Pac-12 Basketball Notebook: Stanford, Arizona on Top -- For Now
One week of Pac-12 play is in the books, and we have learned . . . nothing.
Not a single team was able to record two wins in the first weekend of conference play. Of course, that also means no team is saddled with two conference losses. Arizona and Stanford are atop the standings, in large part because each played only one conferene game.
Talented freshmen abound, and it remains to be seen which ones will be the most productive in March.
Top Teams
---1. Arizona (11-3, 1-0) – The Wildcats are ranked 24th, have no bad losses, and won their only Pac-12 game by 28 points.
---2. Oregon (12-3, 1-1) – After losing at Colorado and barely beating Utah, the ninth-ranked Ducks must settle for the second spot for now.
---3. Stanford (12-2, 1-0) – The Cardinal is not the third-best team, but you can’t ignore the facts: Stanford’s only losses have been to No. 11 Butler (by one point on a neutral court) and No. 3 Kansas.
---4. Colorado (12-3, 1-1) – The Buffaloes virtually negated their win over Oregon by blowing a double-digit, second-half lead against Oregon State, but they still are ranked No. 25 this week.
---5. Washington (11-4, 1-1) – That one bad half against UCLA prevents the Huskies from being any higher. After that first half against the Bruins, the Huskies outscored their opponents 112-72.
Teams on the Rise
---Stanford (12-2) – The Cardinal was picked to finish 10th and did not figure to be in the thick of the Pac-12 race with the talent it lost. We’ll see if Stanford has staying power.
---Washington State (10-5) – The Cougars have won seven of their last eight games, although none of the victims was particularly good, unless you believe UCLA is decent.
Team on the Skids
---Arizona State (9-5) – The Sun Devils lost to Virginia by just three points while starting the season 8-2, but in the past three weeks they lost to Saint Mary’s by 40 at home and were beaten to Arizona by 28.
Teams on a Mystery Tour
The L.A. Squads
---UCLA (8-7) posted a big upset at Washington, then lost to conference weakling Washington State.
---USC (12-3) got a win at Washington State, then lost at Washington by 32 points.
Go figure La-La Land.
Pac-12 player-of-the-year standings
Payton Pritchard (3) - Photo by Troy Wayrynen, USA TODAY Sports
---1. Payton Pritchard, Oregon (18.7 points, 5.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds) – He controls everything on the court for a top-10 team.
---2. Isaiah Stewart, Washington (19.5 points, 9.1 rebounds) – This freshman has scored at least 14 points in every game. There's a reason he was the nation's No. 1 recruit.
---3. Zeke Nnaji, Arizona (16.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 69.1 FG %) – Wildcats freshman has made at least half his shots in every game but one.
---4. Timmy Allen, Utah (21.1 points, 7.9 rebounds) – He played 79 of a possible 80 minutes in the first two conference games.
--- 5. McKinley Wright IV, Colorado/Tyler Bey, Colorado – I can’t choose between these two talented Buffaloes, who impact games in different ways.
And, yes, I left Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle and his impressive stats out of my top five.
Pac-12 freshman-of-the-year standings
---1. Isaiah Stewart, Washington – He is so efficient and his game is so mature that it’s hard to imagine him faltering.
---2. Zeke Nnaji, Arizona – Now that he has a headband to keep his hair out of his eyes, Nnaji is nearly unstoppable as long as teammates get him the ball.
---3. Onyeka Okongwu, USC (17.8 points, 9.2 rebounds) – His big game against Washington State (12-for-14 shooting, 27 points) was offset when he virtually disappeared against Washington (4-for-13, 10 points).
---4. Tyrell Terry, Stanford (15.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists) – Terry gave the Cardinal the piece it needed to be a contender.
---5. Nico Mannion, Arizona (14.3 points, 6.3 assists) – But over the past three games, he shot just 12-for-34 (35.3 percent) from the field, including 3-for-18 on 3-pointers.
---Freshman of note. Jaden McDaniels, Washington – He is projected to be the first Pac-12 player taken in the 2020 NBA Draft, but I haven’t seen that kind of consistent production yet.
