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UCLA Basketball: Go Joe Bruin looks at the PAC-12 basketball hierarchy

By David Rosenthal

TUCSON, AZ - DECEMBER 20: Retired basketball player and television sportscaster, Bill Walton applauds during the first half of the college basketball game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on December 20, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - DECEMBER 20: Retired basketball player and television sportscaster, Bill Walton applauds during the first half of the college basketball game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on December 20, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Go Joe Bruin takes a look at where the UCLA Basketball team ranks this season among the Pac-12 Basketball hierarchy and it is not a great position for the Bruins to be in.

With two games remaining for the UCLA basketball team, the non-conference schedule is coming to an end, but it is the storylines in the rest of the PAC-12 that have made this very interesting.

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Arizona State has shown it can not only contend for the PAC-12 Championship but perhaps make a deep run in NCAA Tournament. On the other hand, Cal proved that playing a Division 2 team doesn’t always mean an automatic victory. So before league play begins, let’s take a look at the current hierarchy in the Conference Of Champions.

(Rankings in parentheses reflect RPI rankings as of Monday, December 18th)

The Cream of the Crop

(5) Arizona State 10-0

The Sun Devils’ surprise start has shot Coach Bobby Hurley’s team to #3 in the current AP poll. They beat (20) Kansas at home plus wins against (10) Xavier and (84)San Diego State will look nice on their March Madness resume. The thing I like most about Arizona State is that they are beating their opponents by almost 17 points a game.

Top Contenders

(32) Arizona 8-3

(46) Utah 7-3

(50) USC 6-3

(63) Washington 8-3

I know early in the season it’s tough the true quality of a team due to the usually weak strength of schedule. But good teams beat the teams they should. Arizona looked as bad as they have in years during their three game losing streak but are now back on track.

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Utah’s worst loss is against a 6-2 (98)UNLV team. They also beat an upstart (8)Missouri team early in the season.

USC was chosen by many in the preseason to not only be one or two in the PAC-12 but to be a top seed when March comes around. Their only losses are against (9)Texas A&M, at (101)SMU, and (16)Oklahoma. Led by Chimezie Metu (17.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Bennie Boatwright (15.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) USC still has the talent to make a run for the PAC-12 title.

Anyone who beats Kansas in Lawrence has a pretty good team and this year Washington falls into that category. The loss to (39)Gonzaga doesn’t hurt but claiming (51)UC Davis as your best win isn’t all that impressive. The Huskies open up PAC-12 play with USC and UCLA (both in LA) so we’ll see if Washington is for real.

Middle of the Pack

(96) Oregon 9-3

(116) UCLA 7-3

(63) Washington State 7-3

(154) Oregon State 8-3

(69) Colorado 8-3

After losing a ton of players, Oregon has been able to start the year nicely. Losing to a really good, one loss Oklahoma and another close loss to a top Mountain West team in (31)Boise State doesn’t look bad on their resume. But when your best win is against (64)Portland State, it’s nothing to brag about.

KANSAS CITY, MO – NOVEMBER 20: Aaron Holiday
KANSAS CITY, MO – NOVEMBER 20: Aaron Holiday /

UCLA were hit early with the loss of three players reducing their rotation from 11 to 8 men and it showed in their second half meltdown to (26) Michigan. An early win against (231)Georgia Tech now means nothing and a victory over a 5-7 (76)Wisconsin is their best win to date. This Saturday the Bruins has a chance to right the ship when they take on (21)Kentucky. The Cougars started the season with a six game winning streak beating teams like (84)San Diego State and winless (193)Texas Southern.

Then Washington State hit the PAC-12 non conference curse of losing three games in a row before defeating a pitiful (312)IUPUI. A loss to (209)UTEP doesn’t help either.

Oregon State came into this season with one of the youngest teams in the country (9 freshmen and sophomores) and I thought they would be good in two years. But the Beavers have a chance to get nine wins before the start of PAC-12 play. Sure their current six game winning streak includes teams such as (300)Eastern Kentucky and (348)Arkansas-Pine Bluff but this is what builds up a young team’s confidence before starting conference play.

Colorado started the season 6-0 playing lesser opponents. MiKinley Wright IV will have to continue his strong start (16.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.5 apg) as the Buffs begin to play stiffer competition in the PAC-12.

Teams to Plan Your Homecoming Games Against

(198) Stanford 6-6

(223) Cal 5-6

Both Stanford and Cal are usually fairly strong in the PAC-12 but this year will be a down year for both schools. When a power conference school starts a season 6-6, it usually doesn’t bode well for the program. Granted the Cardinal has lost to quality teams such as (4)North Carolina, (48)Florida, and (44)Ohio State but losses to (195)Eastern Washington and (110)Long Beach State don’t look good. Their best win so far is against is against a 6-4 (151)Northeastern team. Cal…oh, poor Cal.

Next: A decision on Riley and Hill could come soon

Opening the season losing to (283)UC Riverside isn’t the end of the world. Losing the Division 2 Chaminade is. They were able to beat (84)San Diego State so there is some talent present but that is by far their best win of the season.