SI Pac-12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings: UCLA Stays at No. 1, Another Contender Starts Splitting Vote

The Fan Nation and Sports Illustrated publishers of the Pac-12 have come together to lay out the hierarchy of the conference on the hardwood following the results from the past week.

UCLA men's basketball (9-1, 2-0 Pac-12) held onto its spot as the No. 1 team in the latest edition of the SI Pac-12 Power Rankings, but the honor was not unanimous for the first time this season. The Bruins beat Marquette on Saturday in their lone contest of the week, setting up games versus Alabama State and North Carolina heading into conference play later this month.

The team that stood in the way of UCLA repeating as the unanimous top team in the conference was Arizona, which remains undefeated and now boasts the best offense and second-best defense in the Pac-12. Crosstown rival USC is also undefeated and continues to make up ground on the Bruins, although its three most recent victories came by closer margins than they were used to in the opening weeks.

Here are the full updated power rankings, as well as some brief thoughts from each of the publishers and reporters

SI PAC-12 MEN’S BASKETBALL POWER RANKINGS

1. UCLA (8-1, 2-0), 59 points (4 first-place votes)
2. Arizona (9-0, 1-0), 55 (1 first-place vote)
3. USC (10-0, 2-0), 50
4 (Tie). Colorado (8-3, 1-1), 41
4 (Tie). Washington State (7-3, 1-1), 41
6. Utah (7-3, 1-1), 38
7. Arizona State (4-6, 1-1), 26
8. Oregon (5-5, 0-2), 23
9. Stanford (5-3, 1-1), 22
10. Washington (4-4, 1-1), 20
11. Cal (6-5, 1-1), 10
12. Oregon State (1-8, 0-2), 5

DONNIE DRUIN, ALL SUN DEVILS

1. UCLA; 2. USC; 3. Arizona; 4. Washington State; 5. Utah; 6. Colorado; 7. Arizona State; 8. Oregon; 9. Washington; 10. Stanford; 11. Cal; 12. Oregon State

Comment: Don't look now, but the Sun Devils are on a two-game winning streak entering Tuesday. Ready for the banner to be hung yet? In all seriousness, the Sun Devils' early schedule that provided tough tests for them looks to pay off now that they have their feet settled in conference play. Ending the month of December will be crucial for their ability to get momentum going into the final months of the season.

JEFF FARAUDO, CAL SPORTS REPORT

1. UCLA; 2. Arizona; 3. USC; 4. Colorado; 5. Washington State; 6. Utah; 7. Arizona State; 8. Washington; 9. Stanford; 10. Oregon; 11. Cal; 12. Oregon State

Comment: Arizona is looking like a legitimate threat to win the Pac-12. But if the Wildcats are the league’s biggest surprise, Oregon continues to be the biggest disappointment. Right now, the Pac-12 is shaping up as a three-bid league to the NCAA tournament, which would be a bigger disappointment still.

DYLAN REUBENKING, DUCKS DIGEST

1. UCLA; 2. Arizona; 3. USC; 4. Utah; 5. Colorado; 6. Washington State; 7. Stanford; 8. Oregon; 9. Arizona State; 10. Washington; 11. Cal; 12. Oregon State

Comment: Arizona has a great case of being the top team in the Pac-12 in Tommy Lloyd's first year, and a three-game stretch against Tennessee, UCLA, and USC will prove what the Wildcats are really made of. You know who doesn't have a case of being the top team? Oregon in Dana Altman's 12th year. The Ducks already have five losses in their first 10 games after losing just seven in each of the past two seasons total. A buzzer-beating three to lose to Stanford just adds salt to the open wound for the Oregon Ducks, who need a turnaround badly.

SAM CONNON, ALL BRUINS

1. UCLA; 2. Arizona; 3. USC; 4. Colorado; 5. Utah; 6. Washington State; 7. Arizona State; 8. Washington; 9. Stanford; 10. Oregon; 11. Cal; 12. Oregon State

Comment: It won’t take much for Arizona to unseat the Bruins at the top, and that could be coming up depending on what happens in UCLA-UNC on Saturday. The Wildcats are handling business and look as good as they have in years with Tommy Lloyd not even 10 games into his tenure, so the Bruins are going to make a statement this week in order to hold them off a little longer. That late December matchup at Pauley Pavilion between the two heavyweights is going to be a great one.

DAN RALEY, HUSKY MAVEN

1. Arizona; 2. UCLA; 3. Washington State; 4. USC; 5. Colorado; 6. Oregon; 7. Utah; 8. Stanford; 9. Arizona State; 10. Washington; 11. Cal; 12. Oregon State

Comment: The Huskies will go three weeks without playing, missing three games against top 10 teams because of COVID. They might not recover from this intrusion on their season. They were on shaky ground when they were healthy.

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