Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings: Arizona and Washington State continue to show out
By Mason Duhon
Conference heavyweights
. No. 5 Arizona Wildcats. No. 5 Arizona Wildcats. 1. AZ. Last week: 1. 19-5, 10-3 in Pac-12. . player. 511
No. 5 Arizona had the stellar weekend they needed after a rough patch in January. The Wildcats were tasked with dispatching a pair of foes in hostile territory who each held undefeated home records at the time. They took care of business in dramatic fashion.
Arizona took Utah to three overtime periods before finally sealing the 101-96 win. Pelle Larsson posted a career-high 27 points and notched eight assists to go with it, while Caleb Love notched a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds). Arizona simply lasted longer and handed Utah its first home loss of the season.
After the long game in Salt Lake City, many were wondering how the 'Cats would fare at even higher altitude against Colorado in Boulder. They shut that down quickly and roared out to a double-digit lead after falling into an 8-2 hole early. Arizona made Colorado its second victim of the weekend and overpowered them with a 99-79 win to extend the win streak to five.
Next week: No. 5 Arizona will play host to a struggling Arizona State squad in Tucson in McKale Center for rivalry week on Saturday night.
player. . WSU. . 18-6, 9-4 in Pac-12, 82 Votes. Washington State Cougars (RV). Washington State Cougars (RV). 522. Last week: 2. 2
Washington State is establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with in the conference. Myles Rice and Isaac Jones have been playing out of their minds, and Jaylen Wells is coming on strong to give the Cougars a trio of studs to terrorize opponents with.
The Cougars faced a surprising fight from Oregon State, but a career-high 24-point day from Wells kept Washington State clean. Wells nailed nine three-pointers en route to a 64-58 win — head coach Kyle Smith's 250th career victory.
Washington State followed that up with a close contest against Oregon in Eugene that ended 62-56 in the Cougars' favor. Rice was the difference-maker in this one, dropping 21 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Jones, the big man, also tallied two blocks against the Ducks.
Next week: Washington State will take a road trip to the San Francisco Bay Area to play Cal in Berkeley on Thursday and Stanford in Palo Alto on Saturday.