Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings: Arizona No. 1, Cal on the rise, Stanford falling
By Mason Duhon
Falling apart down the stretch
. Last week: 6. 9. . UU. . . . 843. 16-11, 7-9 in Pac-12
Utah is on a serious slide and has only won two of its last eight games after being projected as a late-seed flyer in the NCAA tournament. Those dreams seem to be all but gone now as they fall below .500 in conference play and don't have the most favorable schedule for how they've been performing.
The Utes got boat-raced in the second rivalry game against Colorado 89-65, in part due to an off night from Branden Carlson. He only finished with 6 points, and Gabe Madsen had to step up in his place with 18 points. Utah also couldn't force turnovers against a controlled Colorado squad and only were able to corral four turnovers.
Next week: The Utes will finally return home to play host to Stanford on Thursday and Cal on Saturday.
. Stan. . 12-15, 7-10 in Pac-12. . . 10. 517. . Last week: 7
Stanford is on a similar slide after losing four straight and only winning one of its last seven games to fall firmly below .500 both on the season and in conference play. What once could have been a bubble team is now likely not going to do much except play spoiler going down the stretch.
The Cardinal hosted Oregon first and, despite leading early in the first half, were completely outclassed in the second half and never took the lead. Brandon Angel scored 21 points, but Stanford ultimately fell 78-65 in Maples Pavilion. Oregon State proceeded to capitalize on the downward trend of the Cardinal. Maxime Reyaud tied his career-high with 29 points, but going cold at the end of the game sealed the 85-73 loss.
Next week: Stanford will have to take to the road while on a slide to play Utah on Thursday and Colorado on Sunday.