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 second weekly 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. If the season ended today, the brackets for the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball tournament would look as follows, based on conference record.
Last Weekend’s Storylines
Chantel Osahor is the perfect compliment to Kelsey Plum at Washington. Osahor, a Phoenix native who stands at 6-foot-3, is an absolute rebound machine. The nation's leading rebounder, she set a Pac-12 record in the Huskies' dominant win over Washington State with 30 boards, while also putting up 20 points. As a senior, she currently averages 15.2 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game on a team that features Plum, the nation's top scorer.
The top half of the Pac-12 has begun to separate itself. A league that had as many as 10 teams in Creme's bracketology this season is down to just six, but five of those are seeded fourth or higher. With teams in the middle of the pack like California and Utah now starting to struggle, there seems to be a clear upper and lower tier in the Pac-12.
Player of the Weekend
Sabrina Ionescu | Freshman G | Oregon
Friday: 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds in 71-66 win vs. Colorado
Sunday: 14 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds in 84-66 win vs. Utah
Sabrina Ionescu doesn't settle for lazy Sundays. Another triple-double in the books for the freshman. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/7vvMWvqEdC
— GoDucks (@GoDucks) January 23, 2017
Power Rankings
#1 – No. 7 Washington (19-2, 7-1) | Last Week: No. 1
Last Weekend: @ Washington State (W, 87-44)
Breakdown: The Huskies absolutely drilled their rivals on the road to complete the season sweep and stay firmly on top of the rankings. A win over a top-ten team like Stanford Sunday could push Washington to the top line of the NCAA bracket.
This Weekend: vs. California (Fri.), vs. Stanford (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 2 Seed vs. No. 15 Northern Colorado (EVEN)
#2 – No. 11 Oregon State (18-2, 7-1) | LW: No. 2
Last Weekend: vs. Utah (W, 70-44), vs. Colorado (W, 81-47)
Breakdown: Oregon State kept things going with two dominant wins. With a doubleheader against Oregon coming up, OSU will look to avoid the upset against their streaking archrivals.
This Weekend: @ Oregon (Fri.), vs. Oregon (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 2 Seed vs. No. 15 Hampton (UP)
#3 – No. 10 Stanford (17-3, 7-1) | LW: No. 3
Last Weekend: vs. Arizona (W, 73-46), vs. ASU (W, 66-56)
Breakdown: The Cardinal kept itself in a three-way tie for first with a home sweep of the Arizona schools but have essentially their biggest game of the conference season coming up Sunday at Washington.
This Weekend: @ Washington State (Fri.), @ Washington (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 3 Seed vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin (EVEN)
#4 – No. 13 UCLA (15-4, 6-2) | LW: No. 4
Last Weekend: @ USC (W, 74-59), vs. USC (W, 71-67)
Breakdown: The Bruins' undefeated home record will be put to the test Friday night when an ASU team hungry for a marquee victory comes to Pauley Pavilion. A sweep of the weekend would separate UCLA in the race for a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
This Weekend: vs. ASU (Fri.), vs. Arizona (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 4 Seed vs. No. 13 Wyoming (DOWN)
#5 – No. 16 ASU (14-5, 5-3) | LW: No. 5
Last Weekend: @ California (W, 54-45), @ Stanford (L, 66-56)
Breakdown: For the fourth time in five tries, ASU split its two weekend games and lost to the tougher of the two opponents. The Sun Devils can certainly win at USC Sunday but would be disappointed to finish their four-game trip to California 2-2 without a win over Stanford or UCLA.
This Weekend: @ UCLA (Fri.), @ USC (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 4 Seed vs. No. 13 Central Michigan (EVEN)
#6 – Oregon (14-6, 4-4) | LW: No. 8
Last Weekend: vs. Colorado (W, 71-66), vs. Utah (W, 84-66)
Breakdown: The Ducks got exactly what they needed going into a rivalry doubleheader with Oregon State – two wins to even their Pac-12 record at .500. A split of the upcoming weekend would be huge for Oregon.
