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Pac-12 men's basketball power rankings: OSU shocks Arizona, WSU rises, Utah gets blown out

chris hansen, eugene register-guard
·5 min read
Arizona guard Caleb Love celebrates a dunk as the Oregon Ducks host the Arizona Wildcats Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.
Arizona guard Caleb Love celebrates a dunk as the Oregon Ducks host the Arizona Wildcats Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

The Pac-12 men’s basketball season will officially hit the halfway point of its conference schedule after Thursday night’s round of games.

This much is clear so far — the regular-season conference title is very much up for grabs, as is a top-four seed and thus a first-round bye for the Pac-12 Tournament in March.

Arizona and Oregon are tied for first place at 6-3 in the conference standings with four four-loss teams right behind them and three others teams with five losses. That makes it nine teams within two games of taking over the lead.

The final month of the regular season should be a wild ride in the Pac-12.

Here are the latest Pac-12 men's basketball power rankings heading into a week in which five of the top seven teams in the standings are coming off a loss.

1. Arizona

Last week: 1

What to know: The Wildcats (15-5, 6-3) opened their week with a shocking loss against Oregon State but rebounded with a dominant effort against Oregon, winning at Matthew Knight Arena for the first time since 2015 behind an arena-tying record 36 points from Caleb Love.

Oregon center N'Faly Dante dunks the ball as the Oregon Ducks host the Arizona Wildcats Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.
Oregon center N'Faly Dante dunks the ball as the Oregon Ducks host the Arizona Wildcats Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

2. Oregon

Last week: 2

What to know: The Ducks (14-6, 6-3) have lost three of their last four games and didn’t put up much of a fight in two of those losses. One bright spot for Oregon has been the play of N’Faly Dante the past three games, during which the center averaged 19.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.

Washington State Cougars guard Isaiah Watts (12) celebrates after a game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum Jan. 27, 2024, in Pullman, Washington. Washington State won 78-69.
Washington State Cougars guard Isaiah Watts (12) celebrates after a game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum Jan. 27, 2024, in Pullman, Washington. Washington State won 78-69.

3. Washington State

Last week: 7

What to know:. The Cougars (15-6, 6-4) had a big weekend at home, getting convincing wins against Utah and Colorado to improve to 5-1 since Jan. 10, with their only loss in overtime at California. They have a tough stretch coming up, with five of their next seven on the road.

Colorado Buffaloes forward Cody Williams (10) chases after the ball against Washington State Cougars guard Isaiah Watts (12) in the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum Jan. 27, 2024, in Pullman, Washington.
Colorado Buffaloes forward Cody Williams (10) chases after the ball against Washington State Cougars guard Isaiah Watts (12) in the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum Jan. 27, 2024, in Pullman, Washington.

4. Colorado

Last week: 4

What to know: The Buffaloes (15-6, 6-4) won their first road game of the season last Wednesday with a 98-81 rout of Washington in Seattle, but missed out on a chance to move into a tie for the Pac-12 lead with a loss to the Cougars in Pullman on Saturday. Colorado is now 1-6 on the road with a game at Utah up next.

5. Arizona State

Last week: 3

What to know: It was a forgettable weekend in the state of Oregon for the Sun Devils (11-9, 5-4), who started last week in a tie for first place in the Pac-12 standings before getting blown out by the Ducks and Beavers. Arizona State has now lost four of its last five.

6. Stanford

Last week: 6

What to know: The Cardinal (10-9, 5-4) are as perplexing as nearly every other team in the Pac-12. They can beat Arizona by 18 one night and then lose to USC by 14 a week later. Stanford had a chance to knock off rival Cal last weekend, but couldn’t hold a double-digit second-half lead in an eventual 73-71 loss.

7. Utah

Last week: 5

What to know: The team that two weekends ago beat Oregon State by nearly 30 and then snuffed out Oregon’s late rally apparently didn’t make the trip to Washington. The Utes (14-7, 5-5) were dismal in a road loss to the Cougars, scoring a season-low 57. They then allowed a season-high 98 in a loss to the Huskies in Seattle.

8. Washington

Last week: 8

What to know: This past week provided a perfect glimpse into the Huskies’ inconsistencies this season. Washington (12-9, 4-6) gets blown out at home by a good Colorado (98-81) team on Wednesday, then annihilates an equally as good Utah team, 98-73, four days later.

California Golden Bears guard Keonte Kennedy (3) celebrates with guards Jaylon Tyson (20) and Jalen Cone (15) after a dunk against the Washington State Cougars during overtime at Haas Pavilion Jan. 20, 2024, in Berkeley, California.
California Golden Bears guard Keonte Kennedy (3) celebrates with guards Jaylon Tyson (20) and Jalen Cone (15) after a dunk against the Washington State Cougars during overtime at Haas Pavilion Jan. 20, 2024, in Berkeley, California.

9. California

Last week: 9

What to know: The Golden Bears (8-12, 4-5) continue to be one of the more dangerous teams in the conference. Despite its losing record, Cal has knocked off Colorado, Washington State, Stanford and beat the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion. Their last four losses have come by an average of five points.

UCLA Bruins guard Dylan Andrews (2) shoots the ball against Southern California Trojans guard Bronny James (6) in the first half at Galen Center Jan. 27, 2024, in Los Angeles.
UCLA Bruins guard Dylan Andrews (2) shoots the ball against Southern California Trojans guard Bronny James (6) in the first half at Galen Center Jan. 27, 2024, in Los Angeles.

10. UCLA

Last week: 11

What to know: The Bruins (9-11, 4-5) have been playing much better in recent weeks as they’ve won three of their last four with the only loss coming by six points to Arizona. Now they have a chance to make a jump in the standings with Oregon and Oregon State coming to Pauley Pavilion this week.

Oregon State guard Dexter Akanno (4) drives as Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) defends during the first half of the game Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore.
Oregon State guard Dexter Akanno (4) drives as Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) defends during the first half of the game Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore.

11. Oregon State

Last week: 12

What to know: Jordan Pope became a legend in Corvallis when he drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the Beavers (11-9, 3-6) shocked No. 9 Arizona last week at Gill Coliseum. OSU, which had lost five straight, carried that momentum into its next game and beat Arizona State as the Beavers moved out of last place in the power rankings.

12. Southern California

Last week: 10

What to know: The Trojans (8-12, 2-7) are on a five-game losing streak and have won just three times in 13 games since the start of December.  Scoring has been a struggle during their current losing streak. USC hasn’t scored more than 67 during that stretch and netted only 50 points in a loss to UCLA last Saturday.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pac-12 men's basketball power rankings: Oregon State tops Arizona