Pac-12 teams looking for redemption this week in rematches

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• The Pac-12 continues to have four teams ranked in the national polls, OREGON STATE leading the way at No. 8 in the Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA Coaches polls. ARIZONA STATE also appears in the top 10, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.

• Highlighting this week’s games is a top-15 rematch between No. 9/10 ASU ans No. 13/14 STANFORD. Head coach Charli Turner Thorne will be facing her former mentor in Hall of Fame head coach Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer. Turner Thorne played for VanDerveer for three seasons as a player and now the duo are the winningest coaches in Pac-12 history. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

• WASHINGTON fell out of the rankings this week and looks to get back in when it faces No. 14/16 UCLA on Sunday on ESPNU. The Bruins were one of three Pac-12 teams to be ranked in the NCAA Selection Committee’s top 10 last week and is looking to avenge an early-season loss to the Huskies.

• Owning the No. 1 Conference RPI in the nation, the Pac-12 is the only conference with four teams in the top 10 in the RPI and 10 of the 12 teams are in the top 100.

• Further proof of the depth of Pac-12 teams this season are the number of upsets that have occurred since Pac-12 play began. With a mere three weeks remaining in the regular season, league teams have registered 12 upsets, to date.

• OREGON’s Maite Cazorla was voted the U.S. Basketball Writer’s Association’s National Freshman of the Week after shooting a combined 53.3 percent from three-point range in wins over then-No. 25 Washington and Washington State. She is the second Pac-12 freshman this season to earn the national honor.

• Oregon State’s Jamie Weisner was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Week, while Oregon’s Maite Cazorla was tabbed the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the third time.

This Week in Pac-12 Women's Basketball

UPSET CITY
January was the month of upsets with 12 Pac-12 teams posting underdog wins, based on Associated Press rankings, further highlighting the strength of Pac-12 teams this season. Oregon State set the tone for February, posting the slight upset over Arizona State on the first of the month. 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 nation. Below is a list of Conference upsets from this season. Rankings are at the time of the meeting:

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 89 career double-doubles, breaking STANFORD’s Chiney Ogwumike’s 85 for the most ever. 

2K CLUB 
On Jan. 31, two Pac-12 standouts each reached 2,000 career points. WASHINGTON’s Kelsey Plum needed only 88 games to reach 2,000 career points, becoming the fastest player to reach the milestone in Conference history. Jillian Alleyne also hit the mark, becoming the 10th player in the NCAA to total 2,000 career points and 1,500 career rebounds.

Alleyne Becomes All-Time Leading Rebounder
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. 

NCAA SELECTION COMMITTEE TOP 10
For the first time ever, the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee provided a sneak peek in regard to their current thought process on Feb. 1, providing the first of three February top-10 rankings in seed order. Boasting the No. 1 RPI in the country, the Pac-12 teams had three teams in the top 10, the most for any league in the country, with ARIZONA STATE coming in at No. 7, followed  by No. 8 OREGON STATE and No. 10 UCLA. The Committee will reveal future top 10s on Feb. 15 and Feb. 29.