The best Pac-12 women’s basketball games from the past weekend were both played in Tucson. On Friday night, Arizona lost to Colorado by one point, 75-74. On Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats beat Utah by one point, 71-70.
Arizona’s win is a major development. Utah was one of five Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 10 a few weeks ago. The Utes were co-champions of the conference last season and were viewed as a title contender this season, also a threat to make the Final Four. The Utes have been slowed down by injuries, however, and Arizona was good enough to pounce on an opportunity in Tucson.
The result knocks Utah to 1-2 in the Pac-12 standings. That puts the Utes two full games behind the lead pack of 3-0 UCLA, Stanford, and Colorado, with USC, Cal, and Arizona at 2-1. USC is 2-1 after beating Oregon on Sunday.
USC has already played UCLA and will face the Bruins again next weekend. The Bruins look like the toughest team in the conference, so USC will be done with the Pac-12 title favorite in mid-January. Other Pac-12 teams will have to face the Bruins later on.
If USC can stabilize and consistently beat non-UCLA opponents, the Trojans — thanks to this Utah loss — have a better chance of finishing in the top two or three of the conference, which would mean a high seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
In other Pac-12 women’s games from Sunday, UCLA beat Oregon State. Stanford defeated Washington. Colorado won at Arizona State. In an upset, Cal beat Washington State to push the Cougars to a surprising 0-3 in the league.
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