This week in Pac-12 women's basketball

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ARIZONA STATE and OREGON STATE headline five Pac-12 teams ranked in the Associated Press poll this week, making the eighth time this season five teams have appeared in the polling. ASU is the No. 8 team in the country accoring to the writers, with the Beavers holding the No. 9 spot. The two go head-to-head for their only meeting of the season in an ESPN Big Monday showdown. Heading into the week, the Sun Devils are the only undefeated team in Pac-12 play, while the Beavers sit just one game back ... After posting a big upset over the weekend, UCLA jumped up five spots in the AP ranking to No. 15, while WASHINGTON cracked the top 25 this week for the first time since 2003. In the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll, four league teams are ranked, OSU and ASU switching positions at No. 8 and 9, respectively. UCLA is ranked 19th. STANFORD is sitting at No. 16 in both polls ... ASU’s unblemished league record is a feat considering there have been 10 upsets (in terms of national rankings) recorded so far this season ... OREGON’s Jillian Alleyne looks to claim another record. Entering this weekend’s games with 85-career double-doubles only former national player of the year Chiney Ogwumike from Stanford had as many during her career from 2011-14 ... WASHINGTON’s Kelsey Plum is also chasing history, needing just 26 points to reach 2,000 for her career. Only a junior, she could be among the fastest in NCAA history to reach the milestone ...  Both Plum and Alleyne are among the 16 players that were named to the midseason watch list for the Ann Meyers USBWA National Player of the Year award ... Alleyne was tabbed the Pac-12 Player of the Week, leading the Ducks to their first road sweep since 2008-09. WASHINGTON STATE’s Borislava Hristova is the Freshman of the Week for the second-consecutive week.

UPSET CITY
The strength of Pac-12 teams this season is apparent in the results through the first half of Conference play where teams have recorded 10 upsets (based on national rankings) so far. The Pac-12 has the No. 1 RPI in the country with four teams in the top 10, the most for any conference in the country. Six are also in the top 20 RPI (as of Jan. 26).

RECORDS WATCH
Senior forward Jillian Alleyne pulled down 15 boards to become the Pac-12’s career rebounding leader on Jan. 17, 2016, surpassing the mark set by former Stanford great Chiney Ogwumike. Alleyne is also ranked fourth all-time in NCAA history. 

Alleyne’s total numbers are impressive, but her career average is as well. Having averaged at least 11.9 rpg every season, her career average of 14.5 rpg through three seasons would break the all-time record currently held by former UCLA standout Natalie Williams who maintained a 12.8 rpg in her career from 1991-94. Alleyne also has 85 career double-doubles, tying with STANFORD’s Chiney Ogwumike for the most ever. The duo ranks in a tie for third all-time in NCAA history.

PAC-12 TEAMS IN THE POLLS
Five Pac-12 teams are ranked this week in the Associated Press poll and four in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll. The Conference has a team ranked as high as No. 8 in both polls with ARIZONA STATE grabbing the spot in the AP polling and OREGON STATE earning that ranking by the coaches. WASHINGTON earned its first top-25 ranking in the AP poll for the first time since 2003. Five league teams were ranked in the AP poll from the week of Nov. 30 to the week of Jan. 11, it was the longest stretch of that many Pac-12 teams ranked in league history. Prior to that, five teams had been ranked in the AP on Nov. 13, 2006 for two weeks. It is the eighth week this season five teams are in the AP polling.

QUICKLY AROUND THE LEAGUE
The Pac-12 concluded non-conference play with the top RPI in the nation. The Conference’s 79.7 winning percentage in non-conference regular-season play is the top mark since the league sponsored the sport in 1986-87 ... Now in league play, the Conference owns the top RPI in the country at .6084, according to the NCAA index. Six Pac-12 teams land in the top 20, four ranking in the top 15, the most of any conference in the country  ... Of the 17 women averaging double-doubles in the nation, the Pac-12 is the only league with three players achieving the feat including Alleyne, WASHINGTON’s Chantel Osahor and UTAH’s Emily Potter ... Alleyne recorded her 85th career double-double, tying Chiney Ogwumike’s unofficial league record... WASHINGTON’s Kelsey Plum needs just 26 points to reach 2,000 for her career...ARIZONA STATE is off to its best start in league play at 14 wins. The Sun Devils are one win away from tying its most-consecutive wins in program history ... OREGON STATE is one of three teams in the nation with three 1,000+ active point scorers (Hamblin, Weisner, Wiese; UCONN, Southern Illinois).

PAC-12 IN THE National Rankings
As of Jan. 26, WASHINGTON’s Kelsey Plum is averaging a NCAA-best 27.2 points per game. One of the most prolific scorer’s in Pac-12 history, the junior is on the verge of reaching the 2,000-point plateau for her career.

OREGON senior Jillian Alleyne has recorded double-doubles in the majority of the games she has played in her career. Her 16 double-doubles this season ranks first nationally. Alleyne also ranks 3rd in the country averaging 13.5 rebounds per game.  

Former Pac-12 Stars Finalists for Team USA
USA Basketball announced its finalists for the USA Olympic Qualifying Tournament team. Three former Pac-12 stars were among the 30 finalists including ARIZONA STATE’s Briann January and sisters Chiney and Nnemkadi Ogwumike of STANFORD.

THIS WEEK IN PAC-12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL