Dozen marquee matchups dot this week's Pac-12 Men's Basketball slate
#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE
5-0 - The Pac-12’s record in overtime games so far in 2017-18, highlighted by USC’s 93-89 win at Vanderbilt on Nov. 19 and ARIZONA’s 91-88 win at UNLV on Dec. 2.
6 - An NCAA-best six of the nation’s top 50 scorers (as of Nov. 4) compete in the Pac-12:
No. 7 Allonzo Trier, ARIZ (23.9 ppg)
No. 21 Tra Holder, ASU (22.1 ppg)
No. 28 Reid Travis, STAN (21.7 ppg)
No. 39 Don Coleman, CAL (20.9 ppg)
No. 46 Robert Franks, WSU (20.4 ppg)
No. 47 Deandre Ayton, ARIZ (20.4 ppg).
7-0 - Behind the high-scoring backcourt of Tra Holder (22.1 ppg) and Shannon Evans II (18.7 ppg), ARIZONA STATE is one of 13 unbeaten teams remaining in NCAA Division I and off to its best start since 1980-81. The Sun Devils went 24-4 and reached the NCAA Tournament that season, similarly led by a high-scoring backcourt of future NBA stars Byron Scott and Fat Lever.
>> ASU last opened a season with eight straight victories in 1974-75 when it started 9-0.
12 - Out of the 21 games on this week’s schedule, 12 will feature Pac-12 teams facing either nationally ranked, Power 6 conference or league preseason favorite opponents. The marquee nationally ranked matchup comes Sunday at 11 a.m. PT on ESPN when No. 16 ARIZONA STATE visits No. 2 Kansas.
#16 - Associated Press national ranking for ARIZONA STATE, which holds its highest ranking since checking in at No. 14 on Feb. 23, 2009.
>> No. 25 USC remains in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls, while UCLA continues to hold a spot (#23) in the Coaches poll and is receiving votes from the AP. ARIZONA and WASHINGTON STATE are also receiving votes in both polls.
PAC-12 TIPOFF
MTE CHAMPS x3: The three multi-team event (MTE) titles wonby Pac-12 programs so far this season equal the most in league history (2012-13), with USC still to compete in the Diamond Head Classic in December.
MTE Champions
ARIZONA STATE - Las Vegas Invitational
COLORADO - Paradise Jam
WASHINGTON STATE - Wooden Legacy
TRA & PENNY: As of Dec. 4, Arizona State’s Tra Holder (22.1/6.0/5.1) is the only player in NCAA Division I averaging at least 22.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. In the College Basketball Reference database that extends back to the 1992-93 season, the only other player to average those totals over a full season was Memphis State’s Anfernee Hardaway in 1992-93.
TUCSON & TEMPE TANDEMS: As of Dec. 4, the Pac-12 (and State of Arizona) has two of the top seven highest-scoring tandems in NCAA Division I basketball.
46.6 ppg - Niagara’s Matt Scott (25.6) & Kahlil Dukes (21.0)
44.7 ppg - Oakland’s Martez Walker (22.5) & Kendrick Nunn (22.2)
44.3 ppg - Arizona’s Allonzo Trier (23.9) & Deandre Ayton (20.4)
43.7 ppg - Marshall’s Jon Elmore (24.9) & C.J. Burks (18.8)
43.6 ppg - Marquette’s Andrew Rowsey (22.6) & Markus Howard (21.0)
41.8 ppg - Campbell’s Chris Clemons (22.2) & Marcus Burk (19.6)
40.8 ppg - Arizona State’s Tra Holder (22.1) & Shannon Evans II (18.7)
KEY NON-CONFERENCE WINS
POWER 6 OPPONENTS (8-12)
UCLA 63, Georgia Tech 60 (Shanghai, China)
at Utah 77, Missouri 59
USC 93, at Vanderbilt 89 (OT)
Utah 83, Ole Miss 74 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
UCLA 72, Wisconsin 70 (Kansas City, Mo.)
