Pac-12 Basketball: Washington and Utah rises, UCLA falls in latest power rankings
Pac-12 Basketball gets league play going. Who have shown themselves to be the teams to beat so far?
It's the last season of Pac-12 Basketball, as all of the teams are set to go their separate ways, to four different conferences. That's what makes the next couple of months so interesting for the league and these upcoming matchups.
The non-conference portion of the respective schedules has been completed and some team surprises and disappointments have been uncovered. Ahead of Thursday's matchups to open up Pac-12 play, here's a look at the latest power rankings for the conference.
12. Oregon State Beavers - 8-3
The good news for the Beavers is that they have a nice record overall and a five-game current win streak. Three of those wins came in a combined six overtimes, along with a one-point win over UTSA. The problem is that against any decent kind of competition, they've gotten blown out, falling to Baylor, Pittsburgh, and Nebraska by a combined 62 points.
One positive for Oregon State has been the rise of sophomore guard Jordan Pope, who leads the team with 16.9 ppg and 3.4 apg. There's not a lot of scoring depth overall but forward Tyler Bilodeau and senior guard Dexter Akanno are also averaging double figures so far.
The Beavers are at home to open league play, taking on the Los Angeles schools. Considering how much those two have struggled in December, this could be the perfect time to play them. A win versus either would be a sign that Oregon State can compete this time in the Pac-12.