For the most part it was an uneventful week for the Pac-12 men’s basketball teams as the calendar flipped to February.
UCLA and Arizona continue to take care of business at the top of the standings, while Cal and Oregon State continue to show just exactly how inept the bottom of this conference is at this point in the season.
Andy Enfield’s USC Trojans are mounting a nice run right now, pushing themselves further into the NCAA Tournament conversation and likely helping the Pac-12 guarantee at least three teams in the Big Dance.
The middle of the conference, spots 4-10, are all pretty even right now. Oregon has made nice waves with a few big wins, including one over Arizona State, while Utah faltered against Stanford and hampered their at-large hopes.
Without further ado, here is a look at the Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings after the first week of February games:
12
California Golden Bears (3-20) Last Week: 12
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 249
Next: vs. Arizona (2/9)
Cal ran their losing streak up to seven games, only five away from tying the 12-game losing streak they had to kick off the season. With star guard Devin Askew out for the season, things are looking very bleak in Berkley.
11
Oregon State Beavers (9-15) Last Week: 11
Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 204
Next: vs. UCLA (2/9)
The Beavs had a tough time on their road trip to the Arizona schools, hanging tough with the Sun Devils in an 11-point loss before getting waxed by Arizona, 84-52. They are now just 3-10 in conference play – another disappointing year for Wayne Tinkle.
10
Washington Huskies (13-12) Last Week: 10
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 104
Next: @ Washington State (2/11)
Washington’s road trip to Southern California netted them a pair of close losses to UCLA (by nine points) and USC (six points).
Despite solid performances, Mike Hopkins’ team is now 5-9 in conference play and only one game above .500 on the season.
9
Stanford Cardinal (10-13) Last Week: 9
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 96
Next: vs. Arizona State (2/9)
Stanford’s surprising five game winning streak came to an end when they got trounced by Colorado on the road, 84-62. The Cardinal are now 4-8 in conference play with games against the Arizona schools and the southern California schools up next on the docket.
8
Washington State Cougars (10-15) Last Week: 7
Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 62
Next: vs. Washington (2/11)
WSU took their losses on the road in SoCal, losing by ten to USC and more than 10 (24 to be exact) against UCLA. They are now just 5-9 in Pac-12 play, another disappointing season for Kyle Smith in Pullman.
7
Colorado Buffaloes (14-11) Last Week: 8
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 59
Next: @ Utah (2/11)
Colorado took care of business against Cal and Stanford last week, games that are far from a foregone conclusion for Tad Boyle’s team considering their inconsistencies all season long. They take on Utah and the two Arizona schools on the road next.
6
Arizona State Sun Devils (16-8) Last Week: 6
Syndication: Arizona Republic
KenPom: 66
Next: @ Stanford (2/9)
Arizona State broke their four game losing streak by beating Oregon State, but followed that up with a tough loss to the Ducks.
Bobby Hurley’s team has now lost five of their last six, and even a cushy road trip against Stanford and Cal might not be enough for this team to right the ship and get back into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
5
Oregon Ducks (14-10) Last Week: 5
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 50
Next: vs. USC (2/9)
The Ducks were unable to complete a season sweep of Arizona, but they did take care of Arizona State on the road and pushed themselves into the top 50 on KenPom. They’ll need to at least split the next two games against USC and UCLA to keep afloat in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
4
Utah Utes (16-9) Last Week: 4
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 55
Next: vs. Colorado (2/11)
Utah’s inconsistent season continues, as they dropped two in a row to Oregon and Stanford before rebounding with a dominant win over lowly Cal.
They remain a potential NCAA Tournament at-large contender, but with a road trip to Arizona coming up they’ll need to be nearly perfect if they want to go dancing in March.
3
USC Trojans (17-6) Last Week: 3
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 44
Next: @ Oregon (2/9)
The Trojans have now won six of their last seven, including a win over UCLA, which has them squarely inside the Field of 68.
Another impressive season for Andy Enfield, although a road trip to Oregon and Utah, and home games against Arizona and Arizona State, could still trip this team up before March.
2
Arizona Wildcats (21-3) Last Week: 2
Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 10
Next: @ Cal (2/9)
The Wildcats have won six in a row since the loss to Oregon on the road. This stretch includes wins over USC, UCLA, and Oregon, and with a road trip to Stanford and Cal up next it looks like Tommy Lloyd’s team will continue to rack up wins as they inch closer and closer to a potential No. 1 seed in Mach.
1
UCLA Bruins (19-4) Last Week: 1
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
KenPom: 3
Next: @ Oregon State (2/9)
The Bruins recovered from a two game losing streak to defeat Washington and Washington State at home. They’ll now travel to Oregon to take on the Ducks and Beavers, but at this point they are squarely in the driver’s seat of the Pac-12 and could earn a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
