Pac-12 power ratings: Oregon keeps rolling but Stanford remains No. 1; WSU jumps and UCLA falls
Oregon won its eighth consecutive game Tuesday, handling Arizona State in a rescheduled affair to close within a half-game of second-ranked Stanford — the only team with a conference win over the Ducks.
But No. 19 Oregon can’t afford to peek ahead to its rematch with the Cardinal later this month, because the upcoming schedule is challenging: visits to No. 8 Arizona on Friday and ASU on Sunday, then consecutive rivalry games against Oregon State.
Stanford also has won eight in a row since losing to top-ranked South Carolina on Dec. 21 and now is first nationally in strength of schedule.
Here are the Hotline’s latest Pac-12 power ratings.
NET rankings through Monday. (The NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings are used by the selection committee to determine the seeds and at-large bids.)
1. Stanford (16-3/7-0)Last week: 1Results: beat Arizona State 78-50 and Arizona 75-69Next up: at UCLA (Thursday)NET ranking: No. 3 (no change from last week)Comment: A week after Jordan Hamilton showed her value off the bench, along comes Jana Van Gytenbeek to do the same, shooting 9-of-17 from 3-point range in the two games as No. 2-ranked Stanford raised its win streak to eight. Cameron Brink is the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the third time overall and second time in three weeks.
2. Oregon (14-5/7-1)Last week: 2Results: beat Utah 70-66, UCLA (forfeit), USC 80-48 and Arizona State 72-58Next up: at Arizona (Friday)NET ranking: No. 10 (change: +1)Comment: Coach Kelly Graves said Nyara Sabally is “turning into one of the best players in the country right before our eyes” after the forward’s 22-point performance against ASU. Sabally now is averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds, but the Ducks do need additional post scoring as they progress toward the postseason.
3. Arizona (15-3/5-3)Last week: 3Results: beat UCLA 74-63, lost to Stanford 75-69Next up: vs. Oregon (Friday)NET ranking: No. 7 (change: +2)Comment: A competitive loss at Stanford didn’t hurt the Wildcats in the Associated Press national rankings. They remain No. 8 and in the top 10 for a school-record 11th consecutive week. Adia Barnes is unlikely to let her emotions boil over in the Oregon rematch, but there’s no telling what reception the Ducks will receive from a large crowd at McKale Center.
4. Utah (11-7/2-4)Last week: 4Results: lost to Oregon 70-66 and Colorado 66-62 (OT), beat Colorado 78-67Next up: vs. Washington (Friday)NET ranking: No. 17 (change: +2)Comment: Yes, the Utes are coming off a 1-2 week, but they were a whisker away from being 3-0 and are a more dangerous offensive team than everyone below them in our ratings. Three of their conference losses are to the nationally ranked trio above them, and their NET ranking demands respect. Gianna Kneepkens is the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second straight week and fourth time overall.
5. Colorado (14-5/3-5)Last week: 6Results: beat Utah 66-62 (OT), lost to Utah 78-67Next up: vs. Washington State (Friday)NET ranking: No. 34 (no change)Comment: The Buffaloes ended a four-game losing streak with their narrow win at Utah, only to lose to the Utes two days later. Their season still is teetering going into the next three games, all winnable but far from sure things. Mya Hollingshed averaged 22 points against the Utes.
6. Washington State (13-6/5-3)Last week: 9Results: beat Oregon State 58-51 and Washington 60-56 (OT) and 57-43Next up: at Colorado (Friday)NET ranking: No. 59 (change: +6)Comment: Our blind squirrel suggestion that the Cougars could benefit from a week off due to COVID protocols proved true with a 3-0 week and the biggest jump in our ratings. This week’s games against the Mountain schools will tell a lot about all three teams.
7. Oregon State (11-5/4-2)Last week: 7Results: lost to Washington State 58-51, beat USC 65-61 (OT) and UCLA 72-58Next up: at Arizona State (Friday)NET ranking: No. 53 (change: -2)Comment: Five of OSU’s conference games have been decided by seven points or less (two in overtime), and the exception was over undermanned UCLA (missing Charisma Osborne). The Beavers are operating with a narrow margin for error with four games against ranked teams in their next five.
8. UCLA (9-6/4-4)Last week: 5Results: lost to Arizona 74-63, Oregon (forfeit) and Oregon State 72-58Next up: vs. Stanford (Thursday)NET ranking: No. 44 (change: -3)Comment: UCLA’s forfeit for not having enough healthy players unrelated to COVID protocols drew the ire of coach Cori Close. “I think our team’s response was a whole lot better than the Pac-12 office’s response,” she said per ‘The Next’ after playing Sunday with eight players. For the Bruins still to be in the postseason hunt at this point is something of a miracle.
9. Arizona State (9-8/1-3)Last week: 8Results: lost to Stanford 78-50 and Oregon 72-58Next up: vs. Oregon State (Friday)NET ranking: No. 47 (change: -2)Comment: The Sun Devils were significantly better at Oregon than against Stanford, trailing by one point early in the fourth quarter. “We have to learn how to take those games down the stretch,” coach Charli Turner Thorne said. That will be a challenge with three of their next four games against Oregon or Arizona.
10. USC (9-9/2-6)Last week: 10Results: lost to Oregon State 63-61 (OT) and Oregon 80-48Next up: vs. California (Friday)NET ranking: No. 78 (change: -2)Comment: The Trojans were without coach Lindsay Gottlieb due to COVID last week and missing Alissa Pili and Tera Reed due to injuries. Still, it took a 7-0 Oregon State run to close the fourth quarter and force overtime to prevent USC from managing a road split that would have been a success given the circumstances.
11. Washington (5-9/0-6)Last week: 11Results: lost to Washington State 60-56 (OT) and 57-43Next up: at Utah (Friday)NET ranking: 110 (change: -7)Comment: The Huskies are on a six-game losing streak with four of those by seven points or less, including their overtime loss in Pullman (despite leading for all but the final 14 seconds of the fourth quarter). The rematch against the Cougars wasn’t as close, perhaps a sign that losing close games is wearing down Washington.
12. California (9-5/0-3)Last week: 12Results: DNPNext up: at USC (Friday)NET ranking: No. 104 (change: +2)Comment: The Bears arguably deserve better than last in our ratings, but they haven’t played since Jan. 21 due to COVID protocol with seven Pac-12 games postponed in all. Until Cal can actually put a product back on the court, it’s hard to bump them ahead of anyone that’s been playing close games.
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