Here’s this week’s rendition of the Pac-12′s peak performers…
Team of the Week – Oregon
This week the Ducks flew south and swept through a tough Los Angeles-area road trip, extending their winning streak to seven, including a perfect 5-0 record in the Pac-12. Along the way, with wins over pre-conference favorites Arizona and UCLA in their back pockets and neither of those teams remaining on the schedule the rest of the way, Dana Altman’s team became the favorite to earn the regular season title and the top seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. Behind a pair of freshman guards who are playing beyond their years and a veteran frontcourt that is locking up the boards and providing some scoring punch, the Ducks as they stand right now are very much a complete team, but they’ve still got room for improvement – a scary thought for the rest of the conference.
Brandon Taylor’s Big Week Makes Him The Surprise Winner of The Pac-12 Player of the Week (Elaine Thompson, AP)
Player (and Newcomer) of the Week – Brandon Taylor, Utah
Not a name I expected to be writing in this space this season, there were questions when Taylor signed with the Utes this past offseason whether he was up to competing at the Pac-12 level. Those questions have been answered time and again this season, as Taylor has steadily earned more minutes from head coach Larry Krystkowiak, with this past week against the Washington schools being the high-water mark. Over the course of the two games (which Utah split), Taylor earned 56 total minutes, scored 32 points, handed out nine assists, snatched four steals, and knocked down six of his nine three-point attempts on the way to a 81.3% effective field goal rate for the week. It remains to be seen if Taylor can duplicate any of those numbers in the future, but if nothing else, the freshman has proven himself a trustworthy option off the bench if any of the Ute veterans run into injuries, foul trouble or prolonged slumps.