This week in Pac-12 Men's Basketball - Feb. 17, 2021

COMPLETE RELEASE

#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE:

4 + 1 - According to BracketMatrix.com, an aggregator of bracketologies, the Pac-12 is currently slated for four NCAA Tournament bids (4-USC; 7-COLORADO; 9-UCLA; 10-OREGON) plus a fifth among First Four Out (STANFORD).
• The Cardinal received a modest NET boost (60 to 57) this week as the NCAA adjusted its five games in Santa Cruz from home games to neutral site contests.

7 x 12 - Seven Pac-12 programs have reached 12 overall victories so far this season, 1-of-5 conferences in the country with as many teams with 12-or-more wins (Big Ten - 9; Big 12 - 7; Conference USA - 7; SEC - 7).
• USC is currently tied for the most wins nationally among major conference programs (Alabama - 17; Baylor - 17; Ohio State - 17).

#17 - No. 17 USC is enjoying one of its best seasons in recent history at 17-3 overall and 11-2 in league play. Both marks are program bests since also opening 17-3 and 11-2 in 1991-92.
• Using the third week of February as the benchmark, it marks the first time the Trojans have held the league lead at this point in a season since they were in a three-way tie at 10-4 in Feb. 2002 - a span of 19 years.
• The Trojans are seeking at least a share of their first Conference title since 1984-85 (shared). USC’s last outright league title came in 1960-61.

82.4% - COLORADO is currently shooting 82.4 percent (308-374) from the free throw line as a team, which ranks first in NCAA Division I.
• Not only is Colorado’s free throw rate the best in the country so far, it is currently ahead of ARIZONA’s Conference-record rate of 78.6 percent (511-650) set in 2003-04 as well as the NCAA Division I record of 82.2 percent (535-651) set by Harvard in 1983-84.

299... - ARIZONA head coach Sean Miller enters this week with 299 career wins with the Wildcats, one shy of becoming the 11th in league history to reach 300 career victories within the Conference.
• Miller would be the first to reach the 300-win plateau since Mike Montgomery did so at Stanford in 2000-01. He also is on pace to be the third-fastest in the group to 300 behind only Lute Olson and Hec Edmundson.

PAC-12 TIPOFF

IV > 1ST: COLORADO senior McKinley Wright IV (1,687p/600r/626a) became the first player in Pac-12 Men’s Basketball history to reach 1,600 points, 600 rebounds and 600 assists in his career in the Buffaloes’ Feb. 13 game at California.
• He is 1-of-10 to reach those benchmarks in NCAA Division I dating back to 1996-97.
• Wright IV (626a) enters this week 26 assists shy of moving into the top 10 in Pac-12 men’s basketball history (652 - Tyus Edney, UCLA).

TRACKING LEAGUE PLAY: Through 82 league games as of Feb. 16, the average scoring margin is 10.2 points.
• 45 games have been decided by single digits
• 17 games has been decided by one possession (3 pts. or less)
• 3 overtime game (4 OT periods)
• 5 decided on team's final possession
• 20 games have been postponed (3 rescheduled and played)

NON-CONFERENCE: Pac-12 programs have combined to post a .732 win percentage (52-19) in countable NCAA Division I non-conference contests so far in 2020-21.
• The .732 win percentage is the second-best for the Pac-12 over the past five seasons, just behind the .739 posted in 2019-20 when the league was projected to earn as many as six NCAA Tournament bids.

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

PAC-12 NATIONAL AWARDS CANDIDATES:

WOODEN AWARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LATE SEASON TOP 20 WATCH LIST
Evan Mobley, USC

NAISMITH TROPHY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TOP 15 WATCH LIST
Evan Mobley, USC

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME AWARDS
TOP 10 CANDIDATES

Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year
McKinley Wright IV, Colorado

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year
Chris Duarte, Oregon

Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year
Ziaire Williams, Stanford

Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year
Oscar da Silva, Stanford

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year
Evan Mobley, USC

SENIOR CLASS AWARD
TOP 30 CANDIDATES
Oscar da Silva, Stanford
Chris Smith, UCLA

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

*Ineligible for Pac-12 & NCAA Tournaments due to self-imposed postseason ban. Remains eligible for Pac-12 regular-season championship.

PAC-12 WEEKLY SCHEDULE  (All games, tip times & TV broadcasts are subject to change)
For the most up-to-date schedules, visit Expanded Schedule

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL HONORS