Pac-12 Power Rankings — 2/27/13

1. Arizona (23-4, 11-4) — Visits from the Washington schools didn’t provide the stiffest challenges, but Arizona took care of both the Huskies and the Cougars with ease last week. Defense is an issue at times, with coach Sean Miller describing it as “terrible” after beating WSU 73-56. The Wildcats allowed Washington State to shoot 52.2 percent in the second half, and would have been in more trouble had the Cougs shot better than 14 of 28 at the line.

2. Cal (18-9, 10-5) — Conference-leading scorer Allen Crabbe has gone a bit cold lately, but Justin Cobbs ensured that a Bear would be named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the third straight time. In his past six games, Cobbs is averaging 16.6 points on 53.4-percent shooting, his best stretch since November. Cal plays its last three games at home and is at least slightly favored in each.

3. UCLA (20-7, 10-4) — The Bruins’ offense is syncing again three bumpy weeks, helped in part by better ball movement and shot selection. They’ve made 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in each of their past two games. UCLA is likely without forward Travis Wear (sprained foot) for at least another game, which is a troubling prospect as it prepares to host ASU and Arizona.

4. Oregon (22-6, 11-4) — The Ducks somehow keep hanging around in the AP’s top-25, evidence that most of the voters just aren’t watching games. Point guard Dominic Artis is expected to play “some minutes” in the Civil War game against Oregon State on Thursday. Oregon won’t need him to beat the hapless Beavers, but they do to keep their NCAA tourney seed from sinking.

5. Colorado (18-8, 8-6) — Andre Roberson hasn’t taken the offensive strides some expected this season, but he’s still a premier defender. Arizona coach Sean Miller thought the 6-foot-7 forward argued that Roberson was the nation’s best, adding: “He can guard somebody with the dribble, he can guard a longer player, a more physical player, shooters. He reminds me of a Dennis Rodman type of player, how he can impact a game without really scoring.” Colorado matches up well with Cal, so watch for a mild upset in Berkeley this weekend.

6. Arizona State (20-8, 9-6) — The Sun Devils’ door to the NCAA tournament isn’t completely closed, but they may need another win over UCLA to keep it from slamming. ASU finishes the regular season on the road, and the Bruins — a better bet for a win than rival Arizona — are their best chance for an RPI booster.

7. Washington (15-13, 7-8) — The Huskies probably wish they could play ASU more often. How well does Washington match up? The team has won just three games since mid-January, and two wins have come against the Sun Devils. The Dawgs finishes the regular season with a winnable home slate (WSU, USC, UCLA), but even a sweep only gives them 19 victories.

8. Stanford (16-12, 7-8) — Stanford is the conference’s worst shooting team at 41.2 percent on the season, and has looked like it lately. More troubling is how little the Cardinal are doing to stop teams. Their last three opponents have shot 52 percent inside the arc.

9. USC (12-15, 7-7) — The momentum of the four-win streak has dissipated. After blowing a 15-point lead against Cal, USC looked awful against UCLA, missing eight of its first nine shots to fall into an early hole. Big man Omar Oraby had some success inside, but the Trojans shot 35.3 percent and had only 12 assists against 17 turnovers.

10. Utah (11-15, 3-11) — The Utes have shown flashes of promise this season, but aren’t ready to make any postseason noise yet. As such, Larry Krystkowiak is preparing to expand the rotation as his team swings through the Bay Area. Freshman Dakarai Tucker, a 6-foot-5 forward who has shot well in limited minutes, will benefit.

11. Oregon State (3-12, 13-15) — How hot is Craig Robinson’s seat? Oregon State was only pegged to finish eighth in the preseason media poll, but have far underwhelmed even those expectations. If the Beavers can’t take two of their three final road games (Oregon, Utah, Colorado), they will finish no better than 4-11 in conference — the worst mark of Robinson’s five-year tenure.

12. Washington State (2-13, 11-17) — The losing streak is at eight and counting. No other team in the conference has lost more than five straight all season.

Past rankings:
February 19
February 12
February 5
January 28
January 21
January 14
January 7