Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings: Oregon, Arizona trade places as USC extends slump

Oregon’s time atop the Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings was short lived after the Ducks were swept on their road trip through Colorado and Utah.

However, they still remain tied for the lead in the conference standings with Arizona State and Arizona — their next two opponents — as the Pac-12 season begins to heat up.

Six teams will start the week with five victories in conference play and within one win of first place.

With that, here are the latest Pac-12 power rankings.

1. Arizona

Last week: 2

What to know: The Wildcats still aren’t as sharp as they were earlier in the season. They did enough to get a pair of wins over the weekend against USC and UCLA, though they needed to overcome a 19-point deficit to beat the Bruins.

2. Oregon

Last week: 1

What to know: The Ducks were the hottest team in the conference a week ago with six-straight wins. Now they’ll attempt to get back on track with home games against the Arizona schools after losing two straight.

3. Arizona State

Last week: 4

What to know: The Sun Devils’ offense has performed better during the conference season. In seven Pac-12 games, they’re scoring 74.3 per game and with a scoring margin of plus-2.57. Overall, they’re averaging 69.8 with a scoring margin of minus-0.61.

4. Colorado

Last week: 5

What to know: The Buffaloes are healthy again and it’s showing. They’ve won three straight — all by double-digits and by an average margin of 19.7 points as they improved to 12-0 at home. But they’re also 0-4 on the road this season heading into games at Washington and Washington State. 

5. Utah

Last week: 6

What to know: In Sunday’s win against Oregon, reserve point guard Deivon Smith got his third-straight start in place of the injured Rollie Worster and nearly came away with his second triple-double in eight days with 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

6. Stanford

Last week: 3

What to know: The surprising Cardinal, one of those six teams with five wins, are the best 3-point shooting team in the Pac-12. They lead the conference with an average 9.5 made 3-pointers per game, and are shooting a conference-best 40.0% from deep (171 for 427).

7. Washington State

Last week: 7

What to know: The Cougars are 4-2 in January and so close to being 6-0 and in the Pac-12 lead. They’ve lost by five points to Oregon at home and then on Sunday dropped a game in overtime to California in Berkeley.

8. Washington

Last week: 10

What to know: The Huskies have been a perplexing team. Despite having one of the best players in the Pac-12 in Keion Brooks Jr. and a legit playmaker in point guard Sahvir Wheeler, Washington just can’t get any momentum, with three wins and three losses in their last six games.

9. California

Last week: 8

What to know: No team in the bottom half of the Pac-12 standings has the ability to play spoiler like the Golden Bears. So far this season they’ve defeated UCLA in LA, Colorado and Washington State. They’ve also lost by just two points to Arizona State and Washington.

10. Southern California

Last week: 9

What to know: The Trojans have lost four straight by an average of 12 points and are just one of three teams in the conference who have a losing record overall. Hard to believe this is the same team that opened the season at No. 21 in the Associated Press top 25.

11. UCLA

Last week: 11

What to know: Don’t look now, but the Bruins are beginning to play better. In their last three games, they’ve beaten Washington and Arizona State and had a 19-point lead on Arizona before losing by six.

12. Oregon State

Last week: 12

What to know: The Beavers have the longest losing streak in the Pac-12 at five games and they looked especially bad this past week when they lost 74-47 to Utah and 90-57 to Colorado.  

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.