This Weekend: vs. Oregon State (Fri.), @ Oregon State (Sun.)
Bracketology: No. 9 Seed vs. No. 8 Temple (EVEN)
#7 – California (15-5, 3-5) | LW: No. 7
Last Weekend: vs. ASU (L, 54-45), vs. Arizona (W, 71-60)
Breakdown: The once surging, undefeated Golden Bears have fallen off the map and out of the projected NCAA bracket and will need to at least beat Washington State in order to get back on track.
This Weekend: @ Washington (Fri.), @ Washington State (Sun.)
Bracketology: First Four Out (DOWN)
#8 – Utah (13-6, 2-6) | LW: No. 6
Last Weekend: @ Oregon State (L, 70-44), @ Oregon (L, 84-66)
Breakdown: Two convincing losses in the state of Oregon have the Utes continuing to fall down the ladder, but a doubleheader with struggling Colorado could be just what the doctor ordered.
This Weekend: @ Colorado (Wed.), vs. Colorado (Sat.)
Bracketology: Next Four Out (DOWN)
#9 – Washington State (8-11, 3-5) | LW: No. 9
Last Weekend: vs. Washington (L, 87-44)
Breakdown: Getting beaten by the Huskies was to be expected. Getting annihilated at home was a little more frustrating. The Cougars need at least one win at home this weekend if not two – which is highly unlikely – to keep their postseason hopes alive.
This Weekend: vs. Stanford (Fri.), vs. California (Sun.)
Bracketology: Out (EVEN)
#10 – Colorado (11-8, 1-7) | LW: No. 10
Last Weekend: @ Oregon (L, 71-66), @ Oregon State (L, 81-47)
Breakdown: Colorado squandered a chance at a huge turnaround victory at Oregon, falling by just five points. An absolute pounding at the hands of Oregon State didn't help either, and now the Buffaloes will essentially need to sweep Utah in order to stay above water.
This Weekend: vs. Utah (Wed.), @ Utah (Sat.)
Bracketology: Out (DOWN)
#11 – Arizona (11-8, 2-6) | LW: No. 11
Last Weekend: @ Stanford (L, 73-46), @ California (L, 71-60)
Breakdown: Coming off of two double-digit losses, the Wildcats are running out of time to salvage their season. A win at USC on Friday would be crucial – but certainly difficult – while UCLA Sunday will be a much harder task.
This Weekend: @ USC (Fri.), @ UCLA (Sun.)
Bracketology: Out (EVEN)
#12 – USC (10-9, 1-7) | LW: No. 12
Last Weekend: vs. UCLA (L, 74-59), @ UCLA (Sun.)
Breakdown: What could have been a chance to win on the road against a top-15 team and hand UCLA its first home loss fell short, and now the Trojans find themselves in a must-win situation for the foreseeable future after a dismal start to league play.
This Weekend: vs. Arizona (Fri.), vs. ASU (Sun.)
Bracketology: Out (EVEN)
Games to Watch This Weekend
No. 11 Oregon State @ Oregon – Friday, 9 p.m. MT: Oregon is streaking at the right time, and will be looking to at least split their weekend with rival OSU in order to try and move their way off the bubble. The talented Beavers likely have other plans.
No. 16 ASU @ No. 13 UCLA – Friday, 9 p.m. MT: With ASU in need of a win over a Top-25 foe after losses to Washington and Stanford in order to confirm its standing among the nation's elite, UCLA will be looking to separate itself from the Sun Devils in terms of the league's top four.
No. 10 Stanford @ No. 7 Washington – Sunday, 6 p.m. MT: These two teams have been on a collision course since the start of Pac-12 play, and the winner will take control of the league doing into the home stretch. This could arguably the best game on the entire league schedule.
Reach the reporter at jeff.griffith21@asu.edu or follow @Jeff_Griffith21 on Twitter.
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