Arizona State 92, Kansas State 90 (Las Vegas)
Arizona State 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Las Vegas)
Oregon 89, DePaul 79 (OT) (Portland)
PRESEASON CONFERENCE FAVORITES (6-1)
at Washington 86, Belmont 82
at Washington State 86, Texas Southern 84 (OT)
at Arizona State 99, UC Irvine 78
Colorado 79, Mercer 70 (Lynchburg, Va.)
Washington State 84, Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 79 (Fullerton, Calif.)
at UCLA 87, UC Irvine 63
2017 NCAA/NIT TOURNAMENT TEAMS (14-13)
at Arizona 91, CS Bakersfield 59
at Arizona State 99, UC Irvine 78
UCLA 63, Georgia Tech 60 (Shanghai, China)
USC 93, at Vanderbilt 89 (OT)
at Washington 86, Belmont 82
at Washington State 86, Texas Southern 84 (OT)
Utah 83, Ole Miss 74 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
UCLA 72, Wisconsin 70 (Kansas City, Mo.)
Arizona State 92, Kansas State 90 (Las Vegas)
Arizona State 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Las Vegas)
Washington State 84, Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 79 (Fullerton, Calif.)
at UCLA 87, UC Irvine 63
at Washington 77, UC Davis 70
at UCLA 75, CS Bakersfield 66
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All Times Pacific - Expanded Schedule Details)
Tuesday, Dec. 5 | ||
#7 Texas A&M vs. ARIZONA (Phoenix, Ariz., Talking Stick Resort Arena) | ESPN2 | 6 p.m. |
UTAH at Butler | FS1 | 6 p.m. |
Eastern Kentucky at OREGON STATE | P12N | 7 p.m. |
Wednesday, Dec. 6 | ||
New Mexico at COLORADO | P12N | 6 p.m. |
WASHINGTON vs. #2 Kansas (Kansas City, Mo.) | ESPN2 | 6 p.m. |
Central Arkansas at CALIFORNIA | P12B | 7 p.m. |
WASHINGTON STATE at Idaho | SWX | 7 p.m. |
Montana at UCLA | P12N | 8 p.m. |
Friday, Dec. 8 | ||
St. John's vs. #16 ARIZONA STATE (Los Angeles, Calif., Staples Center) | P12N | 5 p.m. |
Colorado State at OREGON | P12N | 7 p.m. |
Oklahoma vs. #25 USC (Los Angeles, Calif., Staples Center) | ESPN2 | 7:30 p.m. |
Saturday, Dec. 9 | ||
UCLA at Michigan | CBS | 9 a.m. |
CALIFORNIA at San Diego State | CBSSN | 2 p.m. |
COLORADO at #13 Xavier | FS1 | 2 p.m. |
Utah State vs. UTAH (Salt Lake City, Utah, Vivint Smart Home Arena) | P12N | 5 p.m. |
WASHINGTON STATE at UTEP | 6 p.m. | |
Alabama at ARIZONA | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at OREGON STATE | P12N | 7 p.m. |
Sunday, Dec. 10 | ||
#16 ARIZONA STATE at #2 Kansas | ESPN | 11 a.m. |
#12 Gonzaga at WASHINGTON | P12N | 5 p.m. |
Monday, Dec. 11 | ||
Texas Southern at OREGON | P12N | 7 p.m. |
CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings)
Teams | Pac-12 Record | Overall Record |
---|---|---|
Arizona State | 0-0 | 7-0 |
UCLA | 0-0 | 7-1 |
Colorado | 0-0 | 6-1 |
Utah | 0-0 | 6-1 |
Washington State | 0-0 | 6-1 |
Washington | 0-0 | 6-2 |
USC | 0-0 | 4-2 |
Arizona | 0-0 | 5-3 |
Oregon | 0-0 | 5-3 |
Oregon State | 0-0 | 4-3 |
Stanford | 0-0 | 4-6 |
California | 0-0 | 3-5 |
PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
2017-18 | Player, Year, School |
---|---|
Nov. 13 | Allonzo Trier, Jr., Arizona |
Nov. 20 | Tra Holder, Sr., Arizona State |
Nov. 27 | Tra Holder, Sr., Arizona State |
Dec. 4 | Deandre Ayton, Fr., Arizona |