Pac-12 Power Rankings

Sun Devils climb to top; Cougs fall after losing to Stanford, California last week

More stories from CODY SCHOELER

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Sophomore forward C.J Elleby fights Stanford for the ball on Sunday at Beasley Coliseum. Both WSU and the University of Washington lost to the Cardinal this week.

  1. Arizona State

Finally, a new team at the top of the rankings. The Sun Devils extended their winning streak to seven games with another weekend sweep. They started out with an upset win over Oregon for their second win over a ranked opponent. Junior guard Alonzo Verge Jr. led the team in scoring over the weekend; he started out with a game-high 26 points against the Ducks off the bench. The leading scorer from the starting five for Arizona State was senior guard Rob Edwards with 24 points. The Sun Devils finished off their sweep with a one-point win over Oregon State. Verge Jr. and sophomore guard Remy Martin led the way with 17 points apiece, making it seven straight games that one of the two has been the leading scorer for the Sun Devils.

2. No. 14 Oregon

The Ducks slip to second once again in the rankings after one of their toughest weekends this season. They began with a loss to a surging Arizona State team. They were able to keep the game close despite never having the lead. Three players for the Ducks scored in double-digits. Senior guard Payton Pritchard and sophomore guard Will Richardson tied for top scorer with 18 points each. The Ducks redeemed themselves with an overtime win over then-ranked Arizona. Oregon was able to get the best of the Wildcats by outscoring them nine to eight in the extra period. Pritchard did not score in overtime but was the leading scorer with 38 points. This was a career-high in points for the senior, and the first time he scored over 30 points.

3. UCLA

The Bruins are another team that is on a hot streak; they have won five games in a row after their sweep this weekend. UCLA won both games with their unusual brand of evenly distributed scoring. No player for the Bruins scored more than 16 points in a game, but they won both of their games by a combined margin of 18 points. Their leading scorers for each game, sophomores guard Jules Bernard against Utah and forward Cody Riley against Colorado, both came off the bench and had 16 points. Only one other player scored in double-digits in UCLA’s comfortable, 11-point win over the Utes. Freshman guard Tyger Campbell had 13 points but three other Bruins scored nine points. Campbell was the second leading scorer again in their upset win over then-ranked Colorado with 15 points.

4. Arizona

The Wildcats started their weekend off by blowing out Oregon State 89-63. The only time the Wildcats found themselves trailing was when the Beavers scored the first bucket of the game and made it 2-0. Arizona led the rest of the way behind 18 points from freshman guard Josh Green. The other two stud freshmen also showed up for the Wildcats; guard Nico Mannion had 16 points and forward Zeke Nnaji had 13 points. Arizona’s next game was much closer as they came up just short in an upset bid against Oregon. All five starters scored at least nine points in their one-point, overtime defeat at the hands of the Ducks. Their leading scorer was redshirt senior guard Dylan Smith with 18 points, including three of the team’s eight points in overtime.

5. No. 21 Colorado

The Buffaloes started off their weekend on the right foot with a close, four-point win over USC. They were not able to secure the weekend sweep as they were upset by UCLA two days later. Junior guard McKinley Wright IV was the leading scorer in both games and totaled 35 points over both games combined. Wright was one of five Colorado players to hit double-digits against the Trojans with 15 points. He played better against UCLA, scoring a game-high 20 points despite being on the losing side. He also paced the team in assists over the weekend with 11 total, seven against USC and four against UCLA.

6. Stanford

The Cardinal got itself back on track with a sweep after suffering four consecutive losses. They started with a win over Washington where they were led by junior forward Oscar da Silva with 16 points and nine rebounds. Stanford played the Huskies close for most of the game until it pulled away with a little over 11 minutes left in the game and ended up winning by eight points. Da Silva led the way for the Cardinal again in its blowout win over WSU with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Daejon Davis also helped out by chipping in 17 points.

7. USC

After sweeping Washington and WSU last week, the Trojans were on the other end this by losing both of their games over the weekend. They nearly upset Colorado in their first game, falling in a four-point affair. They were led by stud freshman and leading scorer foward Onyeka Okongwu who had 21 points. Seniors guard Jonah Matthews and forward Nick Rakocevic also provided productive minutes. Matthews had 17 points and Rakocevic had a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double. USC could not keep their competitive play up against Utah, losing by 14 points. Okongwu was the only starter in double-digits with 18 points. The other Trojan to score over 10 points was sophomore guard Elijah Weaver who had 13 points off the bench.

8. Utah

The Utes were able to escape the weekend with a split with and end their three-game losing skid. They started their weekend with their third consecutive loss in a game against UCLA. None of their starters scored more than 11 points against the Bruins. Their leading scorer came from the bench as junior guard Alfonso Plummer had 16 points in the 11-point loss. Plummer put together another good outing off the bench against USC, going for 18 points. Sophomore forward Timmy Allen led the Utes to their 14-point win against the Trojans with a double-double, registering 21 points and 10 rebounds.

9. California

The Golden Bears also ended an extended losing streak over the weekend by beating WSU by nine points. They finally got in the win columns after four consecutive losses thanks to 19 points from senior guard Paris Austin and 16 points from sophomore forward Andre Kelly. California was comfortable all game against the Cougars; they led the entire way and got their largest lead up to 17 points. The Golden Bears could not carry their momentum over to their next game against Washington. They lost by 35 points to the Huskies and only one player, sophomore guard Matt Bradley with 14 points, scored in double-digits.

10. Oregon State

The Beavers were not as lucky as some of the other teams in the conference as they extended a losing streak as opposed to ending one. They lost their second and third games in a row in games against Arizona and Arizona State. The games could not have been more different as one was a blowout and one was a nail biter. Their game against the Wildcats was a 26-point loss in which they allowed 89 points. Freshman Jarod Lucas was the leading scorer for the Beavers, chipping in 18 points off the bench. The second highest scoring total for Oregon State came from senior forward Kylor Kelly with 14 points. The Beavers played much better against Arizona State in a 74-73 loss. They took the Sun Devils down to the wire behind 25 points from senior forward Tres Tinkle. Junior guard Ethan Thompson also chipped in with 20 points and a game-high seven assists.

11. WSU

At least we are better than the Huskies.

12. Washington

They finally won, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that they still suck. They are going to lose the Apple Cup again. #HucktheFuskies