at San Diego, UCLA, at Oregon State, Stanford, Cal
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), NA – Jerry Palm (CBS)
The Sun Devils almost found a way to pull off a two-win week, but they came up just short in overtime against Washington. Despite Frankie Collins scoring 21 points, Arizona State just couldn’t get it done with only seven points in the extra five minutes. Losing the rebound battle certainly doesn’t help the cause. Against Washington State, it was a performance from the Sun Devils that we don’t see all too often with four players spearheading the offense and an overall balanced shooting day. Arizona State’s defense limited threes from the Cougars which certainly helped pull off the win.
10. Stanford Cardinal
Last Week’s Ranking: 7 (-3)
Record: 12-15 (7-10)
Last Week: L vs. Oregon (78-65), L vs. Oregon State (85-73)
Next Week: at Utah (Feb. 29 – 8:30 p.m.), at Colorado (Mar. 3 – 9 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Arizona, Utah
Bad Losses: Michigan, Northern Iowa, at USC, at Cal, UCLA, Oregon State
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), NA – Jerry Palm (CBS)
Stanford’s offense was a major disappointment this past week as it couldn’t shoot over 30% from three-point range in either matchup this week. Pair that with being out-rebounded in both games, and it’s a recipe for disaster. Brandon Angel and Maxime Raynaud each had a 20+ point game this past week. Free throws were only a problem for the Cardinal in the loss against Oregon State, but raising the number slightly wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game. Stanford was riding the momentum wave for a while but has since lost six of its last seven games.
11. USC Trojans
Last Week’s Ranking: 11 (-)
Record: 11-16 (5-11)
Last Week: W at UCLA (62-56)
Next Week: at Washington State (Feb. 29 – 10:30 p.m.), at Washington (Mar. 2 – 4 p.m.)
Quality Wins: Seton Hall, Kansas State, Utah
Bad Losses: UC Irvine, Long Beach State, at Oregon State, UCLA
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), NA – Jerry Palm (CBS)
USC pulled off a win that not many would have expected the Trojans to win outside of their own fanbase. Boogie Ellis put the offense on his back with 24 points with Isaiah Collier adding 11. Free throws were a major concern from USC… just 10-20 from the foul line against the Bruins. The Trojans were able to make up for it though defensively as UCLA struggled to shoot the ball in this matchup. The pieces are certainly there for the Trojans to build on for next year, assuming that Collier and Ellis opt to return for another year.
12. Oregon State Beavers
Last Week’s Ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 12-16 (4-13)
Last Week: L at Cal (81-73), W at Stanford (85-73)
Next Week: at Oregon (Feb. 28 – 11 p.m.),
Quality Wins: Arizona
Bad Losses: UCLA, Stanford
Seed Projection: NA – Mat Mlodzinski (CBB Review), NA – Joe Lunardi (ESPN), NA – Jerry Palm (CBS)
Oregon State continues to be the bottom dweller of the conference even with a 1-1 week. Jordan Pope puts up 20+ points almost every night, and this team still can’t find ways to win consistently. Against Cal, almost no offense was present outside of Pope, Bilodeau and Akanno. The Beavers scored 17 points if you exclude those three and their point totals. Michael Rataj stepped up against Stanford with a 22-point game, and it made the difference as Oregon State came out on top. Shooting 53% from the field was a large part of the win, but it goes to show how different this Beavers team can be when the “big 3” aren’t expected to carry the offense every game.