Rush The Court

Here’s a look at the power rankings that Drew, Parker, Adam, and I have compiled after the fifth week of Pac-12 games (delta in parentheses):

1. Arizona, 8-0 (-): Arizona continued to carry the Pac-12 flag in week five, outlasting fifth ranked Florida in a Saturday night thriller. Thanks to never giving up and some key Gator miscues down the stretch, Arizona erased a six-point deficit in the final minute to pull out a 65-64 win. For a team that gained preseason hype via its recruiting class, Zona relied on its seniors to get the signature victory. While the three true freshmen only averaged three points a piece on the night, guys like Solomon Hill, Kevin Parrom, and Mark Lyons combined for an average of 13 a piece. Who can forget about sophomore Nick Johnson, either? Not letting the underclassmen be completely outdone, the sophomore went for 15 points and four huge steals. For anyone that was waiting to say so, it’s safe to say now that this Wildcat team is legit. Time and time again they have made late runs in the final eight or so minutes of games to keep their clean record alive. Now the question is; where does it end? Up Next: 12/18 vs. Oral Roberts.
2. Oregon, 9-1 (-): A terrific defensive performance from Oregon offset its second-to-worst offensive output of the season on Saturday. The stingy Duck defense forced 16 Nebraska turnovers in the 60-38 victory, improving Dana Altman‘s squad to 9-1 as they enter Wednesday’s road test at UTEP. Up Next: 12/19 @ UTEP.

   Senior Forward Arsalan Kazemi Was The Star Of Oregon’s Defense On Saturday, Recording Four Steals And 17 Rebounds. (credit: Chris Pietsch)

3. Colorado, 8-2 (^2): The Buffaloes jump up two spots after obtaining a solid road win at Fresno State. Junior Andre Roberson led all scorers with 17 points in the victory. With games against Northern Arizona and Hartford left on the non-conference slate, it looks as if Colorado will enter Pac-12 play with a 10-2 record. Up Next: 12/21 vs. Northern Arizona.
4. Oregon State, 7-2 (-): Oregon State held steady, but lost a couple of points in this week’s rankings despite going 2-0 and picking up its first road win of the season. Perhaps the panel decided to drop the Beavers due to the closeness of the two outcomes. They were barely able to outlast a Portland State team that hasn’t beaten a division one team so far this season, and sloppy play against 3-9 Chicago State resulted in only a 87-77 win. Up Next: 12/19 vs. Howard
5. Stanford, 7-3 (^1): Stanford returned from its lengthy layoff on Saturday in fine form, dominating in-state rival UC Davis from start to finish. Dwight Powell continued his strong play with a 20 point performance, while Josh Huestis pulled down nine boards and shined on the glass. Johnny Dawkins and company now face one of their toughest tests of the non-conference season as they venture into Raleigh to face NC State. Up Next: 12/18 @ NC State.
6. California, 6-3 (٧3): Our voters have finally fallen out of love with the Golden Bears, who have now dropped three games in a row. While the schedule has been challenging (at Wisconsin, UNLV, Creighton), Cal has disappointed in the sense that they had chances late in both of those games and failed to execute. They now have 11 days to prepare for the “Showdown of the Nerds” against Harvard, with a couple of warmup games in-between. Up Next: 12/18 vs. UC Santa Barbara.
7. UCLA, 7-3 (^1): It was an easy week for the Bruins, who dismantled a undermatched Prairie View A&M team by a final score of 95-53. UCLA is slowly but surely beginning to look better as it prepares for their December 28 matchup with 12th ranked Missouri. Up Next: 12/18 vs. Long Beach State.
8. Arizona State, 9-2 (٧1): It was a disappointing start to the week, to say the least, when DePaul went into Tempe, completely shut down Jahii Carson, and dominated Arizona State for a 78-61 win. It’s safe to say that this Sun Devil team has a lot to improve on, but regardless, they’re still 9-2. Most everyone in the nation would take that. Up Next: 12/22 @ Texas Tech.
9. Utah, 6-3 (^2): Utah cracked single digits this week, simply by studying and not seeing any game-action. Who knows how it’ll effect the Utes when they return to the court tonight against SMU, but for now, Ute fans have to like where they’re at. Up Next: 12/18 vs. SMU.
10. USC, 4-6 (٧1): Now that we get down to the Trojans, it doesn’t make much sense that they were hopped by Utah. SC got by far its biggest win on Saturday afternoon, a 70-26 thrashing of UC Riverside. Kevin O’Neill‘s guys will look to get back into single digits this week with games against UC Irvine and Georgia. Up Next: 12/20 vs. UC Irvine.
11. Washington State, 7-4 (٧1): Washington State was the other victim of Utah’s leap, going down to 11 after a too-close-for-comfort win against Jackson State. The 1-8 Tigers were always within striking distance until a Brock Motum with just under four minutes to play. Up Next: 12/21 vs. Buffalo in Seattle.
12. Washington, 6-4 (-): The Huskies still sit in the basement despite having one of their better weeks in a while. Washington picked up a solid road win against Seattle U on Thursday before beating the same Jackson State team mentioned above by 18. Can the Huskies move up next Monday if they get a victory over Pac-12 killer Cal Poly? Time will tell. Up Next: 12/20 vs. Cal Poly