I got to watch live Pac-12 basketball this weekend which was a treat. I would’ve had a prelude to the first of my two live events – ASU @ Cal – from Palo Alto’s Old Pro but Dad forgot the tickets. Sorry if I missed you there. But as far as weekend expectations go, that wasn’t the most surprising transgression. Utah earned the conference’s first road sweep on their trip to the PNW. Jakob won the Pac-12’s Player of the Week honor though I’d have given it to Pops despite the ticket gaffe. We’ve got a new #1 and the live LA SportsCenter is remarkably bad.
Power:
1. Oregon
Coming from the Department of Unshocking news: Dana Altman is coaching a Top-20 offense. What might be a little shocking is that the Ducks are playing the most efficient defense since Dana coached – yanno – a top-10 defense in 2013. THESE FORCES COMBINED – and you have the top team in the Conference. This week.
2. Utah
The first conference road sweep of the season! That’s huge and clearly rewarded on this website.
3. Arizona
@USC:
@Cal
4. California
They’d circled one game on their schedule and they won it. Full credit to Jordan Matthews (career night) and Jaylen Brown who is quite literally a man amongst boys. And further credit to the collective Bears who had the best offensive rebounding game against the nation’s top defensive rebounding team of the past two years.
5. USC
- Young team.
- First really tough road trip (@ WSU doesn’t strike fear).
- Got swept.
Those are some of the facts from the Trojans’ weekend and I’m not really going to hold that against them because the road causes funny things. For example: USC has a Top-50 two-point defensive team. On their road trip, they allowed 54% shooting inside the arc. Tough.
6. Washington
Home losses are not rewarded by PacHoops. The Dawgs suffered precisely that. We won’t however, let this distract us from their upcoming 14,00 possession game at USC (Saturday, noon PST, Pac-12 Networks)!
7. UCLA
Impressive road win at Oregon State following their disappointing home effort against the Trojans. There’s no shame in a loss at Matt Knight so the Bruins come out net winners on the weekend. In fun and relevant news: Isaac Hamilton is scoring 18.1 points per conference game, good for 4th in the conference. He’s also scoring 19.25 points per conference road game. I can’t rank that but I imagine it’s pretty good.
8. Colorado
Did you see the Buffs’ effort in Seattle? Woof. The announcers at one point were commending the Huskies’ team effort and the fact that Andrew Andrews (current Pac-12 POY) was barely involved. He finished with 33. But kudos on the bounce back win against WSU. The Buffs are facing a big homestand (they’re all effing big) against the Bay schools as we head into the Pac-12 turn.
9. Stanford
This shot sent ASU to 1-6:
10. Oregon State
11. WSU
It’s currently five straight with an impending LA road trip and then Arizona coming to town (and its top rated offense in the conference).
12. Arizona State
The Sun Devils will always have Texas A&M.
If the Bruins don’t sweep the Washington schools this weekend, they aren’t going to be selected for the NCAA Tournament. Plain and simple. Must wins this weekend for Arizona against Oregon and Utah to sweep at home versus the Bays – if either team plans on winning the regular season title. I liked what I saw in the Ducks last week – my only concern with UO is them running into a patient offensive team that can exploit them in the paint ( I know Boucher is a good shot blocker, but they are vulnerable).
Totally agree: to contend, all home games are must wins. I’m trying not to get too wrapped up in what it’s going to take (as in total wins) to take the title but it’s increasingly feeling like 13-5 might be it. If someone manages 14-4 it’s theirs in a runaway.
As for the Ducks, I’m still not 100% clear on their strong suits. I know they share the wealth and can kill you in a lot of ways, they’re even playing improved defense. I think you’re right, however, that it boils down to their front court.