Preseason favorites lead as Pac-12 men's basketball nears midway point

COMPLETE RELEASE

#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE

2 - Two Pac-12 standouts were named to the 14-member USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Year Midseason Watch List. It marks the fourth time in the last five seasons that multiple Pac-12 players have been named to the midseason list (2016-17 - 4; 2013-14, 2014-15, 2017-18 - 2).
>> Deandre Ayton, ARIZONA
>> Tra Holder, ARIZONA STATE

2 - USC collected its second road sweep in the Pac-12 era (since 2011-12) with victories at OREGON and OREGON STATE last week, its first sweep through the state since 2008.
>> The second-place Trojans have now won four consecutive games, as well as six of their last seven, 9-of-11, and 11-of-14 since a three-game skid in early December.
>> Similarly, preseason favorite and league leading Arizona has also won four straight games, as well as 13 of its last 14 since a three-game November slide.

7 - Seven Pac-12 teams are in the NCAA RPI Top 75 through Jan. 22, tied for the third-most nationally.
>> Six Pac-12 teams have recorded multiple Quadrant 1 wins: ARIZONA (4-2), ARIZONA STATE (3-2), COLORADO (3-2), WASHINGTON (3-3), USC (2-2) and STANFORD (2-5).

10.0 - Through 44 league games as of Jan. 22, the average scoring margin is 10.0 points.
>> 26 games have been decided by single digits.
>> 8 have been decided by one possession (3 pts. or less)
>> 2 have gone into overtime (3 total OT periods)
>> 1 decided on final play (Daejon Davis, STANFORD - 1/7 vs. USC)

350 & 287 - Two of the nation’s most played rivalries will take place this week between OREGON and OREGON STATE, and WASHINGTON and WASHINGTON STATE.
>> The 350th Civil War rivalry meeting between the Ducks and Beavers is the most played in NCAA Division I history, while the 287th Apple Cup matchup will be tied for the sixth-most staged in Division I annals.
>> Seven of the 10 most-played rivalries in NCAA Division I history are Pac-12 Conference series.

PAC-12 TIPOFF

RECORDS WATCH: Several Pac-12 teams and players have set marks or are climbing/on pace for game, season or career records lists:

WASHINGTON STATE
>> 226 3FGM, on pace to break Pac-12 season record (354, UCLA 2016-17)

OREGON
>> .790 FT, on pace to break Pac-12 season record (.786, ARIZ 2003-04)

Jordan McLaughlin, USC
>> 615 career assists, 7 shy of Pac-12 career top 10
>> 183 career steals, 42 shy of Pac-12 career top 10

Deandre Ayton, ARIZONA
>> 19.7 ppg, on pace for Pac-12 freshman season top 5
>> 11.1 rpg, on pace to break Pac-12 freshman season record (10.6, Kevin Love, UCLA 2008)

Tra Holder, ARIZONA STATE
>> 479-of-631 FT, 53 FTM and 64 FTA shy of Pac-12 career top 10

Thomas Welsh, UCLA
>> 892 career rebounds, 36th all-time in Pac-12

Kingsley Okoroh, CALIFORNIA
>> 178 career blocks, 13 shy of Pac-12 career top 10

Kenny Wooten, OREGON
>> 56 blocks, 8th on Pac-12 freshman season list

ROAD SWEEPS: They’ve come at a premium since the Pac-12 expanded prior to the 2011-12 season. Below is a list of the number of road sweeps through each region and the most recent team to accomplish the feat:
ARIZ/ASU - 4 times, most recently by UCLA in 2016-17.
COLO/UTAH - 4 times, most recently by UCLA in 2016-17.
ORE/OSU - 5 times, most recently by USC in 2017-18.
CAL/STAN - 7 times, most recently by Arizona in 2017-18.
UCLA/USC - 7 times, most recently by Arizona in 2016-17.
WASH/WSU - 14 times, most recently by Stanford in 2017-18.

A school-by-school total of road sweeps in the Pac-12 era:
ARIZONA - 12
OREGON - 9
CALIFORNIA - 6
UCLA, UTAH - 4
USC, WASHINGTON - 2
COLORADO, STANFORD - 1
ASU, OSU, WSU - 0

Road sweeps in 2017-18 (4)
ARIZONA at CAL/STAN
USC at ORE/OSU
STANFORD at WASH/WSU
UTAH at ORE/OSU

NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS: Below is a list of national honors secured by Pac-12 players and teams during the 2017-18 season.
Dick Vitale Player of the Week (POW) - Allonzo Trier, Arizona (Nov. 13)
NBCSports.com POW - Allonzo Trier, Arizona (Nov. 13)
Dick Vitale Freshman of the Week (FOW) - Jaylen Nowell, Washington (Nov. 13)
NBCSports.com Team of the Week (TOW) - Washington State (Nov. 27)
Dick Vitale FOW - Deandre Ayton, Arizona (Dec. 4)
NCAA.com TOW - Arizona State (Dec. 11)
NBCSports.com TOW - Arizona State (Dec. 11)
Dick Vitale TOW - Arizona State (Dec. 11)
Dick Vitale FOW - Deandre Ayton, Arizona (Dec. 11)
Dick Vitale Coach of the Week (COW) - Bobby Hurley, Arizona State (Dec. 11)
NABC Team of Week (TOW) - Arizona State (Dec. 12)
USBWA POW - Shannon Evans II, Arizona State (Dec. 12)
USBWA FOW - Deandre Ayton, Arizona (Dec. 12)
NBCSports.com TOW - UCLA (Dec. 25)
NCAA.com POW - Deandre Ayton, Arizona (Jan. 1)
NBCSports.com POW - Deandre Ayton, Arizona (Jan. 1)
NCAA.com TOW - Colorado (Jan. 8)
USBWA TOW - Colorado (Jan. 8)
Dick Vitale TOW - Colorado (Jan. 8)
Dick Vitale FOW - McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (Jan. 8)
USBWA FOW - McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (Jan. 8)