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There was plenty of jostling between the top powers of the Pac-12 Conference since we’ve last forecasted the league’s power rankings.
Take a gander as Connor Pelton and I try to sort everything out:
Pac-12 MBB Power Rankings 2/6
| Rank | Pelton's Picks | Jones' Picks |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Pelton's Picks | Jones' Picks |
| 1 | Oregon (+1) | Oregon (+2) |
| 2 | Arizona (-1) | UCLA |
| 3 | UCLA | Arizona (-2) |
| 4 | Utah | USC |
| 5 | USC | Utah (+1) |
| 6 | California | California (-1) |
| 7 | Stanford | Washington |
| 8 | Washington | Colorado |
| 9 | Colorado (+2) | Stanford (+1) |
| 10 | Washington State (-1) | Washington State (+1) |
| 11 | Arizona State (-1) | Arizona State (-1) |
| 12 | Oregon State | Oregon State |
The Skinny
The top three is clear between Mr. Pelton and I, but they seem to rotate within our standings every weekend.
Oregon and Arizona played in what turned out to be one of the most surprising results of the season following the Ducks’ 27-point shelling of the Wildcats this past weekend. Sean Miller’s unit will look to regroup after suffering its first loss since the head coach received a contract extension that will last through 2020. It also gave the Ducks their 40th straight home victory, currently the longest in Div. I men’s hoops.
Meanwhile, as the top two teams scrapped, UCLA found its footing with cakewalks against Washington and Washington State. Star guard Markelle Fultz was simply no match for the combination of Lonzo Ball, TJ Leaf and the rest of the Bruins’ squad. during their matchup, as their impressive form sets up a highly-anticipated bout with the Ducks on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Southern California, the Trojans saw the return of Bennie Boatright, helping USC to its fourth-consecutive win.
The rest of the conference continues to sort itself out. After suffering a surprising loss to Washington State, Arizona State bounced back with a gritty showing against Oregon, ensued by a demolishing of Oregon State. Pelton and I each dropped the Sun Devils a spot in our latest rankings, placing them at No. 11.