Pac-12 Player of the Week
Chris Smith - Photo by Joe Nicholson, USA TODAY Sports
--- Chris Smith, UCLA – This might not be a popular pick but the Bruins’ 6-foot-9 guard had 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in just 24 minutes in the road upset of Washington, and he contributed 22 points, seven boards and one assist in only 26 minutes in the overtime loss at Washington State.
--- Other contenders: Washington’s Isaiah Stewart, Utah’s Timmy Allen, Arizona’s Zeke Nnaji, Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, Stanford’s Daejon Davis and Colorado’s Tyler Bey and McKinley Wright IV.
---McKinley Wright IV was named the official Pac-12 player of the week.
Team Stats of the Week
--Arizona opened Pac-12 play against Arizona State after its longest in-season break — 13 days — without a basketball game since 1944-45. Rested rather than rusty, the Wildcats crushed ASU
---Washington had 12 blocks and 14 steals against USC on Sunday.
Ugly Team Stats of the Week
---Colorado led 63-52 with less than eight minutes remaining, having shot 57.1 percent from the field with nine turnovers to that point, when it proceeded to go 2-for-11 from the floor with six turnovers over the rest of the game in a loss to Oregon State.
--After shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 18-for-24 (75 percent) from the foul line in a win over Washington State, USC then shot 20.3 percent from the field, 2-for-15 from 3-point range, and 12-for-25 from the foul line in a humbling 72-40 loss to Washington. And don’t forget, USC coach Andy Enfield was a shooting coach for the Bucks and Celtics.
Make-of-It-What-You-Will Team Stat
---Stanford missed its first 15 shots against Kansas and made just 1 of its first 10 shots in its next game against Cal. Guess the Cardinal is a slow starter. It still beat the Bears by 16.
Player Stat of the Week
Washington freshman Jaden McDaniels blocked six shots in the first half against USC on Sunday.
Ugly Player Stats of the Week
--- Washington freshman Jaden McDaniels fouled out after just 14 minutes in his first Pac-12 game, finishing with three points, two rebounds, zero blocks and four turnovers in the loss to UCLA
--USC forward Nick Rakocevic, a preseason all-Pac-12 selection who entered conference play shooting 51,7 percent from the field and 7-for-10 on 3-pointers, went 2-for-18 from the floor and 0-for-2 from long range in his first two Pac-12 games, including 1-for-12 against Washington.
Make-of-It-What You-Will Player Stat
Oregon State’s Kylor Kelley is second in the nation in blocked shots (4.29 per game), and the Beavers are 5-1 in games in which he blocks five shots or more. Kelley has had more blocked shots than points in three of the past eight games.
Quote of the Week
Tad Boyle - Photo by Ron Chenoy, USA TODAY Sports
“Have never had something like this happen to a team. We lost our composure and our confidence and we got on our heels. That can’t happen. It’s league play and welcome to the Pac-12, guys. We’re a veteran team. That’s what’s disappointing. If we had a bunch of freshmen and sophomores out there, I’d be OK, we’ll learn from this. But that’s not the case. There’s no excuses to be made for that. I take responsibility as a coach. We did not handle that well, and that’s my fault.” --- Colorado coach Tad Boyle, to the Boulder Daily Camera, after the Buffaloes blew an 11-point lead with less than eight minutes left at home in a 76-68 loss to Oregon State two days after beating Oregon on the same court.
Top Upcoming Game This Week
---Thursday, January 9 – Arizona (11-3, 1-0) at Oregon (12-3, 1-1) – The two best Pac-12 teams meet in Eugene, and Arizona freshman point guard Nico Mannion goes against Oregon senior point guard Payton Prichard.
Cal High Point of the Week
Cal junior Grant Antecevich had 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 2-for-3 on 3-pointers, to go along with 10 rebounds against Stanford in the Pac-12 opener. Unfortunately, his teammates combined to shoot 11-for-45 (24.4 percent) from the field and 2-for-12 from 3-point range in the 68-52 Cal loss.
