ASU Basketball: Pac-12 Power Rankings (2/4)

Following Arizona State’s heartbreaking loss to USC, many wondered how they would respond. With their first matchup with rival Arizona on the horizon, the home crowd at Wells Fargo Arena willed their team to a hard fought win against their rival.

The path doesn’t get any easier as the Sun Devils will end the week with a home game against the Washington Huskies. UW is undefeated in Pac-12 play, and are looking for some big road wins to enter the top-25.

Let’s check out the rankings:

No. 1 - Washington (18-4, 9-0)

Conference play really can’t be going any better for UW. The Huskies just completed a home sweep over the L.A. schools, and are riding high entering a difficult trip against the Arizona schools.

Luckily for Washington, their vaunted zone defense has given both UA and ASU trouble this season. If UW’s defense makes the trip, there’s a good chance they will head home with the regular season conference title locked up.

No. 2 - Arizona State (15-6, 6-3)

It was a great week for Bobby Hurley and company. The ASU head coach picked up his first victory over the Wildcats, and they sent the huge Tempe crowd happy with a victory.

Sophomore guard Remy Martin dropped a career-high 31 points in the victory as the Sun Devil offense was clicking the entire game.

No. 3 - Oregon State (14-7, 6-3)

When the Beavers needed a sweep, they got it done and have helped salvage their season. It didn’t come easy, but the Beavers went up to the Rocky Mountains and took care of business with two narrow victories.

Redshirt junior forward Tres Tinkle, had a great weekend as he averaged 25 points per game against both Colorado and Utah.

No. 4 - USC (13-9, 6-3)

The Trojans are still in a good spot, but they likely feel that they should be even better. Their offense didn’t show up in their loss to Washington in Seattle, but they got healthy against the lowly Cougars for redemption.

Junior guard Jonah Matthews had a good weekend, as he scored 20 points against Wazzou. If he can continue to score well, the Trojan offense will be a challenge for any team in Vegas.

No. 5 - UCLA (12-10, 5-4)

It was a lot of the same for the Bruins as they also were up in the Pacific Northwest. They easily beat Washington State, but couldn’t get anything going against the Huskies.

UCLA has a couple of nice pieces in freshman center Moses Brown and sophomore wing Kris Wilkes, unfortunately there’s a good chance both aren’t with the Bruins beyond this season.

No. 6 - Arizona (14-8, 5-4)

Not much has been going right for the Wildcats. UA lost to the Sun Devils in their lone game last week as their losing streak has reached three straight games. The injuries and poor performances are piling up, and it looks like Arizona will probably miss the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 1 recruiting class in the nation is on the way next season, so the rest of the conference is trying to take advantage of a rare down year in Tucson.

No. 7 - Utah (11-10, 5-4)

It was a tough week for the Utes. After entering their home stand against the Oregon schools at 5-2 in conference, they were swept at home and look to remain stuck in the middle of the mediocre Pac-12.

Senior guard Sedrick Barefield is slowly climbing up the leading scorers chart, as he’s now averaging 16.3 points per game in his last season of college.

No. 8 - Oregon (13-9, 4-5)

Despite easily besting Utah, it was an embarrassing loss against Colorado that pushes Oregon near the bottom of this list.

In a conference with many teams underwhelming, it’s the performance of the futile Ducks that truly stands out. Regardless of the injuries, UO is a program that shouldn’t be at the bottom of the conference standings. Especially after they’re only two years removed from a Final Four appearance.

No. 9- Stanford (11-10, 4-5)

This really is getting more and more difficult to find positives at this point in the list. The Cardinal almost fell to the winless Golden Bears, but were able to squeak out a three-point victory over Cal.

It’s been a lost year for Jerrod Haase and company, and it’s hard to imagine how Arizona State lost to this team in Palo Alto.

No. 10 - Colorado (12-9, 3-6)

In what has been a tough conference season, the Buffaloes finally had a game go their way. CU destroyed Oregon by 22 points, and were very close to beating the Beavers earlier in the week.

Not much has gone right for CU, but with a trip to Los Angeles next week, the Buffs can play spoiler to two of the better teams in the league.

No. 11 - Washington State (8-14, 1-8)

As one of the two primary punching bags in the conference, Pullman is probably wishing they could fast forward to football season.

Senior forward Robert Franks has become a great story, as he’s now averaging 24.1 points per game and has become one of the best scorers in the program’s history.

No. 12- California (5-16, 0-9)

The Golden Bears were agonizingly close to getting their first win of the season, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Luckily for Cal fans, the Golden Bears have two more decent opportunities for a victory as they host Washington State and head to Stanford for their final two games of the season.