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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

Oregon v Arizona
Oregon v Arizona / Chris Coduto/GettyImages
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Top dogs

. Last week: 1. No. 5 Arizona Wildcats. player. . 1. 511. UA. 23-6 (14-4 in Pac-12). No. 5 Arizona Wildcats

Pelle Larsson, Jermaine Couisnard
Oregon v Arizona / Chris Coduto/GettyImages

Arizona is starting to settle back in again after looking out of sorts in the loss to Washington State last weekend. The Wildcats took to Tempe to take on Arizona State and rolled to a 41-27 halftime lead. The Sun Devils moved within 5 points in the second half, but the 'Cats battled to stave off the comeback attempt and secured the 85-67 win.

At home against Oregon for Senior Night, Arizona looked even better. Walk-on senior Grant Weitman was given the start, and Kylan Boswell had 19 points off the bench. Seniors Caleb Love and Pelle Larsson notched 22 points apiece, Oumar Ballo logged his ninth straight double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds), and Keshad Johnson dropped 21 points on the Ducks in the 103-83 thumping to finish the season 15-1 at home.

Next week: Arizona will cap off the regular season with a road trip to sunny Southern California to face UCLA on Thursday and USC on Saturday.

. No. 18 Washington State Cougars. 2. WSU. . 23-7 (14-5 in Pac-12). Last week: 2. 522. No. 18 Washington State Cougars. player

Issac Jones, Keba Keita
Washington State v Utah / Chris Gardner/GettyImages

Washington State nearly stumbled against USC, but stormed back to seal the win and doubled down when they handled business against UCLA afterward. The Cougars let the Trojans storm out to a 12-point lead and then spent the entire game working themselves out of. The first lead for Washington State didn't come until 2:35 in the second half on Isaiah Watts' fifth 3-pointer of the game. A pair of missed shots from range by USC allowed the Cougars to escape with a 75-72 win in their own home.

Jaylen Wells, a new fixture in the starting lineup, scored a career-high 27 points against UCLA two days later and helped power Washington State to a 77-65 win over UCLA. The Cougs were down by 16-4 early, but ended the first half with a 40-32 lead. UCLA stole a 3-point lead before a 22-7 run over the final seven minutes secured the Washington State win. Myles Rice was a warrior and logged 39 of a possible 40 minutes, posting 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal.

Next week: Washington State will play host to Washington in a thrilling Apple Cup regular-season finale and look to boost its March Madness seeding.

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