Rivalries highlight week ahead in Pac-12 men's basketball

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#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE

4 -  Pac-12 teams in the AP Top 25 for the fifth consecutive week: No. 4 UCLA, No. 13 OREGON, No. 16 ARIZONA, and No. 25 USC. The Pac-12’s four ranked teams are tied for the second-most of any conference in the nation with the Big 12 and Big East (four), and trails only the ACC’s six.
>> It marks the most Conference teams ranked in the AP Top 25 for the longest period of time since the 2007-08 season. (4-5 teams ranked for six consecutive weeks from 11/26/07 - 12/31/07)

4 (of 23) - Of the 23 NCAA Division I teams with two or fewer losses as of Jan. 10, the Pac-12 boasts four teams in the category, matching the most nationally along with the Big 12 and Big East.

7 - Pac-12 teams rated inside the Top 75 of the NCAA RPI rankings as of Jan. 10 (OREGON, ARIZONA, UCLA, USC, STANFORD, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO), including three in the Top 25.
>> Nine Pac-12 teams are rated inside the Top 100 of the Sagarin ratings.

13 & 9 - OREGON’s current 13-game winning streak is tied as the fourth-longest in the nation, while ARIZONA’s nine-game win streak is the eighth-longest in the country.
>> The Ducks’ 12 straight Conference wins dating back to last season are the second-best streak in the country behind Kansas (16).

347 -  Saturday’s “Civil War” meeting will mark the 347th all-time between OREGON STATE and OREGON, the most-played rivalry in NCAA Division I history. The four Pacific Northwest programs (ORE, OSU, WASH, WSU) own the top five most-contested series in NCAA Division I history.
>> #16 ARIZONA will host ARIZONA STATE in the Territorial Cup series on Thursday, marking the 231st all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Sun Devils.

PAC-12 TIPOFF

National Honors
NCAA.com Team of the Week - Lonzo Ball, UCLA (Nov. 28)
NCAA.com TOW - TJ Leaf, UCLA (Dec. 5)
NCAA.com TOW - Derrick White, Colorado (Dec. 12)
NCAA.com TOW - Chris Boucher, Oregon (Dec. 19)
NCAA.com POW - Dillon Brooks, Oregon (Jan. 2)
USBWA POW - Dillon Brooks, Oregon (Jan. 2)
USBWA FrOW - Markelle Fultz, Washington (Jan. 2)
NCAA.com TOW - Ivan Rabb, California (Jan. 9)

FAST STARTS: The 4-0 league starts by ARIZONA and OREGON are the best for a pair of Pac-12 teams since ARIZONA and CALIFORNIA both started 5-0 in 2013-14.

ROAD RARITITES: Of the 10 two-game Conference road swings so far in 2016-17, only ARIZONA and OREGON have completed sweeps. During the 2015-16 season, only six times in 48 swings did a Pac-12 team complete a road sweep.

EVERY GAME’S A BATTLE: Through 22 league games as of Jan. 8:
>> Average scoring margin is 12.6 ppg.
>> 9 have been decided by single digits.
>> 3 has been decided by one possession (3 pts or less).
>> 3 decided by a team’s final possession.

HOME SWEET HOME: Three Pac-12 teams have built double-digit home court winning streaks. OREGON owns the nation’s second-longest home streak at 35 consecutive games. ARIZONA has won its last 15 at home, good for a tie for ninth nationally, and UCLA has won 10 in a row at home.

INSIDE THE RANKINGS: ARIZONA’s 88 consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 is the second-longest nationally behind Kansas’ streak of 152.

LA-LA-LAND: Two Conference teams have gone undefeated in non-conference play just three times dating to the founding of the Pac-8 in 1967.
2016-17: UCLA (13-0) and USC (13-0)
2013-14: ARIZONA (13-0) and OREGON (12-0)
1994-95: STANFORD (9-0) and UCLA (9-0)

WEST COAST BLOCK PARTY: Four Pac-12 teams are ranked inside the national top 10 in blocked shots: OREGON (1st, 7.4 bpg), WASHINGTON (T5th, 6.6 bpg), UCLA (8th, 6.2 bpg) and USC (9th, 6.2 bpg).

INSTANT OFFENSE: A third of the Pac-12’s Top 30 scorers, including six of the Top 10, are in their first seasons in the league:
Markelle Fultz, Fr., WASH  -  1st, 22.1 ppg
Torian Graham, Sr., ASU  -  2nd, 18.1 ppg
TJ Leaf, Fr., UCLA  -  T3rd, 17.5 ppg
Shannon Evans II, Jr., ASU  -  T7th, 15.9 ppg
Lauri Markkanen, Fr., ARIZ  -  T7th, 15.9 ppg
Derrick White, Sr., COLO  -  10th, 15.8 ppg
Charlie Moore, Fr., CAL  -  12th, 15.1 ppg
Lonzo Ball, Fr., UCLA  -  T16th, 14.3 ppg
Rawle Alkins, Fr., ARIZ  -  29th, 12.3 ppg
JaQuori McLaughlin, Fr., OSU  -  30th, 12.1 ppg

Freshmen also lead the Pac-12 in key categories:
Markelle Fultz, WASH  -  22.1 ppg
Lonzo Ball, UCLA  -  8.0 apg
TJ Leaf, UCLA  -  65.6% FG

RECORD WATCH

OREGON (7.4 bpg, 1st in NCAA) and WASHINGTON (6.6 bpg, T5th in NCAA) are ahead of the Huskies’ record-setting block mark of 6.59 set last season.

At his current clip of 22.1 points per game, WASHINGTON’s Markelle Fultz is aiming to become the first freshman to lead the league in scoring since CALIFORNIA’s Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 1995-96 (Conference freshman record 21.1 ppg). Fultz would be only the third freshmen to pace the league in scoring along with Abdur-Rahim and Cliff Robinson (USC, 1977-78).

UCLA’s Bryce Alford is closing in on the Pac-12 career Top 10 in three-point field goals as his 266 triples (4th active in NCAA, most among Power 6 players) are seven shy of 10th-place Ty Abbott’s 273 at ASU from 2008-11. Alford’s 1,650 career points are the most among active players from Power 6 programs and rank 72nd in Conference history. 

The 49 career double-doubles for WASHINGTON STATE senior Josh Hawkinson are the highest active total in NCAA Division I. Hawkinson is also third among active Division I players in rebounding with 857 career caroms, a total which currently ranks 44th in Pac-12 history.

OREGON junior Jordan Bell (182 blocks) and COLORADO senior Wesley Gordon (182 blocks) are both nearing the Pac-12’s career Top 10 in blocked shots, just shy of 10th place Jelani McCoy’s 188 (UCLA, 1996-98).