Every Wednesday, The State Press will be taking a look around the Pac-12’s uber-competitive women’s basketball landscape as the conference tournament in Seattle nears. With each team fighting for a shot at a NCAA Tournament bid come March, each weekend’s Friday-Sunday set of games should be chock full of exciting action and marquee showdowns.
Here’s our Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Round-Up heading into the fourth weekend of conference play, including storylines, top performers and power rankings, as well as a look at the bracketology projections of ESPN’s Charlie Creme:
Last Weekend’s Storylines
Kelsey Plum is insane, but if you’ve been following women’s college basketball, you know that. The prolific senior out of Washington averages 31.2 ppg this season, topping the national scoring list with a seven-point gap between herself and the next highest scorer. With 70 points this weekend, Plum broke 3,000 career points and moved into seventh on the all-time scoring ranks.
ICYMI: Over the weekend, @UW_WBB's Kelsey Plum became the first player in @pac12 history to score 3,000 career points. #UWHuskies pic.twitter.com/wRwbqYKltQ
— Washington Athletics (@UWAthletics) January 17, 2017
Arizona State really misses Kelsey Moos. Just after the Sun Devils’ freshman guard Kiara Russell returned from a month-long absence, Moos injured her foot in the overtime win over California and will miss the remainder of January. In Sunday’s 11-point loss to Washington, Moos’ leadership and scrappy play were clearly missing as the Sun Devils fell apart down the stretch.
Player of the Weekend
Kelsey Plum | Senior PG | Washington
Friday: 36 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals in 90-73 win @ Arizona
Sunday: 34 points, 5 rebounds in 65-54 @ Arizona
So pretty.
— Washington WBB (@UW_WBB) January 16, 2017
Kelsey Plum is 6-of-6 in the fourth quarter. #GoDawgs https://t.co/ux2wCM3fjy
Power Rankings
If the season ended today, the brackets for the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball tournament would looks as follows, based on conference record:
That being said, here are our updated power rankings for the league:
#1 – No. 8 Washington (18-2, 6-1)
Last Weekend: @ Arizona (W, 90-73), @ ASU (W, 65-54)
Breakdown: Washington continues to follow an upward trend that has them in sole possession of first place in the conference. The Huskies have another winnable game at rival Washington State coming up.
This Weekend: @ Washington State (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 2 Seed vs. No. 15 Drake (UP)
#2 – No. 11 Oregon State (16-2, 5-1)
Last Weekend: @ UCLA (L, 66-56), @ USC (W, 74-60)
Breakdown: The Beavers were riding high before taking a tough loss at the hands of UCLA on the road. However, OSU has a decent chance to get back in the win column this weekend, particularly against struggling Colorado.
This Weekend: @ Utah (Fri.), @ Colorado (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 3 Seed vs. No. 14 Wyoming (UP)
#3 – No. 10 Stanford (15-3, 5-1)
Last Weekend: @ Utah (W, 77-58), @ Colorado (W, 84-70)
Breakdown: Stanford's win over Utah in particular was probably the most impressive win by any team in the Pac-12 this past weekend. The Cardinal dominated a Utes team that is riding on the NCAA bubble on the road. A pair of home games coming up give Stanford a chance to continue on the upward trend.
This Weekend: vs. Arizona (Fri.), vs. ASU (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 3 Seed vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin (EVEN)
#4 – No. 13 UCLA (13-4, 4-2)
Last Weekend: vs. OSU (W, 66-56), vs. Oregon (W, 79-63)
Breakdown: The Bruins responded to a winless trip through the state of Washington by sweeping the Oregon schools back home in Los Angeles, each by double digits. The win over OSU gives UCLA momentum going into back-to-back games against rival USC, which is desperate for a league win.
This Weekend: @ USC (Wed.), vs. USC (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 3 Seed vs. No. 14 Radford (DOWN)
#5 – No. 18 Arizona State (13-4, 4-2)
Last Weekend: vs. Washington State (W, 68-49), vs. Washington (L, 65-54)
Breakdown: ASU was riding high when it crushed the Cougars Friday night, but couldn't use that momentum to knock off the Huskies. Although it won't be easy, a 2-0 sweep through the bay area would definitely have the Sun Devils firmly in the Pac-12's upper echelon.
