PAC-12 Basketball power rankings: Colorado climbs to top, UCLA rises

#6 – Utah

This is where the logjam begins. Luckily, this was a week where a few of those middle-to-bottom tier teams played each other and distinguished between each other a bit. Utah was outclassed by UCLA last Tuesday, but they’re probably the hottest team in the conference right now, so it’s a bit more excusable. The Utes also followed it up with promising wins over Stanford (pre-Da Silva injury) and Cal.
Like Cal, they’ve struggled away from home, going 1-6 on away games this year. A road trip to Oregon to play the Ducks and Beavers could end their road issues or multiply them even more. The upcoming week will be a pivotal one.

#5 – Arizona State

The Sun Devils have inserted themselves further into tournament discussion with some quality wins over USC and UCLA, but there are still plenty of questions to be asked. They lie firmly on the edge of the bubble, which is not new territory for this program but not the most reassuring place to be given the recent chaos in the conference.

But if the solid defensive showings ASU has produced lately and the physicality that its entire roster has displayed continue to manifest, then they will be a hard out, even as an 11 or 12 seed. The press against USC was able to generate enough turnovers to compensate for an offense that was anemic at times.

Rising to third place in the PAC-12 doesn’t hurt either, although they’re hardly alone. The vulnerable guard play of Cal and Stanford could be the Sun Devils’ next victims as they try to put some distance between themselves and their rivals.