Pac-12 Basketball Notes: Washington's Slide, UCLA's Escapes, More Postponements
Four big questions of this past Pac-12 weekend and beyond:
WHAT HAPPENED TO WASHINGTON?
Remember when the addition of head coach Mike Hopkins and the impenetrable zone defense he brought with him from Syracuse was on course toward making Washington a perennial title contender. Hopkins was named Pac-12 coach of the year in his first season in 2018, when he lifted a Huskies team that went 2-16 in the conference the previous season to 10-8. He was named conference coach of the year again in 2019 when the Huskies finished alone in first at 15-3.
But it has gone south since. The Huskies went 5-13 last season, becoming the first team in the conference to go from first to last in a single season since USC finished last in the Pac-10 in 1986 after tying for the 1985 title. And not since 1949 had a team had the worst conference record one year after finishing alone with the best conference record (Cal).
And now it appears Washington might be headed for a second straight last-place finish. At 0-5 in the Pac-12 following a loss to Cal, the Huskies (1-9 overall) will be hard-pressed to find many wins this season. Though the Huskies’ defense continues to be solid, scoring points is a problem. They average 63.3 points per game, which ranks 310th of 338 Division I school, and their 26.7% three-point shooting ranks 322nd.
It’s hard to know what has changed, except that Washington was working mostly with players recruited by Lorenzo Romar in Hopkins’ first two seasons.
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IS UCLA LUCKY OR JUST GOOD AT CRUNCH TIME?
UCLA is the only team unbeaten in Pac-12 play, but a few missteps here or there and the Bruins could be 1-4 instead of 5-0. Their winning margin in their last four games has been two, three, six and five points. And the relatively wide six-point margin came in an overtime game, and the five-point win came in a game that UCLA had a three-point lead before Arizona fouled with six seconds left.
Does this mean UCLA has been lucky and is not as good as its record, or is it just tough as nails at crunch time?
There is some of the former, but most of it is the latter. The rock-solid defense the Bruins can apply in a possession-by-possession game in the closing minutes is a factor, and the top-notch point-guard play of Tyger Campbell helps the Bruins get good shots when it matters most.
IS THERE A HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE IN THE PAC-12 THIS SEASON?
Except for high-altitude venues at Utah (elevation 4,226 feet) and Colorado (elevation 5,328 feet), there seems to be little advantage to playing games at home when arenas are virtually empty.
Well, home teams are just 15-13 in Pac-12 play this season, which suggests there is basically no homecourt edge. However, Colorado is 1-0 at home in conference play, having beaten the only nationally ranked Pac-12 team, Oregon, in the thin air in Boulder. Colorado won its two home nonconference games by margins of 36 points (North Colorado) and 42 points (Omaha). Utah is 1-2 in conference home games, but it let a 10-point halftime lead slip away against Oregon and also lost to Colorado, which, of course, is used to the thin air.
Check this out: UCLA shot 32 free throws and Arizona shot 16 in a game at McKale Center in Tucson last week. Let’s be honest, could that happen if 14,000 screaming Wildcat fans were in the arena?
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WILL THE INTERRUPTIONS EVER END?
Because of COVID-19 issues at Oregon, the Ducks’ home games this week against Arizona State on Thursday and against Arizona on Saturday have been postponed.
Oregon State had its two games last week postponed, but the Beavers are scheduled to play their home games this week against Arizona and Arizona State.
Cal is the only Pac-12 team that has not had a conference game postponed, and the Bears had two nonconference games canceled (Colorado State and Boston College).
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Top Five Teams (at the Moment)
---1. UCLA (9-2, 5-0) – The Bruins keep winning close games, but they are the only Pac-12 team without a conference loss
---2. Oregon (9-2, 4-1) – The Ducks will be even better when Will Richardson returns.
---3. Stanford (8-3, 4-1) – The Cardinal don’t have a homecourt, but that doesn’t seem to matter this season.
---4. Colorado (9-3, 3-2) – Look for the Buffaloes to rise in these rankings with their next two games at home followed by a road game against Washington.
---5. USC (8-2, 3-1) – Sweeping an Arizona road trip still carries weight, and this team is big, big, big.
Pac-12 player-of-the-year-standings
---1. Oscar da Silva, Stanford (19.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 62.8 FG%) – He has been carrying a heavier load with Daejon Davis and Bryce Wills out the past few games with injuries.
---2. Chris Duarte, Oregon (18.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 45.6 3-pt%) – He has the same two-way-player effect that Matisse Thybulle had for Washington two years ago.
---3. McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (15.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 53.4 FG%) – Mr. Consistency. One meeting with Wright tells you what a floor leader should look like, talk like and play like.
