The Pac-12 is easily the best women’s basketball conference in the country, with several teams in the top 10 of the national rankings. Men’s basketball is a very different story.
The Arizona Wildcats are for real. They are dismantling opponents left and right and look like one of the very best teams in the country. Caleb Love is playing well for Tommy Lloyd, a central reason Arizona looks so good right now. The Wildcats are delivering the goods.
Utah has been a pleasant surprise under head coach Craig Smith. The Utes just defeated nationally-ranked BYU and are overachieving relative to expectations. They are certainly giving the Pac-12 a boost this season.
No one else is.
Washington did defeat Gonzaga, but the Huskies missed on their other prime win chances earlier in the season against San Diego State, Colorado State, and others. We need to see more from UW before we call the Huskies a success story.
Oregon and Colorado have struggled in nonconference play and have not hit their targets.
USC has also struggled. The Trojans did not figure to have three losses by now, and they really could have used a UC Irvine win over San Diego State on Saturday. They didn’t get it.
UCLA is also having a hard time. The Bruins are 5-3 after losing to Villanova on Saturday night. UCLA held Villanova to 33-percent shooting but still lost by nine because their own offense managed only 56 points. UCLA lacks shooters, a prime point of concern for head coach Mick Cronin.
Pac-12 basketball is falling well short of the mark. We will see if the next few weeks before conference play can change this downward trajectory.
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