Week 2 ATQ Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings

After the first week we don’t see much movement in the conference. The Huskies came away with the only loss, starting off an otherwise expected winning week for the Pac-12.

1. Oregon (1-0) Last week: #1

It might not have been the prettiest game in the world, but the Ducks took care of business. Really pleased to see the contribution of Payton Pritchard off the bench, he could become a valuable weapon from there. I still have my eye on Jordan Bell who I still think is the best pro prospect on this team.

2. Arizona (1-0) Last week: #2

The Wildcats got the marquee win for the conference this week as they narrowly defeated the #12 Michigan State Spartans in the final seconds. What’s more concerning for the conference is that they did it without Allonzo Trier who still has questions around his season.

3. UCLA (2-0) Last Week #4

Making I spoke too soon on the California over UCLA talk. UCLA put up monstrous numbers this week with 119 against Pacific then again last night putting up 102 over Cal State Northridge. Freshman Lonzo Ball is as good as advertised, falling two rebounds and one and a half assists short per game of averaging a triple double.

4. California (1-0) Last week #3

Ivan Rabb sat the season opener but the Bears still had no problem. The Bears should cruise through their non-conference schedule. The only test I see doesn’t’ come until December 21^st when they take on #8 Virginia.

5. Colorado (1-0) Last week #5

The Buffs had a solid win over Sacramento State to start the season while putting up 90 points. I think the box score showed the Colorado team we’ll except in the absence of Josh Scott. The bench play was terrific, combining for 47 points.

6. USC (2-0) Last week #6

Both games this week might have been a little closer than hoped, but the got two victories by an average of 12 points. Junior Elijah Stewart Looks to be taking over this year for the Trojans as he has averaged 20.5 points and seven rebounds in the first week.

7. Oregon State (2-0) Last week #8

The Beavers start off the season with two home victories. They’re another team that I don’t see getting tested much in non-conference Tres Tinkle had a fantastic week averaging 23 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest.

8. Utah (1-0) Last week #9

So Utah had a cupcake opponent but they absolutely blew them out with a 81-37 victory. Kyle Kuzma looks like he’s ready to take over for Jacob Poeltl. In the opener he had 23 points, 19 rebounds and 4 assists.

9. Stanford (1-0) Last week #10

In the battle of the brains, Stanford knocked off Harvard by ten to open the season. Junior Reid Travis had a monster game with 24 points and 17 assists. We’ll see what Stanford is really about when at the turn of November they face Saint Mary’s and Kansas back to back.

10. Washington (0-1) Last week #7

Yikes, the Huskies lost at home to open the season against Yale by eight points. Normally I wouldn’t say this is a terrible loss to a team that made the tournament last year but the spotlight shines after Yale lost their player of the year Makai Mason on Monday. Markelle Fultz is definitely as good as advertised with 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

11. Arizona State (2-0) Last week #11

The offense was on display as the Sun Devils averaged 92 points in the two victories. There’s no joke about the number of threes that this team will shot as they tried 47 in the two games. They have three scorers who have combined that for 63.5 points per game.

12. Washington State (1-0) Last week #12

One of the few times we’ll see the Cougs with a winning record. However, it was a tight one as they snuck by Montana State by four points. In two games they play Creighton.

Key games of the week.

11/14. Colorado vs. Seattle University (simply because I work for Seattle University athletics)

11/15. Oregon at Baylor.

11/16. UC Irvine at California

11/17. Valparaiso at Oregon

11/18. Oklahoma at Arizona State, Oregon State at Nevada