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Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings: March 3

By Matt Joye

March 3, 2015 1:14 a.m.

With the final week of the Pac-12 men’s basketball regular season now upon us, Daily Bruin Sports is back with its weekly edition of Pac-12 power rankings.

1. No. 5 Arizona (26-3, 14-2) (Last week: 1)
If there was any doubt as to who the Pac-12’s top team is, the Wildcats more than answered that on Saturday. In taking down No. 13 Utah 63-57, Arizona accomplished four notable feats. The Wildcats swept the season series with the Utes, became the first visiting team to exit the Jon M. Huntsman Center with a victory, clinched the top seed in the conference tournament and made a strong case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Coach Sean Miller’s team is playing about as well as any team in the country right now, having won 12 of their last 13, and appears poised to claim the conference crown.

Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.

2. No. 13 Utah (22-6, 12-4) (Last week: 2)
So Utah holds Arizona to 33.3 percent shooting, a 7:8 assist-to-turnover ratio and limits the Wildcats’ top-scorer – freshman guard Stanley Johnson – to 12 points on a 3-19 shooting effort … and still loses. That has to be pretty discouraging for senior guard Delon Wright and company. The Wildcats dominated the Utes on the boards – outrebounding the home team 44-35 – and at the free throw line – Arizona went 27-37 from the charity stripe, while Utah was 16-21. Sure, Utah demolished Arizona State 83-41 Thursday, but that victory comes sandwiched in between losses to Oregon and Arizona, the conference’s No. 3 and No. 1 teams respectively. I’m not overly concerned about Utah, but the Utes aren’t exactly peaking down the stretch.

Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.

3. Oregon (22-8, 12-5) (Last week: 3)
Same ole, same ole for the Ducks this past week. They took care of business against two teams they were favored against, which they’ve done all season long. What’s made the Ducks into a tournament-caliber team this year is not their signature wins – they only have one top-25 win – but rather their avoidance of upsets. Unlike teams like UCLA or Oregon State, Oregon has for the most part tightened the reins on underdogs, especially on the road. They are 9-1 versus unranked Pac-12 teams since Jan. 22, with the lone loss coming to UCLA on Feb. 14.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.

4. UCLA (18-12, 10-7) (Last week: 4)
Quite the weekend for Norman Powell. UCLA’s senior guard eviscerated both Washington and Washington State in the paint, as he seemingly drove the lane at will. Powell finished the weekend 21-34 from the field with 52 points, and the Bruins notched two big conference wins. Sure, playing the two Washington schools – and USC in the regular season finale on Wednesday – won’t help UCLA’s RPI much, but the Bruins will take wins any way they can get them right now with their NCAA tournament hopes hanging in the balance. Those hopes have been buoyed recently as UCLA is 7-3 in its last 10 games and might just be playing as well as it has all year. Powell certainly is.

Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.

5. Stanford (18-10, 9-7) (Last week: 5)
Story of Stanford’s season: The inability to step up against opponents of equal or greater strength. Stanford bullied a smaller opponent Thursday, taking advantage of an Oregon State team, which ranks No. 304 in the nation in rebounding. The Cardinal outrebounded the Beavers 46-22, and ran them out of the building in a 75-48 win. But when Stanford faced an opponent of its own size Sunday, the team didn’t have such an easy time. Against Oregon, which averages 0.2 fewer rebounds per game, Stanford was unable to gain an edge on the glass. The two teams tied with 33 rebounds apiece, but the Ducks got the biggest board of the game with five seconds to go, ensuring a narrow 73-70 win.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.

6. California (17-12, 7-9) (Last week: 8)
This past week was a positive one for Cal, although the team’s 1-1 record during that span may not suggest that. The Bears put up a strong fight against the conference’s No. 3 team – the Oregon Ducks – Wednesday, not allowing them to pull away, even when they could have. Oregon jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game, but Cal battled back to take a 25-24 lead with 6:20 to go in the half. The Bears eventually lost 80-69, but the effort was a positive sign for a team that lacked that fight earlier in the year. Cal showed similar grit Sunday against Oregon State, thrashing the Beavers 73-56. It looks like Cal is poised to at least put up a considerable fight in the Pac-12 tournament, so higher-ranked teams should be wary of the Bears.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.

