Recapping the on-court action across the Pac-12 …
Theme of the week: Pac-12 race
Arizona’s sweep of the Bay Area schools gave the Wildcats (8-3) a one-game lead entering the stretch run, with a pack of teams in close pursuit: Washington State and Oregon are 7-4, followed by Stanford, Colorado, Utah and UCLA at 6-5. Surprising Cal and fading Arizona State are three games back of Arizona — too far behind to catch the Wildcats but plenty close enough to contend for a top-four seed in the conference tournament.
Theme of the season: NCAA bids
Suffocating parity continues to undermine the Pac-12’s chances to place more than two or three teams in the NCAA Tournament, the latest example being UCLA’s victory over Oregon — a team with no chance for an at-large bid beating a bubble-sitter. Additionally, the wrong team won in Salt Lake City, where Utah edged Colorado. Ideally, the Utes and Buffaloes would split their season series, with each winning on the other’s home court. Both desperately need quality road wins.
Team of the week: UCLA
The Bruins swept Oregon and Oregon State and are in range of a top-four finish. They have won five of six games since the 46-point loss at Utah on Jan. 11, with the lone blemish in this impressive stretch being a narrow loss at Arizona. Our view of UCLA has remained unchanged through its modest highs and ghastly lows: The Bruins will be a handful in March.
Team of the year: Washington State
The Cougars ended 2023 with losses in Boulder and Salt Lake City but are 7-2 in conference play since the calendar turned after rallying to beat Washington in overtime on Saturday night. It was the last game played in Seattle between the ancient rivals before UW heads into the Big Ten. In that regard, the outcome was undoubtedly extra sweet for the Cougars.
Player of the week: UCLA’s Dylan Andrews
The sophomore guard was superb in leading the Bruins to their sweep of the Oregon schools, scoring 39 points (in addition to 10 assists and eight rebounds). He made perhaps the biggest basket of UCLA’s weekend, a 3-pointer with 2:36 remaining against the Ducks that pushed the lead to six points. Andrews’ efficiency was even more impressive: He shot 54 percent from the field and was 5-of-6 from 3-point range. We gave serious consideration to Arizona’s Oumar Ballo, who totaled 40 points and 26 rebounds in the sweep of the Bay Area schools, but opted for Andrews due to UCLA’s outsized reliance on his production to escape two close games.
Game of the week: WSU 90, Washington 87 (OT)
The pulsating duel in Seattle made up for the lack of weekend drama elsewhere in the conference. Isaac Jones’ dunk with four seconds remaining forced overtime, and Myles Rice’s 3-pointer proved the difference in overtime as the Cougars beat UW for the seventh time in the past nine meetings. The game featured 14 ties and 24 lead changes. “We’ve been in a lot of tight ones on the road, WSU coach Kyle Smith said, “so I just like the fact we hung in there and gave ourselves a chance.”
Collapse of the month: Arizona State
The Sun Devils looked like a contender with four consecutive wins to open conference play. But they have dropped six of their past seven and are closer to the bottom of the standings than the top. The latest unseemly result: a 15-point home loss to Cal in which ASU trailed by double digits for much of the game. As always, the Devils play stout defense. The problem? An offensive offense that ranks 230th nationally in adjusted efficiency (points per 100 possessions) in the Pomeroy advanced metrics.
Busted streak of the week: USC
The Trojans thumped Oregon State 82-54 on Saturday as reserve forward Harrison Hornery scored 14 points, his first double-digit game of the conference season. The victory ended USC’s six-game losing streak, its longest since 2015 — Andy Enfield’s second year with the program..
Stat of the season: Utah
The Utes recorded their 12th consecutive home win Saturday with a 73-68 victory over Colorado. However, Utah is just 1-5 on the road this season, a tick better than Colorado’s 1-6 record. The Mountain schools can’t figure out sea level.
Stat of the decade: Cal
The Bears’ 81-66 victory at Arizona State marked their first win in Tempe since Jan. 1, 2017. Big man Ivan Rabb led Cal that day with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Game of this week: WSU at Oregon (Saturday)
Our 2024 Pac-12 bingo card did not include a Feb. 10 showdown in Eugene matching teams tied for second place in the conference race. Momentum is with the visitors, as is vengeance: Sizzling 3-point shooting propelled the Ducks to an 89-85 victory in Pullman last month. Notably, Oregon was without big man N’Faly Dante in that game and struggled against WSU’s frontcourt; he is expected to play this weekTipoff is 2 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com