The Pac-12 is bound to get a shake up this week with Arizona traveling Los Angeles for two games against USC and UCLA. While UCLA and Arizona is a game most people will point to as a big game, Cal and Oregon could be just as good.
We’re finally going to see some movement in the conference power rankings after this week, I know it’s about time. Oregon has a tricky game against Cal and Arizona has two tough games in Los Angeles. Stanford also shoots up the power rankings this week after winning their two first conference games of the season. However, we start at the bottom with Oregon State.
Oregon state has gone winless in conference so far this season and the Beavers struggled this past week as they got blasted by their in-state rivals from Eugene. Now 0-5 Oregon State goes on the road to face Cal and Stanford. With the Beavers averaging just a shade under 59 points per game, it’s becoming more clear that their their spot in the Pac-12 basement has been established and will be for a while.
Sitting at 0-5 in the conference as well, the Colorado Buffaloes easily could have one or two wins after their weekend against the LA schools. UCLA outlasted the buffs last Thursday night and on late Sunday, the Buffaloes had a chance to beat USC but could not get past the Trojans losing by three at home. This weekend, the buffaloes have an opportunity to do what Stanford did this past week and that’s win two in a row at the expense of Washington and Washington State. As the Cougars seem to be fading and the Huskies struggling to gain consistency, Colorado may finally get over the hump.
Of all the teams that have a win in the conference, Washington lost a good chance to include themselves in postseason discussion with losses to both Stanford and Cal. The two losses hurt even more due to the fact that they lost both games by 10 points or less. Consistency is key in a conference like this and losing games to Cal and Stanford will only make your uphill climb in the conference even tougher. With Washington and Colorado facing off this week, the loser of that game will be staying at the bottom of the conference power rankings this time next week.
That sound you hear is Washington State crashing down to earth this past week. After the Cougars got slapped by 30 at Stanford, they showed a much better effort in a four point loss at Cal. This week Wazzu hosts Utah and Colorado, the game against Utah gives the Cougars a chance to put a “good win” on their resume for the postseason. If the Cougars want to return to the number six spot in the power rankings, they ll need a good weekend at home in Pullman.
Arizona State maintains their number eight spot in the rankings this past week despite the 91-75 loss to Arizona last week. Like a few teams below them, the Sun Devils have a chance to make a run into the top six this week with a good weekend against USC and UCLA. Sunday’s game at USC gives Arizona State a golden opportunity to put at real dent in USC’s chances to get a top four seed in future bracket projections. A win against UCLA would do the same but those chances are very slim at this point.
Clearly Stanford did not enjoy being around Oregon State in last week’s power rankings, thanks two a two-game winning streak for the Cardinal, they’re no longer in the conference cellar. This week they’ll face off against both schools from Oregon on the road. With one of the conference’s worst scoring defenses giving up 78 points per contest, the chances of the Cardinal extending their streak against offensive powerhouse Oregon is going to be quite the challenge. However, going to Oregon State at the end of any weekend is a good place to kickstart a new winning streak.
Up 10 early at Utah a week ago, the Trojans appeared to be crushing towards another conference win. Then Utah woke up and outplayed the Trojans for the remaining 30 minutes of the contest to win 86-64. That was the first loss suffered by the Trojans in conference play this season. They almost suffered another one at the hands of Colorado late Sunday night but climbed out of a 10-point hole of their own to defeat the Buffaloes 71-68. According to BracketMatrix.com, the Trojans are sitting around a seven seed this week and they’ve got the chance to improve on that with a win against a tough Arizona team.
After sitting at 1-2 in the conference at one point this season, the Cal Golden Bears have shot up to the top four of the conference standings and up a spot in the Pac-12 Power Rankings. When you beat both struggling Washington schools that surely does aid your pursuit in grabbing a bid for the NCAA Tournament. This week the Bears get an Oregon State team that they should dismiss pretty easily and a showdown with Oregon at home. A win by the Bears and you can put them back into the discussion to reach the NCAA Tournament win that marquee win.
Utah leads off an unchanged top-four with their impressive win against USC this past week. A one-point loss to UCLA doesn’t do much to hurt the Utes as they are clearly among the six teams from the conference with a true shot at reaching the tournament, even if it’s an outside shot. It doesn’t help that they’ve got an RPI of 94 so picking up as many wins as possible will be paramount. Losses to Washington and or Washington State will be damaging for sure.
UCLA is a Final Four contender that’s for sure. Now rising up the power rankings is another question. The Bruins have a chance to do so this week with a win against the Arizona Wildcats at home. In what could be the first of three potential games between the teams, this gives UCLA chance to right the wrongs and defeat a fellow member of the conference elite. Carrying the conference’s best offense should be more than enough to give the Bruins the edge against the Wildcats.
Carrying a 10-game winning streak and tied atop the conference standings, Arizona has an interesting weekend against both USC and UCLA. While they’re solidly in the field of the 68 at this point, a sweep of the Los Angeles schools could add to their “important” wins column in the eyes of the selection committee. One good thing for Arizona is that for the season, they’re 6-2 away from the McKale Center so this is a team that knows how to play on the road. they’ll need their best if they want to make a 10-game winning streak into 12 by the end of the weekend.
Oregon maintains their top spot in this week’s power rankings. With the conference’s longest winning streak at 15 games, the Ducks go on the road for tough interesting games against two teams that seem to be trending upward. While the Ducks should easily dismiss Stanford, their matchup with Cal presents a fascinating matchup. The conference’s best defense will be tasked to stop Cal superstar Ivan Rabb who’s among the league leader in points per contest. Depending on how Oregon does at Cal could go a long way in where they stand at this time next week in the Pac-12 Power rankings.