---4. Evan Mobley, USC (15.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.0 blocks) – Maybe he should be higher, but I give upperclassmen the benefit of the doubt.
---5. Tyger Campbell, UCLA (11.6 points, 6.5 assists) – There is a gap between our Nos. 4 and 5 players, but there has to be a reason the Bruins are 5-0.
Evan Mobley, Photo by Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY
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Pac-12 freshman-of-the-year standings
---1. Evan Mobley, USC (15.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.0 blocks) – This is a 7-footer who can make a 3-pointer if needed.
---2. Ziaire Williams, Stanford (11.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists) – The triple-double moves him into the No. 2 slot.
---3. Josh Christopher, Arizona State (16.8 points, 5.1 rebounds) – His 12-for-35 shooting in losses to USC and UCLA last week did not help with Remy Martin absent.
---4. Efe Abogidi, Washington State (10.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) – His steady rise was interrupted when he had just nine points and three rebounds against Stanford.
---5. Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (10.8 points, 6.1 rebounds) – His 31 points in the loss to USC suddenly make him a name to remember.
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Pac-12 Player of the Week
---Winner: Oscar da Silva, Stanford – Versatile Cardinal star had three double-doubles while averaging 25.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in Stanford's three double-digit wins last week.
---Runnerup: Evan Mobley, USC – Standout freshman averaged 19.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in the Trojans’ first road sweep of the Arizona schools in 26 years.
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Team on the Rise
---USC (8-2, 3-1) – The Trojans’ long December layoff hasn’t hurt them, as they have won three in a row by margins of 18, 14 and 9 points.
Team on the Skids
---Utah (4-5, 1-4) -- The Utes have lost four straight and have not won a game since Dec. 18.
Team on a Mystery Tour
---Arizona State (6-3, 2-1) – Picked to finish second in the Pac-12, the Sun Devils have not won a game since Dec. 13, but you feel they still could be a factor when Remy Martin returns.
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Numbers of Note
6.3 – Blocks per game by USC, which ranks second in the country in that category (behind only Hampton at 6.4).
12 – Number of shots USC blocked against Arizona State, including six blocks by Evan Mobley. The Trojans have a huge starting five with 7-foot Evan Mobley and 6-foot-10 Isaiah Mobley inside and 6-foot-8 Drew Peterson and 6-foot-7 Isaiah White occupying two of the starting guard spots.
84.5 – Colorado’s free-throw percentage, which is the best in the country.
0 – Number of Pac-12 teams ranked among the top 20 in this week’s AP poll. Oregon is the only Pac-12 team ranked, at No. 22.
2 – Number of Pac-12 teams, as of Tuesday, among the top 16 teams in NET rankings, the system the NCAA will use to help select and seed teams in the NCAA tournament. The ACC has no teams in the top 16, and the SEC has just one.
11 – Colorado’s ranking in Tuesday’s NET rankings, which puts the Buffaloes ahead of Kansas, Louisville, Virginia, Michigan State, UConn, Duke and Kentucky, among many others.
1 – Number of wins Pac-12 teams have in its 10 games against ranked teams. The only win came against another Pac-12 team, Oregon, which was 17th when Colorado beat the Ducks.
2 – Number of free throws in 11 attempts that Utah made in its loss to Colorado this week.
14 – Number of steals Chris Duarte made over Oregon’s past three games. He also scored more than 22 points in each of those games and shot 59.6 percent from the field in that stretch while committing four turnovers in the three games combined.
55.8 and 9 – Utah’s shooting percentage and rebounding advantage (36-27) in its game against Oregon last week. Somehow the Utes still lost that game by six points.
.7 – Number of turnovers Stanford freshman Ziaire Wiliams had while recording a triple-double (12 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) against Washington. Williams came dangerously close to recording a quadruple-double that would not have been as pretty.
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Quotes of the Week
---“With this team, every little thing is a big thing. We shoot a normal free throw percentage, I don’t know, maybe (we win). I think it is a different game. – Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak, after his team shot 2-for-11 from the foul line in a seven-point loss to Colorado.
---“It’s frustrating losing games, whether it’s by five or 30. Losing’s losing. It sucks.” – Washington Eric Stevenson, following a loss to Cal that dropped the Huskies to 0-5 in the Pac-12.
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Top Upcoming Game This Week
---Saturday, January 16, noon Pacific time, Pac-12 Networks – Stanford (8-3, 4-1) vs. Colorado (9-3, 3-2) in Boulder, Colorado – How will Stanford fare in the thin air as two of the top players in the Pac-12 (Stanford’s Oscar da Silva, Colorado’s McKinley Wright IV) face off?
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Cover photo of Colorado's McKinley Wright IV by Isaiah J. Downing, USA TODAY Sports
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