Pac-12 Basketball: Washington and Utah rises, UCLA falls in latest power rankings

2. Colorado Buffaloes - 9-2

Coach Tad Boyle may not have been on any hot but there was pressure on him to have a big year. Not only did he bring back the star duo of Tristan Da Silva and KJ Simpson but they added Cody Williams, the highest-ranked commit out of high school in program history.

While the freshman wing has missed a couple of games via injury, he’s averaging 14.0 ppg through seven games. Simpson (19.9 ppg and 4.5 apg) and Da Silva (15.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg) have been all-conference players as expected, while role players such as J’Vonne Haldey and TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin have been effective as well.

The Buffaloes have a big win over Miami, with losses to just Florida State and Colorado State. More importantly, they’ve dominated everyone else, scoring 90+ points in each of the last four games. The top-20 scoring offense might be the only one to handle a shootout with the No. 1 team in this league and capable of beating everyone else.

Up first in conference play is Washington and Washington State at home. With three true road games, including against Arizona, following them, it’s going to be important for Colorado to start 2-0 and prove that they’re a contender in the league title race.