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It’s finally March and the end of the college basketball season is near.
With only one more week remaining in Pac-12 regular season play, the top teams have established themselves but there still remains a lot at stake for most of the conference’s teams.
Let’s get into the rankings:
No. 1 - Washington (23-6, 14-2)
It was an unexpectedly tough week for the Huskies. They were upset by a California team that had yet to win in 2019, just after finally cracking the AP top 25 rankings.
Luckily for UW they squeaked out a close win over Stanford to avoid the sweep. Unfortunately the loss to Cal was devastating to the resumé and could harm the team’s chances of an at-large bid should they not win the Pac-12 Tournament.
No. 2 - Arizona State (20-9, 11-6)
After getting blown out in Eugene earlier this week, the Sun Devils responded with a hard fought victory over Oregon State to secure the road split.
Now having locked up a first round bye in Vegas, they will now travel to Tucson for a meeting with their rivals. ASU hasn’t won at the McKale Center since February 2010.
No. 3 - Oregon State (17-11, 9-7)
It was a brutal week for the Beavers. They lost at the buzzer to Arizona and were bested by ASU in another contest that came down to the wire.
Things don’t get any easier for OSU as they now travel north to take on the Washington schools as they’ll have to fight for a first round bye in conference tournament on the road.
No. 4 - Utah (15-13, 9-7)
Utah will be left kicking themselves after they missed a chance to get a leg up in the conference standings. After losing to the Buffaloes in Boulder Utah is clinging onto the last bye since they beat UCLA earlier this year.
The Utes will now host both L.A. schools as they look to secure a winning conference record at minimum.
No. 5 - UCLA (15-13, 9-7)
After a trying season with little going there way, the Bruins are playing some of their best basketball at the right time. They’ve won three straight and will now head to the mountain schools looking to stay hot.
UCLA has never been short on talent this season, but inconsistent play and off the court issues have plagued the team. With only a week left in the conference season, the Bruins have a good opportunity ahead.
No. 6 - Colorado (17-11, 8-8)
CU took care of business with a home win over rival Utah in their lone game of the week. It was a big win for the Buffaloes after getting swept by the Washington schools the previous week.
Colorado now will host the L.A. schools to end the regular season as they will look to secure a winning conference record.
No. 7 - Oregon (17-12, 8-8)
It was a great week for the Ducks as they continued their dominance over the Arizona schools. They won both games by a significant margin and appear to be playing really good basketball at the end of the year.
They will now travel to the Washington schools as they continue to look like a dangerous matchup for any team come Pac-12 Tournament time.
No. 8 - USC (15-14, 8-8)
It’s been a very disappointing season for the Trojans considering the talent they posses on their roster. They have found ways to beat some of the conference’s better teams, but have lacked consistency.
But much like Oregon and UCLA they could still figure to be a tough out in the conference tournament as a high seed.
No. 9 - Arizona (17-13, 8-9)
It was a mixed week for the Wildcats on the road. They got a nice win over Oregon State, but followed that up with a blowout loss to the Ducks that broke their three game winning streak.
UA now ends their season at home against Arizona State as they will look to split with their rivals and continue their domination over the Sun Devils in Tucson.
No. 10 - Stanford (15-14, 8-9)
Another tough hoops season in Palo Alto is nearing the end. Stanford has been able to play many teams tough, but they’ve been unable to make certain plays in crunch time moments to secure victories.
The end of the horizon is near as they host the suddenly hot Golden Bears looking to finish Pac-12 play at .500.
No. 11 - Washington State (11-18, 4-12)
After a nice stretch at the beginning of February, the Cougars have reverted back to their losing ways as they’ve dropped their last three contests.
Wazzou will hope to end the season on a high note as they host both Oregon schools looking to play spoiler to end the year.
No. 12 - California (7-22, 2-15)
How about the Golden Bears? They swept the Washington schools at home with an extremely improbable win over the conference’s best team in UW for their first Pac-12 win.
In a season of so much improbability, it was nice for Cal to get a victory so they wouldn’t go down in an infamy for going winless in Pac-12 play in what will go down as one of the conference’s weakest seasons.