Here’s a look at the power rankings that Drew and I have compiled after the 13th week of Pac-12 games:
1. California, 18-6 (8-3): Despite Washington taking the lead in the real Pac-12 standings, I still have the Golden Bears on top here for a couple of reasons. For one, the Golden Bears defeated the Huskies in Seattle earlier in the season, which is Washington’s only home conference loss to date. Secondly, despite having a better conference record, the Huskiesl have two fewer wins and an extra loss compared to Cal. Part of the reason for that are Washington’s bad nonconference losses to Nevada and South Dakota State. Up Next: 2/9 @ USC
2. Washington, 16-7 (9-2): The Huskies move up two spots after sweeping the LA schools at home. On Thursday night they came back from a ten-point deficit with just 6:02 remaining to defeat UCLA, 71-69. Things were a little easier (to say the least) on Saturday night when the Huskies were all over USC for a 69-41 win. Up Next: 2/9 @ Oregon
3. Colorado, 16-7 (8-3): The Buffaloes couldn’t have asked for a better week. On Thursday they shot a lightning-hot 51% from the field to run Oregon State out of the Coors Event Center for a 82-60 victory. Saturday night things were much more dicey, with the Buffs escaping for a controversial one-point win over Oregon. The Buffs needed the sweep to stay in contention for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, and a split this weekend in Arizona is also crucial. Up Next: 2/9 @ Arizona
4. Oregon, 16-7 (7-4): The Ducks knew coming into the week that a sweep in the Rocky Mountains was unlikely, but they didn’t know just how close they would come. Trailing 71-69 with seven seconds left, Oregon forward Olu Ashaolu put in the game-tying layup and was fouled in the process. Ashaolu missed the free throw and Buffalo guard Nate Tomlinson took the ball all the way up the court. His layup to beat the buzzer appeared to not only be blocked cleanly by E.J. Singler, but came after the buzzer sounded as well. However, after reviewing the play, officials determined that the foul came before the clock reached triple-zeroes, giving Tomlinson a pair of free throws. He put home the first, missed the second intentionally, and Oregon was sent back to Eugene with a split on the trip. Up Next: 2/9 vs. Washington
5. Arizona, 16-8 (7-4): The Wildcats move up two places in our power rankings and into NCAA Tournament bubble-status after sweeping both Bay Area schools on the road last weekend. The four-point win against Cal and 16-point victory against Stanford has the Cats turning heads around the nation, many of which who almost wrote them off for good after falling to Washington. Up Next: 2/9 vs. Colorado
6. Stanford, 16-7 (6-5): The Cardinal have now completely fallen off the national radar after the 13-point defeat at the hands of Arizona. A 6-5 record just doesn’t look good in a down Pac-12 especially with a loss to Washington State mixed in there. Up Next: 2/9 @ UCLA
7. UCLA, 13-10 (6-5): Two games, two nailbiters in UCLA’s road trip to Washington. After falling by two against Washington on Thursday night, the Bruins were able to fend off a desperate Cougar club on Saturday afternoon for a 63-60 victory. Up Next: 2/9 vs. Stanford
8. Oregon State, 15-8 (5-6): Oregon State’s two games were polar opposites of each other last week in the Rockies. On Thursday the Beavers shot an ice-cold 36.2% from the field in an 82-60 defeat at the hands of Colorado. The most telling stat, however, was the difference between the starters for each team as Colorado’s starting five outscored Oregon State’s by 17 points. The Beavers were able to take out their frustrations on an under-sized and overwhelmed Utah team for a 76-58 win. The Utes were able to hang around early due to the Beavers’ horrendous outside shooting (0-9 from three), but once they found that Utah had no answer in the paint, it was over. Up Next: 2/9 vs. Washington State
9. Washington State, 12-11 (4-7): The Cougars had a great chance for a sweep after defeating USC on Thursday, but they were not able to complete the aforementioned comeback against the Bruins. It now seems that the Cougars’ only hope for postseason play will come in the form of the CBI. Up Next: 2/9 @ Oregon State
10. Arizona State, 7-16 (3-8): This is where things get really bad. The Sun Devils lost both games by a combined 45 points this week in the Bay Area. I’m just going to leave it at that. Up Next: 2/9 vs. Utah
11. USC, 6-18 (1-10): The Trojans have slid back into the much-admired 11th spot after only losing by a combined 25 points this week. Hey, whatever it takes to avoid being the worst power conference team in the nation, right? Up Next: 2/9 vs. California
12. Utah, 5-18 (2-9): Things looked to be getting better for the Utes when they were able to hang with Oregon for 30 minutes on Thursday night. They eventually lost by 11, but progress is progress, don’t question it. Up Next: 2/9 @ Arizona State