Final Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings: Arizona locks up No. 1 seed, Colorado/Oregon looking intimidating
By Mason Duhon
Conference heavyweights
. player. 511. Last week: 1. No. 6 Arizona Wildcats. No. 6 Arizona Wildcats. 1. 24-7 (15-5) | 1st in Pac-12. 1.
Arizona's showing on the road against USC was bad, there's no denying it. However, this loss doesn't diminish their standing as the best team in the conference by far. Five Pac-12 losses — two against March Madness-bound Washington State — is a solid resume. On the season, Arizona secured sweeps over UCLA, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, and Cal. In one-off games, Arizona beat Washington at home but lost on a buzzer-beater on the road against Oregon State.
Next week: Arizona will enjoy a much-needed bye week to reset before taking on the winner of the Washington [8] vs. USC [9] game.
No. 22 Washington State Cougars. . 23-8 (14-6) | 2nd in Pac-12. 2. 522. No. 22 Washington State Cougars. 2. Last week: 2. player.
Washington State ended the season on a whimper instead of a roar when they were stunned at home on Senior Night by rival Washington. Much like Arizona, though, the loss to close out the regular season doesn't make any difference on how they stack up against the rest of the conference. They're above the rest of the pack by a wide margin, too, and are poised to make a deep run in both of the upcoming tournaments.
Next week: Washington State, despite the loss, earned the No. 2 seed and a bye week before they take on the winner of the Stanford [10] vs. Cal [7] game.