Pac-12 Men's Basketball Weekly Rundown - December 19, 2023

Dec 19, 2023

#PAC12MBB STARTING FIVE

#4 - ARIZONA slipped to No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25 poll following its 92-84 loss to Purdue, which replaced the Wildcats atop the rankings this week, in Indianapolis.

The Wildcats have now appeared in the AP Top 25 in 43 consecutive and 43-of-45 polls since Tommy Lloyd assumed coaching duties prior to 2021-22, including 35 polls ranked inside the top 10 and 20 inside the top 5.

8-2/7-3 - While ARIZONA is once again off to a strong start at 8-1, six other Pac-12 programs are similarly enjoying solid starts:

8-2 - COLORADO (best start since 12-2 in 2019-20), UTAH (most non-conference wins since nine in 2019-20), WASHINGTON STATE (most non-conference wins since nine in 2019-20).
7-3 - OREGON (best start since 9-2 in 2020-21, eight non-conference wins would be most since 11 in 2019-20), OREGON STATE (most non-conference wins since 10 in 2019-20), WASHINGTON (seeking eight non-conference wins for second straight season, would equal most since 10 in 2019-20).

14 - Non-conference play winds down for the Pac-12 with the final 14 games this week, culminating with a ranked clash between No. 4 ARIZONA against No. 14 FAU on Festivus in Las Vegas (12 p.m. PT, FOX).

Of the 14 contests, three will come against Power Conference opponents (ARIZONA vs. Alabama; ARIZONA STATE vs. Northwestern; Maryland at UCLA), while Pac-12 squads will face half of last year’s Final Four (Arizona vs. FAU; STANFORD at San Diego State). The meeting between the Wildcats (92.9 ppg, 2nd) and Crimson Tide (92.1 ppg, 3rd) will feature two of the top-3 highest scoring teams in NCAA Division I.
The Conference’s 108th league slate - its third season in a 20-game format - tips off on Thurs., Dec. 28.

29 - UCLA currently owns NCAA Division I’s longest home-court win streak with 29 straight victories at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA 29, Boise State 20, Oral Roberts 20, Louisiana 19, Marquette 17, Maryland 17, Virginia 17.
The Bruins’ home win streak is the third-longest in program history and eighth-longest in Conference history (98 - UCLA (1970-76); 83 - UCLA (1963-69); 71 - Arizona (1987-92); 49 - Arizona (2013-16); 46 - Oregon (2015-17); 37 - Arizona (1997-99); 32 - Washington (2004-05); 29 - UCLA (2022-Pres.).

.521/.398/.792 - COLORADO is on pace to finish non-conference play atop the Pac-12 in field goal (.521), three-point (.398), and free throw (.792) percentages, ranking third, 13th, and seventh in NCAA Division I in those respective categories.

A team has led the Conference in all three shooting categories only four times, three of which won the league’s regular-season title (ARIZ - 1987-88 (1st), 2010-11 (1st); ORE - 2001-02 (1st); CAL - 2011-12 (T-2nd).

KEY NON-CONFERENCE VICTORIES

AP TOP 25 OPPONENTS (6-10)
#12 ARIZONA 78, at #2 Duke 73
#3 ARIZONA 74, #21 Michigan State 68 (Palm Springs, Calif.)
at #1 ARIZONA 98, #23 Wisconsin 73
at UTAH 73, #14 BYU 69
at WASHINGTON 78, #7 Gonzaga 73
COLORADO 90, #15 Miami (Fla.) 63 (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

POWER 6 OPPONENTS (12-22)
OREGON 82, Georgia 71 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
#21 USC 82, Kansas State 69 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
#12 ARIZONA 78, at Duke 73
UTAH 77, Wake Forest 70 (Charleston, S.C.)
WASHINGTON 74, Xavier 71 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
#3 ARIZONA 74, #21 Michigan State 68 (Palm Springs, Calif.)
#23 USC 71, Seton Hall 63 (La Jolla, Calif.)
ARIZONA STATE 82, Vanderbilt 67 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
at OREGON 86, Michigan 83 (OT)
at #1 ARIZONA 98, #23 Wisconsin 73
at UTAH 73, #14 BYU 69
COLORADO 90, #15 Miami (Fla.) 63 (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

KENPOM.COM TOP 50 OPPONENTS (7-23)
#12 ARIZONA 78, at #2 Duke 73
WASHINGTON 74, Xavier 71 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
#3 ARIZONA 74, #21 Michigan State 68 (Palm Springs, Calif.)
at OREGON 86, Michigan 83 (OT)
at #1 ARIZONA 98, #23 Wisconsin 73
at UTAH 73, #14 BYU 69
at WASHINGTON 78, #7 Gonzaga 73

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS (12-15)
#21 USC 82, Kansas State 69 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
at WASHINGTON 75, Northern Kentucky 67
#12 ARIZONA 78, at #2 Duke 73
at ARIZONA STATE 63, Texas Southern 52
WASHINGTON 74, Xavier 71 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
#3 ARIZONA 74, #21 Michigan State 68 (Palm Springs, Calif.)
at #18 COLORADO 85, Iona 68
UTAH 78, at Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 71
at #2 ARIZONA 82, Colgate 55
at WASHINGTON 85, Montana State 61
at WASHINGTON 78, #7 Gonzaga 73
COLORADO 90, #15 Miami (Fla.) 63 (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

PAC-12 AWARDS CANDIDATES

JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
WATCH LIST
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Tristan da Silva, Colorado
N’Faly Dante, Oregon
Adem Bona, UCLA
Isaiah Collier, USC
Boogie Ellis, USC

NAISMITH NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
WATCH LIST
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Caleb Love, Arizona
Tristan da Silva, Colorado
Adem Bona, UCLA
Isaiah Collier, USC
Boogie Ellis, USC

NAISMITH MEMORIAL HALL OF FAME AWARDS
Watch Lists

Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year
Isaiah Collier, USC

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year
Caleb Love, Arizona
Boogie Ellis, USC

Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year
Jaylon Tyson, California

Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year
Keshad Johnson, Arizona
Tristan da Silva, Colorado
Adem Bona, UCLA

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
N’Faly Dante, Oregon
Aday Mara, UCLA
Branden Carlson, Utah

PAC-12 MEDIA PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
First Team
Oumar Ballo, R-Sr., C, Arizona
Adem Bona, So., F/C, UCLA
Keion Brooks Jr., Gr., F, Washington
Branden Carlson, Gr., C, Utah
Isaiah Collier, Fr., G, USC
N’Faly Dante, Sr., C, Oregon
Tristan da Silva, Sr., F, Colorado
Boogie Ellis, 5th, G, USC
Spencer Jones, 5th, F, Stanford
KJ Simpson, Jr., G, Colorado

Second Team
Fardaws Aimaq, 6th, F, California
Kylan Boswell, So., G, Arizona
Kobe Johnson, Jr., G, USC
Caleb Love, Sr., G, Arizona
Jordan Pope, So., G, Oregon State

Honorable Mention
Kwame Evans Jr. (Fr., ORE), Pelle Larsson (Sr., ARIZ), Aday Mara (Fr., UCLA), Cody Williams (Fr., COLO).