The shakeup in the Pac-12 standings that left six teams tied for second at 4-3 and two teams tied at 5-2 began on Thursday night when Washington knocked off Colorado in dominating style to stay on top of things.
From there, things got a bit crazy.
Oregon held home-court and swept UCLA and USC, with the No. 21 Trojans also falling at Oregon State just days later. No. 12 Arizona got a road split in the Bay Area, falling to Cal in an upset that reminded folks of Cal’s immense talent, despite the absence of Tyrone Wallace. Stanford did manage to beat ASU, while Colorado and Utah both earned road splits themselves, as the Utes knocked off UW on Sunday night.
Got it? Good.
But, where do things stand now?
Washington has what looks to be maybe the toughest remaining schedule of the group, as they’ll have to make trips to Southern California, Arizona, the Mountain schools, and the two Oregon schools. That means they’ll face five of the six teams just below them in the Pac-12 standings, but on the road. For Oregon, who also sits at 5-2, they still have the Bay Area trip, Arizona swing, and SoCal duo in line, but the Ducks have already shown an ability to win big on the road, beating the Huskies and Utes on their home floors.
If we were to pick which four teams finish with a bye in the Pac-12 Tournament at this point, we’d go with the following: Oregon, Arizona, Washington, and Colorado. All four have shown enough consistency to suggest that they can at least avoid major collapses through the rest of conference play. Can we really say that about anyone else at this point? Truthfully, it’s hard to make any real definitive statements about the Pac-12 right now, as it is easily the most balanced league in the country.
