Pac-12 Basketball Roundup: Colorado Undefeated at Home; Oregon Faces Tough Test

“Mediocre, Sub-par, hard to watch and boring."

Those are the words right now being used to describe the once superb Pac-12 conference. Sure, most teams are only three to four games in conference play, but if this weekend is any indication of what’s to come, the Pac-12 may have a hard time getting more than two teams into the NCAA Tournament. 

With that being said, here my rankings for the Pac-12.

1. Colorado

The Buffaloes are 3-0 at home and are leading the conference standings right now. All this could change as Tad Boyle’s team heads on the road to face the Stanford and California this weekend, and both are traditionally tought places to play. Who would’ve thought after losing Alec Burkes, the Buffalos would be sitting atop the Pac-12 conference standings?  

2. Stanford

The Cardinal lost to Oregon, but played one of the best games of the season against Oregon State in a four-overtime thriller in Corvallis. Josh Owens is a beast down low, and it seems Johnny Dawkins has this team poised for a run and even a possibility to make the NCAA Tournament. California could be the better team because they’re better in the open court, but time will tell if the Cardinal are for real.  

3. California

Capping the weekend off was the Cal Golden bears beating down the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Night Arena, 77-60, behind a season-high 26 points from sophomore swingman Allan Crabbe. Crabbe, one of the contenders for conference player of the year, along with Cal senior point guard Jorge Gutierrez, could lead the Bears to the NCAA tournament, but the league has been so unpredictable it will be hard and interesting to see wins the league and has a shot to make the postseason.

4. UCLA

Everyone’s preseason favorite to win the league was UCLA, but clearly, that was the wrong choice, as the inmates started running the asylum and star forward Reeves Nelson was dismissed from the program. Nelson is playing in Lithuania and is now a professional basketball player. I see a journey much like Chris “Birdman” Anderson of the Denver Nuggets in his future as a pro player.

However, don’t count the Bruins out yet; they swept the Arizona schools this past weekend, and if they lock up on defense like they did against Arizona, then they may have a chance to win the conference title. They have to get better guard play from Lazeric Jones and co.
 

5. Arizona

 The Wildcats were thought to finish in the top two along with either UCLA or Washington, but they have struggled as of late. The Wildcats' biggest player on the court (well, the one that actually plays) is senior forward Jesse Perry, and he’s 6'7". Post players Alex Jacobson (7'1") and Kyryl Natyazhko (6’11") barely play, even with an opportunity to face David and Travis Wear of UCLA. Freshman Angelo Chol, who stands a lean 6'9", was the one that got to face the Wear Twins.

Guard play isn’t an issue for Sean Miller’s Wildcats; it’s finding an ingredient that works well enough to finish in the top two spots of the conference. If the Wildcats don’t finish that high, it will be tough to make the NCAA Tournament.
 

6. Oregon

 The Ducks beat Stanford but lost to Cal thanks to Allen Crabbe’s performance against the Ducks. They will go to Arizona this week, where they haven’t beat the Wildcats since Kevin O’Neil was the coach during the 2007-08 season.
 

7. Washington

The Huskies dropped to No. 7 in this ranking because they lost to Coloroado and barely (yes, barely) beat the depleted Utes of Utah in Salt Lake City. Washington is arguably the most talented team in the Pac-12 but until they find a way to put it all together, especially on defense, they’ll be in the bottom half of the league.
 

8. Oregon State 

The Beavers played their hearts out in that fantastic four-overtime loss against Stanford, they were literally out of their shoes (OK bad joke, but still, what a finish!), but they just couldn’t find a way to put Stanford away, which is why Stanford won the game.

I predict a split when the team goes to Arizona this week. The Beavers have had Arizona’s number since 2009, and that 1-3-1 is not fun to go against for any opponent.
 

9. Washington State

 The Cougars lost to Utah; that’s not a misprint, that’s the ugly truth.

Want uglier? They then lost to Colorado, 71-60, in Boulder. Klay Thompson isn’t walking through that door anytime soon; Ken Bone and his team have to find a way to rebound as they move forward to play the Huskies this weekend.
 

10. Arizona State

The Sun Devils will need a miracle to get them back in the swing of things. That might not happen anytime soon because leading scorer Keala King—one of three suspended players for ASU’s so Cal Trip (and also a former Mater Dei player)—has been released from the program. Despite the drama in Tempe, Herb Sendick’s team got the win against USC.

Three years ago, Arizona State/USC was a nationally televised game. Three years later, it was just hard to watch. I feel bad for the fans down there in Tempe.
 

11. Utah

 I feel bad for the Utes: new coach, new league, same result. They beat Washington State and hung in there with the underachieving Washington Huskies. I feel bad for head coach Larry Krystkowiak because he is a solid coach and could point Utah back to the Andre Miller/Keith Van Horn days after he brings in new recruits.

Maybe Krystkowiak can get this team moving in a positive direction. Let's hope so. It's only Jan. 8, and there’s still a lot of ball left to be played.
 

12. USC

How bad is USC? I watched the Arizona/USC game on television yesterday, and I could not only hear Kevin O’Neil yell through my old 1998 tv, but you could see how bright red his face got as a smaller Arizona team came through and beat the Trojans by 12 at the Galen Center, a place that should be one of the tops in the Pac-12. The Trojans are winless in a depleted Pac-12 and are finding ways to lose. Too bad there’s no Andrew Luck sweepstakes for College basketball.

As long as the grueling season will be for people in Tempe, it might be time for USC fans to start watching Matt Barkley and the rest of the football team as they begin spring practices.