Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings: 'Cats rolling to No. 1 seed, Colorado/Utah on the cusp, UCLA slips
In the penultimate week of Pac-12 play, a third true contender aside from the top dogs has emerged: Colorado. Utah is also lying on the fringes as one of the four teams to escape unscathed in a bloody weekend of Pac-12 basketball.
By Mason Duhon
The second-to-last week ever of Pac-12 basketball play — as we know it, at least — is complete. The top two teams, Arizona and Washington State, continue to dispatch teams left and right after losses within the last two weeks. Meanwhile, another tier below them comprised of Colorado and Utah is starting to emerge and will need a stellar final week to lock themselves in as conference contenders.
Everybody else, including the now-cold Oregon and UCLA squads, will be looking to play spoiler or make some noise in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. Arizona State continues to play the chaos merchant and could very well drop both of their upcoming games or win out — it just depends on what side of the bed they wake up on. Washington and Cal could each steal a win if they find themselves matched up against another fellow middle seed.
The basement is starting to get crowded, though, with the addition of Stanford into the mix. The reeling Cardinal went cold at the worst time and killed any chances of earning a flyer to any tournaments. Meanwhile, it's more of the same for Oregon State holding down the bottom spot in the rankings. However, USC is on the rise with standout freshman Isaiah Collier, so keep an eye on the Trojans as they make an exit plan.