The basement
Oregon State had a tough weekend, dropping both games unceremoniously. The Beavers simply aren't clicking offensively or defensively — they didn't eclipse 60 points in either game played — and Jordan Pope is the only bright spot on the team right now.
The Beavers fought hard against Washington State and gave the now-hot Cougars a run for their money. Oregon State shot 44.1% from the field, which was better than Washington State, and held the game within single digits the entire time. However, a poor scoring outing sealed the 64-58 loss.
Things didn't get much better against Washington. Pope returned to form with 19 points, and Michael Rataj backed him up with 13, but the second-half improvements didn't change the outcome. Washington ultimately left Corvallis with a 67-55 win and the Beavers have now lost four straight.
Next week: Oregon State will head to Tempe for a pretty odd one-off game on Wednesday before returning home to host Oregon on Saturday for rivalry week.
Like Oregon State, USC had a tough weekend and dropped both games. Unlike Oregon State, though, USC doesn't really have the proven star player to lean on with Boogie Ellis still working his way back form injury.
Isaiah Collier returned to action for the Trojans against Cal and looked good, posting 20 points — the majority of which came from the foul stripe. DJ Rodman added 17 points of his own, but it wasn't enough to stop a Cal team rallying behind Tyson in the 83-77 loss.
When Stanford came to town on Saturday, it was more of the same. Collier posted 18 points, but the rest of the team was cratering around him. Kijani Wright was the second-leading scorer with 9 points coming off the bench. After playing Cal close, USC was subjected to a 31-point loss by the Cardinal.
Next week: USC will look to avoid getting a pair of beatdowns when Utah comes to Galen Center on Thursday and Colorado does the same on Saturday.
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