Busting Brackets
Fansided

Pac-12 Basketball: Oregon, UCLA continues to stay on top of power rankings

By Jacob Stevenson

Dec 31, 2020; Los Angeles, California, CA; UCLA Bruins guard Johnny Juzang (3) and forward Jalen Hill (24) celebrate the 72-70 victory against the Utah Utes at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2020; Los Angeles, California, CA; UCLA Bruins guard Johnny Juzang (3) and forward Jalen Hill (24) celebrate the 72-70 victory against the Utah Utes at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 12
Next
Pac-12 Basketball Washington State Cougars Efe Abogidi James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Pac-12 Basketball Washington State Cougars Efe Abogidi James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /

9. Washington State Cougars

The Washington State Cougars are 9-2 this season and 2-2 in conference play. They are coming off a 71-60 win against Cal and a 75-60 loss against Stanford where Stanford pulled away in the last six minutes.

The program has completely changed direction over Kyle Smith in the last two years last season with their Kenpom ranking of 127 it was their highest ranking since 2013. Their current Kenpom ranking is 122.

Washington State struggles on the offensive end with the 242nd ranked offense in college basketball but has been really impressive defensively ranking 41st according to Kenpom. The Cougars are also 2nd in defensive effective field goal percentage at 40.1 percent.

The Cougs have also had their share of injuries this season and COVID issues. Currently, starter Dj Rodman, son of Dennis Rodman, is out due to COVID 19 protocols along with reserve guard Ryan Rapp.

The Cougs key players are, Issac Bonton WSU’s leading scorer at 17.7 points per game, and has been a lot more efficient lately. Noah Williams, an excellent defender who has improved his jumper, and Efe Abogidi a super athletic freshman big man that has been compared to Chris Boucher.

I have Washington State 9th in the power rankings. They are a really well-coached tough defensive team that will be in pretty much every game they play. But I don’t think they have the offense to be above 9th in the league. But they are certainly ahead of schedule.

Home/Pac-12