Wild opening weekend in the Pac-12

If the opening weekend is an indicator, it's going to be a wild regular season for Pac-12 men's basketball.

In the aftermath of men's basketball’s opening weekend in the Pac-12, only two teams remain undefeated in league. The reason? Each only played one game. For every other team in conference, not a single one of them could manage to win two in a row.

Fourth-ranked Oregon lost at Colorado, but recovered to defeat Utah in Salt Lake City. Washington, considered a conference contender, dropped its home opener to visiting UCLA before throttling USC. The Bruins followed their upset road win over the Huskies by falling to Washington State in overtime. Oregon State, which first lost at Utah, then upset the same Colorado team that beat the Ducks.

So, sitting atop the Pac-12 standings entering week 2 is Arizona and Stanford. The Wildcats routed visiting Arizona State 75-47 on Saturday, while Stanford took care of its rival California last Thursday, 68-52.

If Week 1 is any indication of the future, a wild opening weekend will likely produce a wild regular season where winning on the road will remain difficult, yet winning at home, by no means, will be a guarantee.

On Thursday, the madness resumes when No. 24 Arizona visits No. 9 Oregon in Eugene in a nationally televised game on ESPN. Many have argued that the most difficult road trip for any conference school this year will be the trip to the Pacific Northwest. Arizona and Arizona State will certainly put that theory to the test.

The Wildcats split the always challenging road trip last year, upending Oregon State 74-72 before getting pounded by the Ducks, 73-47. In fact, on Thursday, Arizona will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak to Oregon that also includes a 98-93 overtime loss to the Ducks in Eugene in 2018.

As for the rest of the league, the Washington schools travel to the Bay Area, while USC visits UCLA on Saturday and Utah plays at No. 25 Colorado on Sunday.

It’s early, but right now eight schools are tied for third place with a 1-1 conference record. This week, home teams will look to create some separation with a sweep – something that did not happen in Week 1. One would think the Oregon schools have a legitimate shot at accomplishing the feat, but your guess is as good as mine.

Thursday’s matchup between Oregon point guard Payton Pritchard and Arizona floor leader Nico Mannion will be as good as any individual matchup in the country. Mannion is a dynamic point guard, while Pritchard is as savvy as it gets, with loads of big game experience from which to draw. How Mannion manages the game for the Wildcats in what will undoubtedly be the most hostile crowd the true freshman has faced to date will go a long way in determining whether Arizona has a chance at the upset and an opportunity to make an early statement to the rest of the conference.