The calendar has flipped to 2023 and for college basketball that signals the official end of the nonconference season and the start of conference play.
For the Pac-12, it represents an opportunity for teams that underperformed outside the conference to right the ship and earn their way into the at-large conversation for the NCAA Tournament or do enough to win the Pac-12 Tournament and earn an automatic bid.
The Pac-12 is extremely top heavy this year. Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats and Mick Cronin’s UCLA Bruins are two of the 10 best teams in college hoops.
Meanwhile, no one else in the league is even guaranteed a spot in the big dance. Arizona State, Utah, Oregon and USC are hanging on to aspirations of making a run and earning their way into the madness that is March.
Without further ado, here is a look at the updated Pac-12 power rankings here in the first week of 2023: