Player of the Week
KJ Simpson (Colorado)
After a breakout year in the Pac-12 last season, Simpson’s junior campaign has started out hot. This week, he stood out with 23 points on 6/11 shooting from the field in a win against the Richmond Spiders. He also shot 50% from deep and 90% from the free throw line. Simpson followed this up with a 15-point, 9 rebound performance in a 6-point loss to Florida State. Even with the Buffaloes first loss coming this week, they’ve been able to climb to #18 in the national rankings and start the year 4-1.
Who’s Hot
Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats have been tested more than once this season and it’s resulted in them winning. Arizona beat #21 Michigan State by 6 points on Thanksgiving, improving their record to 6-0 with two ranked wins under their belt. The addition of Caleb Love, the consistent development of Oumar Ballo and key players stepping up has made the Wildcats one of the scariest teams in the NCAA landscape.
Boogie Ellis (USC)
Ellis returned this year as one of the premier players in the Pac-12 and with some of the highest expectations within the conference. He has found a way to excel even alongside phenom freshman Isaiah Collier. He dropped 22 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 38 minutes of play against Seton Hall which moved the Trojans to 5-0 on the season. Unfortunately, USC dropped their next game to Oklahoma by two points. Ellis had 16 points and 4 assists in the loss.
Who’s Not
Stanford Cardinal
After starting off 3-1, the Cardinal have fallen to 3-4 after losing three straight games this week. They played #20 Arkansas close in a 77-74 loss but shot 40% from the field and 30% from three. They also lost to unranked Michigan and the 2-4 Northern Iowa Panthers. A promising start to the season has turned into a concerning one.
Top 5 Teams Who Will Finish Worse Than Last Year
UCLA Bruins
Last year, UCLA finished first in the Pac-12 with a record of 31-6 and an undefeated record at home. They already have two losses this year and had significant talent loss such as Jaime Jaquez Jr.], Tyger Campbell and Amari Bailey. While this team will finish worse than last year, expect them to remain among the top teams in the Pac-12.
Oregon Ducks
The Ducks weren’t great last year but losing talent such as Will Richards should affect them enough to the point that they finish with a worse record than last year. Their schedule over the next couple of weeks isn’t the easiest and the roster just doesn’t seem to have the same level of talent it’s had in the past.
Arizona State Sun Devils
For a stretch of the season last year, the Sun Devils looked like one of the best teams in the entire NCAA. Their season ended with a NCAA Tournament appearance and two-point loss to TCU in the opening round. They currently stand at 3-2 but don’t expect this season to produce the same success as last year because of the talent that they loss.
Oregon State Beavers
Oregon State only won 11 games last year but they shouldn’t be much better this season. Almost every projection has them finishing last in the conference and it’s tough to argue against that. Over the course of the offseason, they didn’t improve the team and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of certain wins on their schedule.
Washington Huskies
The Huskies could be solid behind Keion Brooks Jr. and be better than their 16-16 record from last year, but I’m going to say that they finish right under that mark. They lost veteran players to graduation and had a couple of guys slip out of the program from the transfer portal. They’re one of the toss ups in the Pac-12 but they could lean towards the bottom half.