This week in Pac-12 Men's Basketball - Dec. 30, 2020
#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE:
6 - The Pac-12 currently boasts six teams in the top 40 of the KenPom.com rankings, led by OREGON (19) in the top 25. The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is slated to debut on Jan. 4, 2021.
• The two programs that have substantially improved upon their KenPom.com preseason ranking - COLORADO +30 (62 -> 32) and USC +22 (48 -> 26) - will meet on ESPN this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. PT. OREGON +1 (20 -> 19), ARIZONA (38 -> 38), UCLA (29 -> 30) and STANFORD (34 -> 35) have all held steady.
8-0 - WASHINGTON STATE is off to an 8-0 start, the program’s best since opening 14-0 to begin 2007-08. The Cougars are 1-of-21 unbeaten teams in NCAA Division I, 1-of-13 with at least five games played.
• Dating back to last season, the Cougars have reeled off nine consecutive wins - the longest streak in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth-longest among NCAA Division I programs (Gonzaga 12, Drake 11, Siena 10, Winthrop 10, three tied 8.
11 - The 2021 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, scheduled for March 10-13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will feature 11 teams following ARIZONA’s announced self-imposed one-year postseason ban for 2021.
• According to Conference policy, the Wildcats will be prohibited from competing in the tourney with a new event format and bracket to be determined.
26 - OREGON has won 26 consecutive games at Matthew Knight Arena, the fourth-longest home win streak in NCAA Division I, including the longest among major conference programs (Gonzaga 43, Liberty 29, Prairie View A&M 27).
• No. 21 OREGON will put that streak, as well as the fifth-longest Conference series win streak, on the line Thursday versus CALIFORNIA. The Ducks have won seven consecutive matchups with the Golden Bears.
• UTAH vs. WSU - 12; ARIZ vs. CAL, STAN vs. WSU, USC vs. WSU - 8; ORE vs. CAL, UCLA vs. CAL - 7.
73% - Pac-12 programs combined to post a .729 win percentage (51-19) in countable NCAA Division I non-conference contests in 2020.
• The .729 win percentage is the second-best for the Conference over the past five seasons, just behind the .739 mark posted in 2019-20 when the league was projected to earn as many as six NCAA Tournament bids.
PAC-12 TIPOFF
ROAD WARRIORS: STANFORD is 1-of-2 power conference programs with multiple non-conference road victories (Oklahoma State 3).
• The Cardinal is one of two power conference programs yet to play a game at its traditional home venue so far this season (South Carolina). It has won four straight contests - two on the road (North Carolina A&T, CSUN) and two at its temporary home venue in Santa Cruz (Arizona, CSU Bakersfield).
20-0: ARIZONA’s Terrell Brown Jr. currently leads the Pac-12 and ranks second nationally with a 10.00 assist-to-turnover ratio (30a:3to).
• Brown Jr. has recorded 20 assists against zero turnovers over the last six games.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Two Pac-12 programs currently lead NCAA Division I in statistical categories.
• WASHINGTON STATE is first nationally in field goal percentage defense (33.7%). USC is fifth in the category (35.1%).
• COLORADO is first nationally in free throw percentage (85.4%).
TRACKING LEAGUE PLAY: Through seven league games as of Dec. 29, the average scoring margin is 9.4 points.
• 4 games have been decided by single digits
• 2 games has been decided by one possession (3 pts. or less)
• 7 games have been postponed (1 rescheduled and played)
KEY NON-CONFERENCE VICTORIES:
POWER 6 OPPONENTS (5-9)
at Oregon State 71, California 63
Colorado 76, at Kansas State 58
Stanford 82, Alabama 64 (Asheville, N.C.)
#21 Oregon 83, Seton Hall 70 (Omaha, Neb.)
at UCLA 69, Marquette 60
PRESEASON CONFERENCE FAVORITES (5-4)
at Washington State 56, Texas Southern 52
at Washington State 71, Eastern Washington 68
at Arizona 70, Eastern Washington 67
at Oregon 69, Eastern Washington 52
at USC 91, UC Irvine 56
CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings)
| Teams | Pac-12 Record | Overall Record |
| Washington State | 1-0 | 8-0 |
| Oregon | 1-0 | 6-1 |
| Utah | 1-0 | 4-1 |
| Stanford | 1-0 | 5-2 |
| UCLA | 1-0 | 5-2 |
| Arizona State | 1-0 | 4-3 |
| Arizona | 1-1 | 7-1 |
| USC | 0-0 | 5-1 |
| Colorado | 0-1 | 6-2 |
| Oregon State | 0-1 | 4-3 |
| California | 0-2 | 5-4 |
| Washington | 0-2 | 1-6 |
PAC-12 WEEKLY SCHEDULE (All games, tip times & TV broadcasts are subject to change)
For the most up-to-date schedules, visit Expanded Schedule
| Thursday, December 31 | TV | Time (PT) |
| ARIZONA STATE at WASHINGTON STATE* | PPD | |
| STANFORD at OREGON STATE* | PAC12 | 3:00 p.m. PT |
| UTAH at UCLA* | FS1 | 4:00 p.m. PT |
| ARIZONA at WASHINGTON* | PAC12 | 5:00 p.m. PT |
| COLORADO at USC* | ESPN | 7:00 p.m. PT |
| CALIFORNIA at OREGON* | PAC12 | 7:00 p.m. PT |
| Saturday, January 2 | ||
| UTAH at USC* | PAC12 | 1:00 p.m. PT |
| CALIFORNIA at OREGON STATE* | PAC12 | 3:00 p.m. PT |
| ARIZONA STATE at WASHINGTON* | FS1 | 3:30 p.m. PT |
| COLORADO at UCLA* | PAC12 | 5:00 p.m. PT |
| STANFORD at OREGON* | ESPN2/U | 7:00 p.m. PT |
| ARIZONA at WASHINGTON STATE* | PAC12 | 7:30 p.m. PT |
PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
| Week of | Player | Freshman |
| Nov. 30 | McKinley Wright IV, Colorado | Josh Christopher, Arizona State |
| Dec. 7 | Eugene Omoruyi, Oregon | Evan Mobley, USC |
| Dec. 14 | Jemarl Baker Jr., Arizona | Evan Mobley, USC |
| Dec. 21 | Oscar da Silva, Stanford | Ziaire Williams, Stanford |
| Dec. 28 | McKinley Wright IV, Colorado | Efe Abogidi, Washington State |
| Jan. 4 | ||
| Jan. 11 | ||
| Jan. 18 | ||
| Jan. 25 | ||
| Feb. 1 | ||
| Feb. 8 | ||
| Feb. 15 | ||
| Feb. 22 | ||
| March 1 | ||
| March 8 |