Dane Miller’s Week 11 Men’s Hoops Power Rankings

featured, recent 7 min read

Posted on January 18, 2022


  By Dane Miller, SuperWest Sports

The race for the Pac-12 Regular Season Championship continued its roller-coaster ride last week. Oregon posted two upset road victories, while USC lost twice.

The results reinvigorated the Conference’s hopes of getting four teams into the NCAA Tournament, but many mountains remain to be climbed.

The week’s scores sent me back to the drawing board to produce a new Power Ranking. Here is how I see the Conference’s 12 teams as we enter the new week.

1. Arizona (14-1, 4-0)

AP Poll: 3
NET: 2
KenPom: 7

Arizona football Pac-12 The Wildcats held steady at home, dismantling Colorado by 21 and beating Utah by 18.

Tommy Lloyd’s team got the job done against the Utes without starting point guard Kerr Kriisa, as Azuolas Tubelis posted a career-high 32 points.

Arizona is on pace to secure its fifth Pac-12 Regular Season championship since the Conference expanded, and could end up as a 1-Seed in the NCAA Tournament.

2. Oregon (11-6, 4-2)

AP Poll: RV
NET: 62
KenPom: 51

Oregon Ducks Logo Pac-12 Dana Altman and the Ducks made history last week.

After toppling No. 3 UCLA and No. 5 USC, Oregon became the first team since 1976 to beat consecutive AP Top 5 teams on the road.

The victories turned heads across the nation, with UO suddenly solidifying itself as the fourth-best team in the Pac-12. The resume wins put the Ducks squarely on the bubble, but plenty of work remains to be done.

3. UCLA (11-2, 3-1)

AP Poll: 9
NET: 21
KenPom: 13

Stumbling against Oregon on Thursday night, the Bruins bounced back two days later with an 81-65 win over Oregon State.

Johnny Juzang dropped 24 and Jaylen Clark posted a career-high 11 points in his first start in Westwood.

The split at home puts UCLA on the back foot in the Conference race, but a sweep on the road would restore the status quo. Ideally, the loss to the Ducks sparks a run that lasts through March.

4. USC (14-2, 4-2)

AP Poll: 16
NET: 28
KenPom: 25

usc logo Dropping two of their three games last week, the Trojans suffered their worst three-game stretch in several seasons.

Stanford got the best of Andy Enfield’s team earlier in the week, and Oregon picked apart USC on Saturday night.

The defeats dropped the Trojans well out of the AP Top 10, casting their potential NCAA Tournament seed into question.

5. Colorado (12-4, 4-2)

AP Poll: NR
NET: 89
KenPom: 78

Splitting on the road and winning at home is the ticket to success in the Pac-12.

The Buffs did what they needed to do in the desert, beating Arizona State by 18 after losing to Arizona on Thursday.

The road split keeps CU on pace for a strong finish in the conference standings and in contention for the pivotal First Round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament.

6. Stanford (10-5, 3-2)

AP Poll: NR
NET: 91
KenPom: 82

Remaining the most unpredictable team in the Pac-12, Stanford had itself a week.

The Tree upset No. 5 USC and beat WSU in Pullman, only to drop what should have been a gimmie against Washington.

Jerod Haase’s team is just 1-4 on the road, but the road split in the State of Washington is what the Cardinal needed to keep pace in the race for the No. 4 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament.

7. Washington State (10-7, 3-3)

AP Poll: NR
NET: 58
KenPom: 52

The Cougars continue to lose games they shouldn’t.

Stanford is a talented team, but Washington State should have found a way to win in Pullman. The scoring drought in the second half was as devastating as it was perplexing, sealing WSU’s fate at home.

The quality nonconference defeats keep the Cougars’ NET ranking high, but the reality on the ground is a team falling short of expectations.

8. Washington (8-7, 3-2)

AP Poll: NR
NET: 140
KenPom: 143

Washington football pac-12 Mike Hopkins’ squad has found itself in the new year. At 3-2 in Pac-12 play, Washington is tied for seventh in the standings and playing with newfound confidence.

Winners of three of their last four, the Dawgs’ home sweep of the Bay Area schools positions the program to make noise over the next two months.

Suddenly, road games at Hec Ed are not automatic “W’s” for opponents seeking sweeps or splits.

9. California (9-9, 2-5)

AP Poll: NR
NET: 129
KenPom: 113

Winning on the road remains a problem for the Bears. Despite keeping it close in Seattle and Pullman, California couldn’t close the deal and has now lost four straight.

With the momentum built during the nonconference season gone, the onus is on Mark Fox to rally his team to face Arizona on Sunday.

And with a daunting schedule ahead of them over the next month, it’s crunch time in Berkeley.

10. Oregon State (3-13, 1-5)

AP Poll: NR
NET: 206
KenPom: 140

The Beavers played the Ducks and Trojans tough last week, but failed to secure the victory in both matchups.

On a three-game losing streak, the schedule gets slightly easier as OSU hosts the Washington teams this week.

Jarod Lucas remains one of the top three-point shooters in the country, and Wayne Tinkle will need productive nights from the junior to topple the Huskies and Cougars.

11. Arizona State (6-9, 2-3)

AP Poll: NR
NET: 156
KenPom: 127

Bobby Hurley’s team won ugly against Utah.

Battling all game, the Sun Devils hit the game-winning shot with six seconds left and clamped down on defense to prevent the Utes from stealing the win.

The victory was ASU’s first since beating Creighton on December 14th, snapping a three-game losing streak that spanned more than a month.