Top-10 Civil War showdown, Apple Cup slated for this week in Pac-12 Women’s Basketball
• COMPLETE RELEASE (PDF) | 2018-19 MEDIA GUIDE
• In the first of two top-16 reveals this season, the NCAA announced OREGON would be a No. 1 seed, if the season had ended on Monday (Feb. 11), STANFORD would be a No. 2 seed and OREGON STATE would garner a No. 3 seed. The three top-16 seeds are tied for the second-most of any conference.
• A pair of rivalry matchups highlights the week, including a pair of top-10 Civil War clashes between No. 3/3 OREGON and No. 9/9 OREGON STATE beginning in Eugene on Pac-12 Network on Friday then wrapping up in Corvallis for a Big Monday contest on ESPN2. WASHINGTON travels to WASHINGTON STATE on Friday to wrap up its rivalry series on Pac-12 Network.
• Three Pac-12 teams are back in the top 10 of the national polls with four ranking in the top 25. The Ducks lead the way at No. 3/3 in the Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA Coaches polls. At least four teams have been ranked every week this season. OREGON STATE comes in at No. 9/9 and STANFORD is No. 10/10. Rounding out the league teams is ARIZONA STATE at No. 19/17.
• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced the 10 candidates for the Nancy Lieberman Award and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (top shooting guard). Last year’s Lieberman award winner, Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Oregon State’s Destiny Slocum are among the finalists for the Lieberman point guard honor. ARIZONA’s Aari McDonald and Stanford’s Kiana Williams are finalists for the shooting guard award. Three more positional awards will be announced this week.
• Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after leading the Ducks to a pair of wins in the Bay Area, snapping a Ducks’ 29-game losing streak at Maples Pavilion and extending their current win streak to a NCAA-best 16 games. She was also named USBWA National Player of the Week for the second time this season.
• Utah claimed the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the eighth time this season, tying a league single-season record for most rookie honors by a team. Dre’Una Edwards claimed her fifth honor after averaging 15.5 ppg and 6.5. rpg.
• California’s Kristine Anigwe, the nation’s rebounding and double-doubles leader, is on the verge of becoming just the second player in Pac-12 history to rank among the top five in career scoring and rebounding. She would be joining former national player of the year and former WNBA Rookie of the Year Chiney Ogwumike as the only two in the top five of each category.
MORE COACHING MILESTONES
Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck needs just one victory for his 200th DI win, all at Corvallis. It would make him the seventh coach in league history to reach the milestone. Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer and ASU’s Charli Turner Thorne are Nos. 1 and 2 on the all-time wins list in league history. Rueck also just won his 100th league game, making him the eighth to reach the threshold.
PAC-12 IN THE POLLS
Five Pac-12 teams have been ranked in the Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA Coaches polls in all but three weeks of the season, including the preseason polls. Three league teams earned top-10 rankings in the preseason polls, a first in the league’s history. On Dec. 17, six Pac-12 teams were ranked in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll for just the third time in league history and second time in two years. The last time six teams were in the national coaches poll was the preseason ranking released prior to the 2017-18 and 2006-07 campaigns.
SEVEN PAC-12 TEAMS IN LATEST BRACKETOLOGY; NCAA REVEALS TOP 16
ESPNW’s Charlie Creme latest bracketology projects seven Pac-12 teams in the NCAA Tournament teams based on results as of Feb. 11. The NCAA also announced its first of two top-16 reveals on Monday, Oregon earning a No. 1 seed, Stanford a No. 2 seed and Oregon State a No. 3 seed, if the season had ended on Monday. A top-16 seeding would give them all the right to host first- and second-round games. Arizona State, California, UCLA and Utah are all in Creme’s field of 64 this week.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings)
| Teams | Pac-12 Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 12-0 | 23-1 |
| Oregon State | 10-2 | 20-4 |
| Stanford | 9-3 | 19-4 |
| UCLA | 8-4 | 15-9 |
| Arizona State | 7-4 | 16-6 |
| Utah | 7-5 | 18-5 |
| Arizona | 5-7 | 15-8 |
| California | 5-7 | 14-9 |
| USC | 4-8 | 14-9 |
| Washington State | 3-10 | 8-16 |
| Colorado | 1-11 | 11-12 |
| Washington | 1-11 | 8-16 |
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| Friday, Feb. 15 | ||
| Utah at Arizona | Live Stream | 5 p.m. PT |
| Colorado at #19/17 Arizona State | Live Stream | 5 p.m. PT |
| California at USC | P12N | 8 p.m. PT |
| #9/9 Oregon State at #3/3 Oregon | P12N | 6 p.m. PT |
| #10/10 Stanford at UCLA | P12N | 6 p.m. PT |
| Washington at Washington State | P12N | 7 p.m. PT |
| Sunday, Feb 17 | ||
| Colorado at Arizona | P12N | 11 a.m. PT |
| Utah at #19/17Arizona State | P12N | 1 p.m. PT |
| California at UCLA | P12N | 4 p.m. PT |
| #10/10 Stanford at USC | P12N | 12 p.m. PT |
| Monday, Feb. 18 | ||
| #3/3 Oregon at #9/9 Oregon State | ESPN2 | 6 p.m. PT |
2018-19 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NATIONAL HONORS
ESPNW National Player of the Week
Nov. 12 - Kristine Anigwe, California
Dec. 18 - Alanna Smith, Stanford
Dec. 26 - Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
USBWA National Player of the Week
Nov. 12 - Kristine Anigwe, California
Dec. 18 - Alanna Smith, Stanford
Dec. 26 - Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
ROAD TO TAMPA
Teams across the country will be focused on getting to Tampa this season, the site of the 2019 NCAA Women’s Final Four on April 5 and 7. To get to Tampa, Fla., teams will have to go through regional sites in Albany, N.Y., Chicago, Greensboro, N.C., and Portland, Ore., where the Oregon State Beavers are hosts Regional play takes place from March 29-April 1, with specific dates to be announced. The first and second round of the tournament will take place on 16 campus sites with the top-16 seeds hosting, March 22-25, 2019. The top 64 teams will learn their fates in the broadcast of the annual selection show on Monday, March 18, 2019.