Week 15 ATQ Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings. Ducks tumble to second

1. Arizona (21-5) (9-6)

I thought of every way possible to keep the Ducks at the top but with Arizona winning over both UCLA and USC while Oregon faltered, the Wildcats are back on top. They're also starting to get a lot scarier since the return of Allonzo Trier, who averaged 16 points per game this week.

2. Oregon (20-6) (9-4)

The Bay Area road trip has never been an easy one, but this year was especially brutal. Credit to the Ducks for giving themselves a chance at the end of the Stanford game in a contest they weren’t really ever in. Positives moving forward though, three of the five games remain at home and the Ducks hold the tiebreaker over Arizona.

3. Utah (19-7) (8-5)

The Utes are putting themselves back into the thick of the Pac-12 race with wins over Washington and Washington State. Most impressive was the 41-point demolishing of the Cougars this week. Jakob Poeltl went for an average of 24 points and 8 rebounds over the two games.

4. California (17-7) (7-5)

The Golden Bears are hitting their stride at just the right time. This week over the Oregon schools the combined margin of victory was 32 points. Only two of the final six conference games remain at home however.

5. USC (18-7) (7-5)

Rough weekend for the Trojans as they dropped both games on the road to the Arizona schools. The high-powered offense didn’t show up this weekend, averaging just 72.5 in the two losses.

6. Colorado (19-7) (6-7)

A two-win week was just what the Buffaloes needed to firmly place themselves on the bubble. Neither win was pretty however as they needed double overtime to knock off Washington State and beat Washington by one after blowing a huge lead. Credit however goes to the fact they won both those games without big man Josh Scott.

7. Washington (15-10) (7-6)

Tough road trip for the young Huskies losing back-to-back games to Utah and Colorado. Super freshman DeJounte Murray had a tough road trip averaging just nine per game. Losers of five of their last seven, the Huskies are sliding backwards at the wrong time.

8. Oregon State (15-9) (6-7)

For how bad the Beavers have been on the road a Bay Area split is nothing to complain about. Freshman Tres Tinkle went crazy this week, averaging 20.5 points, and 7 rebounds per game. The Civil War looms this Saturday.

9. UCLA (14-11) (5-7)

Another team with a split week as they fell to Arizona by six and then defeated Arizona State by 13. Bryce Alford went for 13.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 6 rebounds per game this week. Four of the Bruins remaining six games at home as they hope to make the NCAA tournament.

10. Stanford (12-11) (4-8)

I could have easily kept Arizona State in this spot but I was more impressed with Stanford’s win over Oregon than the Sun Devils victory over USC. Rosco Allen was almost impossible for the Ducks to stop and played a huge role in the victory.

11. Arizona State (14-12) (4-9)

Not bad for the Sun Devils this week as they knocked off USC but then dropped the second game to UCLA.  Duck fans will be hoping that the Sun Devils can pull the upset this weekend over the Arizona Wildcats.

12.  Washington State (9-16) (1-12)

It’s just all bad for the Cougars right now. After hanging with Colorado for two overtime periods, they responded by being absolutely demolished by 41 at Utah. This week against Stanford remains the best shot for a second conference win this year.

Now, for a look at the big games in the week ahead:

Thur. Feb. 18th California at Washington

Sat. Feb. 20th: Oregon State at Oregon

Sun. Feb. 21st: Utah at USC