7. Oregon State (17-12, 8-9) (Last week: 7)
The Beavers’ dam, which had been fortified all season long, finally burst this past week, along with its tournament bubble. Oregon State’s staunch defense had protected the team’s glaring weakness – its offense – from being exposed for almost the whole year, but that coverage folded against Stanford and Cal, and the floodgates opened. The Cardinal poured it on, winning by 27 points, while the Bears made it rain, shooting 51.1 percent in a 17-point win. The reason for the dam’s collapse was undoubtedly the Beavers’ defensive rebounding. OSU had a -37 rebound differential in its games against the Bay Area schools.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.

8. Arizona State (15-14, 7-9) (Last week: 6)
Told you the good times in Tempe would be short. To recap the Sun Devils’ past month or so: Arizona State lost to Oregon by one point in overtime, stormed the court after taking down rival Arizona and had won three straight entering last weekend. And then came last weekend. One would think the Sun Devils couldn’t get lower than a 42-point loss to the Utes, but then Arizona State reportedly decided to trash talk Colorado’s star guard Askia Booker prior to Sunday’s game – after they had lost by 42! Why are you trash-talking anybody, Arizona State? Good thing it worked. Oh, wait … it didn’t? All Booker did was light up the Sun Devils for 29 points as Colorado took down Arizona State 87-81. So much for those No. 4 seed hopes.

Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.

9. Colorado (13-15, 6-10) (Last week: 9)
Well, at least the Buffs had a good send-off for senior Askia Booker in Colorado’s six-point win over Arizona State on Senior Day. The senior guard scored 29 points on 9-16 shooting in his final game in front of the home crowd. Never mind the 28-point loss to Arizona three days prior, the Wildcats are pretty good and the Buffs aren’t, what did you expect? Speaking of teams that aren’t good, Colorado has a chance to finish the regular season at .500 as it heads to Washington and Washington State for its final two games before the conference tournament.

Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports, senior staff.

10. Washington State (12-16, 6-10) (Last week: 11)
One positive about the Cougars is that they find a way to stay competitive in games, even though they are the underdogs on most nights. Yes, there are some nights when they are are downright outmatched, like their 27-point loss to the Wildcats on Feb. 15, their 23-point loss to the Ducks on Feb. 8 and their 22-point loss to the Utes on Jan. 21. But still, Washington State’s ability to challenge UCLA and defeat USC on the road this past week – as well as beat Stanford and Arizona State over the past month – signifies progress. Remember: Washington State was predicted to finish No. 11 in the conference at the start of the year, and have a first-year coach at the helm. Things are looking up for the Cougs if they can fix their problematic defense.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.

11. USC (11-18, 3-14) (Last week: 12)
Surprisingly, USC moved to 2-3 since freshman guard Jordan McLaughlin went down due to injury. I say surprising because McLaughlin is arguably the Trojans’ best player and USC has a hard time winning without him on the court. Of course, those two victories came against an Oregon State squad that has fallen apart in the latter half of the Pac-12 schedule and a Washington team that is playing without several front court players. The Trojans took advantage as big sophomore forward Nikola Jovanovic finished with 16 points and seven rebounds on 5-7 shooting.

Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.

12. Washington (15-13, 4-12) (Last week: 10)
I really don’t know what else to say about the Huskies at this point, other than that they’ve unseated the Trojans as the conference’s worst team. With Washington’s two double-digit losses this past week to UCLA and USC, the team has now lost nine of its last 10 games. That’s bad as it is, but what’s worse is that no team in the conference has gone through as bad of a stretch over the past month, not even USC. It’s unbelievable how far this team has fallen. Washington was 11-0 at one point, and ranked No. 13 in the country, before an upset loss at home to Stony Brook began a skid that the Huskies haven’t been able to come back from.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.

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Matt Joye | Alumnus
Joye joined the Bruin as a sophomore transfer in 2013 and contributed until after he graduated in 2016. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2014-2015 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, baseball, softball, men's soccer, women's tennis, track and field and cross country beats.
Joye joined the Bruin as a sophomore transfer in 2013 and contributed until after he graduated in 2016. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2014-2015 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, baseball, softball, men's soccer, women's tennis, track and field and cross country beats.
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