Out of the country? Living under a rock? Here’s what you missed in the first full week of Pac-12 basketball.
Best Game – Oregon State @ Maryland: Arizona-San Diego State would be a fine pick here as well, but the Wildcats held a comfortable lead for nearly 35 minutes in that one. In College Park, things were exiting and intense from the outset. The whole atmosphere, bolstered by an appearance from the President of the United States, made this feel like something much more than a mid-November game. And on a day when Indiana State won at Notre Dame and Belmont upset North Carolina, it was the Beavers’ turn to pull the shocker. The knocks on Craig Robinson‘s team remain; it is largely a two-man offense without a great rebounder, but it has a solid distributor in Challe Barton and two capable three-point shooters in Angus Brandt and Olaf Schaftenaar. Who knows where the unpredictable Beavers go from here, but the Maryland win provides a boost of momentum that the program desperately needed.
Upsets – There were three upsets in the conference this week, starting late last Monday night when BYU walked into Maples Pavilion and hung 112 points on Stanford. Junior Chasson Randle scored 33 points for the Cardinal, but it was nowhere near enough after a horrific showing on the defensive end of the court. Three days later, UC Irvine destroyed Washington on its home court, taking a 38-36 halftime lead and turning it into a 14-point win. And of course, the Beavers topped Maryland to close out the week. Oregon State went on an 8-0 run to start the second half and never trailed in the final 20 minutes, winning by a final of 90-83.
Power Rankings (As voted upon by Connor Pelton, Andrew Murawa, and Adam Butler):
- Arizona
- Oregon
- UCLA
- Arizona State
- California
- Colorado
- Stanford
- Oregon State
- Washington
- Utah
- Washington State
- USC
Team of the Week: Oregon. We’re including everything since the start of the year in these first week awards, so the Ducks get the nod by virtue of having the best win among conference teams — Oregon’s’ opening night win over Georgetown. Throw in the fact that they’ve looked really good in both of their outings despite a pair of unfortunate suspensions, and Dana Altman’s team is the team that has made the biggest impression thus far.
Player of the Week: Delon Wright, Utah. This was a really tough decision. Jahii Carson, Aaron Gordon, Joseph Young, Kyle Anderson and Nick Johnson have all looked great so far. In fact, three different players were nominated among three different voters for this award. In the end, it came down to Roberto Nelson, Chasson Randle and Wright, but tie goes to the choice of the guy who is writing the piece, so Wright gets the nod based on his ridiculous numbers: 14.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 6.5 APG, 3.5 SPG, 2.5 BPG. Oh, and 13-of-15 from the field.
Newcomer of the Week: Joseph Young, Oregon. Yeah, Wright is also a newcomer, but the choices were so close that we figured we’d split these awards. Young’s debut week included a 30 PPG average while stroking a 71.7% eFG and a couple of good wins.
Freshman of the Week: Jabari Bird, California. While Aaron Gordon’s debut week was undeniably great, Bird gets the nod, likely influenced by his six threes on the way to 24 points in a win over Oakland on Friday night.
Upcoming Game of the Week – Washington State @ Gonzaga: The Cougars and Bulldogs will meet Thursday at 6:00 PM in Spokane. Arizona State-UNLV and Washington-Indiana should be fun ones as well, but with the Rebels’ and Huskies’ early struggles, this in-state rivalry gets the nod. The Zags come in ranked 13th in the AP poll after topping Bryant, Colorado State and Oakland to start the season. The Cougs are 2-0 with victories against Cal State Bakersfield and Lamar. So far this season, the Wazzu backcourt has dominated the team’s scoring output. Junior DaVonte Lacy is avergaing 24.5 PPG, while freshman guard Ike Iroegbu has been somewhat of a surprise, scoring 10.5 PPG himself. You can catch the game on ROOT Sports.