Player of the Week
Michael Flowers (Washington State)
The Cougars are slowly solidifying themselves as one of the better teams in the Pac-12 after going 2-0 this week and improving their record to 14-7. Their undefeated week started off with a six-point win against Stanford where Michael Flowers played a game high 36 minutes, scoring 22 points and dishing out 5 assists in that time span. They followed this up with a four-point victory against the California Golden Bears, giving them their fifth straight win. Flowers again led the way with a 21-point, 5 rebound performance to lead the Cougars. This squad has shown time and time again that when a game gets close, they can get it done.
Who’s Hot
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona, UCLA, and USC have all been amongst the top of both the Pac-12 and the NCAA for the entirety of the season. Coming into this week, the Wildcats knew that it wouldn’t be easy as they faced both of these squads not even three days apart. In two statement wins, the Wildcats took the sole lead of the Pac-12 and labeled themselves as the team to beat in the conference. In a 10-point win against the Bruins on Thursday, every available player for Arizona played 10+ minutes. With this, five players scored in double figures and that helped them beat a healthy UCLA squad. They followed this up on Saturday with a nine-point win against USC. This time, every available player played 15+ minutes and their defense played very well, only allowing one player on the Trojans to score in double figures. Arizona looks like the favorite to win the Pac-12 at this moment in time and they have the players to do it.
Jalen Graham (Arizona State)
In what’s been a disappointing year for Arizona State, they have been impressive as of late. Jalen Graham has helped this resurgence greatly. In a five-point loss to the USC Trojans on Thursday, Graham was one of the only producers on the court for the Sun Devils. In 25 minutes of play he scored 19 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. He was one of only two players to score in double figures for Arizona State and tried his best to keep them in the game. They then pulled a huge upset on the UCLA Bruins on Saturday in a triple overtime nailbiter. In a whopping 40 minutes of play, Graham dropped a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He was the second leading scorer for the Sun Devils and helped lead them to this upset.
Who’s Not
UCLA Bruins
The Bruins went 0-2 this week and showed some holes that weren’t exactly clear before these games. In their matchup against the Arizona Wildcats, they had a real chance to make a statement and prove they were the indisputable #1 team in the Pac-12. Instead, they folded and lost by double digits. In this loss, no Bruin scored over 15 points and their stars seemed to struggle (which isn’t a good look when they’re going up against one of their main competitors of the conference). They looked to bounce back against a mediocre Arizona State team but ended up getting outplayed in three overtimes. They had multiple chances to win the game but questionable shot after questionable shot led to the Sun Devils taking this one, 87-84. UCLA will need to go back to the drawing board if they want any chance at making noise in March Madness.
Tyger Campbell (UCLA)
Tyger Campbell has served as one of the Bruins main leaders all season. This week, he simply dropped the ball. In the statement loss to the Arizona Wildcats, Campbell only had 9 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds in 34 minutes of play. In a chance to redeem himself against Arizona State, he once again played subpar when the lights were the brightest. In three overtimes and 50 minutes of play, Campbell only had 13 points and 5 assists. Though this stat line isn’t the worst, there’s no doubt he should be doing more in 50 minutes of play. There’s no reason to be worried about Campbell as he should bounce back and be that leader UCLA desperately needs but this week was certainly an off one for the junior guard.
Top 5 Draft Prospects in the Pac-12
1. Benedict Mathurin (Arizona Wildcats)
This sophomore has been lighting it up this year and is a consensus lottery pick for this upcoming NBA draft. At 6’6”, 210 pounds, Mathurin shows elite potential when it comes to translating well to the next level. His splits of 16.5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game are some of the best among the Pac-12 and he’s just getting better as the season goes on. It also helps that he is on the best team in the Pac-12 as of right now and has greatly helped this team that didn’t end up going to the NCAA tournament last year. Don’t be surprised if he ends up going in the first 10 picks.
2. Johnny Juzang (UCLA Bruins)
Juzang is certainly one of the more interesting prospects in this upcoming draft. Some people believe in him translating well at the next level while some argue that his isolation-style of play simply won’t get it done in the NBA. While this may be true, there’s no doubt that the potential is there for him to be one of the better players of his class and he is certainly one of the best prospects coming out of the Pac-12. At 6’7”, 215 pounds, Juzang has shown that physically he is ready to clash with some of the best players in the world of basketball. He is also the second leading scorer in the Pac-12 at 17.8 points per game, showing that when a team needs a bucket, he is more than capable of getting it. It will be interesting to see where he ends up come draft day.
3. Jaime Jaquez (UCLA Bruins)
Following his teammate, Jaquez is also one of the more intriguing prospects in this year’s draft. His scoring seems pure and he has shown leadership qualities throughout his years in college, but the question once again comes up: will this translate to the next level? He does have some efficiency problems when it comes to shooting from deep (30.2% from three), but he has a plethora of different ways he can score. It certainly looks like he’ll end up being a late second rounder at this point in time.
4. Harrison Ingram (Stanford Cardinal)
With most of the draft prospects from the Pac-12 being upperclassmen, Ingram proves to be the only freshman on this list. This pick is less about production and more about potential, as Ingram stands at 6’8” and weighs in at 230 pounds. This force to be reckoned with has had some impressive splits of 11 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. If Ingram gets drafted in the first round, this would be back-to-back years with a first-round prospect for Stanford.
5. Terrell Brown Jr. (Washington Huskies)
Terrell Brown has had one of the biggest turnarounds for any player this year in the NCAA. He went from splits of 7.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in the 2020-2021 season to 21.6 points, 4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in the 2021-2022 season. He has shown elite scoring ability that could translate to the next level. Though he can certainly improve his three-point shooting (25.7%), Brown Jr. has shown lots of potential.