This Weekend: @ California (Fri.), @ Stanford (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 4 Seed vs. No. 13 Long Beach State (UP)
#6 – Utah (13-4, 2-4)
Last Weekend: vs. Stanford (L, 77-58), vs. California (W, 63-57)
Breakdown: After getting drubbed by Stanford at home, the Utes bounced back nicely to close out their weekend at home with a close win over Cal. Road trips through Oregon are never easy, but the Utes need to be looking for at least a split of their upcoming weekend if they want to remain in the discussion as one of the top teams in the Pac-12.
This Weekend: @ Oregon State (Fri.), @ Oregon (Sun.)
Bracketology: First Four Out (DOWN)
#7 – California (14-4, 2-4)
Last Weekend: @ Colorado (W, 65-53), @ Utah (L, 63-57)
Breakdown: The Golden Bears' loss to Utah erased the momentum they had built up by ousting Colorado, but they will have a chance to bounce back and gain a marquee win when the Sun Devils travel to Berkeley Friday night. Cal will need to take full advantage of their time at home, as they look to recapture the fire from their 13-0 start.
This Weekend: vs. ASU (Fri.), vs. Arizona (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 8 Seed vs. No. 9 Michigan (DOWN)
#8 – Oregon (12-6, 2-4)
Last Weekend: @ USC (W, 59-53), @ UCLA (L, 79-63)
Breakdown: After picking up a much-needed victory at USC, the Ducks struggled in their weekend finale as the red-hot Bruins handed them another conference loss. Oregon moved into Creme’s bracket this week after not being listed in his previous installment and has a pair of winnable home games coming up this weekend.
This Weekend: vs. Colorado (Fri.), vs. Utah (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 9 Seed vs. No. 8 Syracuse (UP)
#9 – Washington State (8-10, 3-4)
Last Weekend: @ ASU (L, 68-49), @ Arizona (L, 56-55)
Breakdown: The Cougars lost whatever momentum they had built up with two losses in the state of Arizona. Life won't be getting any easier for Wazzu with rival Washington coming to town on Sunday night in a must-win for the Cougs' at-large post-season hopes.
This Weekend: vs. Washington (Sun.)
Bracketology: Out (EVEN)
#10 – Colorado (11-6, 1-5)
Last Weekend: vs. Cal (L, 65-53), vs. Stanford (L, 84-70)
Breakdown: The Buffaloes moved out of the bracket following a tough weekend in the bay area, with two double digit losses. A pair of losses during the upcoming road trip would be detrimental to the Buffs' hopes of competing within the league, not to mention their NCAA tournament outlook.
This Weekend: @ Oregon (Fri.), @ Oregon State (Sun.)
Bracketology: Out (DOWN)
#11 – Arizona (11-6, 2-4)
Last Weekend: vs. Washington (L, 90-73), vs. Washington State (W, 56-55)
Breakdown: After eking out a must-win at home, the Wildcats' upcoming stretch – which includes rematches of two double-digit losses – could be fatal if Arizona can't snag at least one win.
This Weekend: @ Stanford (Fri.), @ California (Sun.)
Bracketology: Out (EVEN)
#12 – USC (10-7, 1-5)
Last Weekend: vs. Oregon (L, 59-53), vs. Oregon State (L, 74-60)
Breakdown: Now having lost five games in a row since defeating Colorado in their Pac-12 opener, USC is in need of a stellar weekend against one of the league's best.
This Weekend: vs. UCLA (Wed.), @ UCLA (Sun.)
Bracketology: Out (DOWN)
Games to Watch This Weekend
No. 18 Arizona State @ No. 10 Stanford – Sunday, 6 p.m. MT: This game will be the perfect matchup of two teams looking to cement themselves as contenders in the Pac-12 race. ASU will seek revenge after suffering a loss at home to the Cardinal at the beginning of conference play.
USC @ No. 13 UCLA – Wednesday, 9 p.m. MT: The Trojans could very well revive or shut down their postseason hopes with a home-and-home weekend against UCLA.
Utah @ Oregon – Sunday, 2 p.m. MT: Two bubble teams that sit smack in the middle of the Pac-12 standings will both have a chance to earn a key win this weekend and set an upward trajectory going into the back half of the league slate.
Reach the reporter at jeff.griffith21@asu.edu or follow @Jeff_Griffith21 on Twitter.
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