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Pac-12 men's basketball race tightening entering final month of league play

Feb 6, 2018

COMPLETE RELEASE

#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE
 
3 - WASHINGTON was named the NABC Division I Team of the Week on Tuesday.
>> Washington is the third Pac-12 team to earn the honor this season, joining ARIZONA STATE (Dec. 12) and COLORADO (Jan. 9). No other conference has received the honor more than once.
 
+7Picked 10th in the preseason media poll, WASHINGTON currently occupies third place in the league standings with eight Conference contests remaining.
>> During the Pac-12 era (2011-12), the previous best improvement against a team’s preseason ranking came in 2014-15 from OREGON (+6), which tied for second in the regular season (and earned the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament) after being voted eighth in the preseason media poll.
 
7 & 9 - Seven Pac-12 teams are in the NCAA RPI Top 75 and nine are in the top 100, both tied for the third-most nationally. Four Pac-12 teams are in the top 50 (ARIZ, WASH, ASU, USC).
>> Nine NCAA RPI Top 100 teams would equal the most ever for the Conference (2015-16).
 
10.5 - Through 64 league games as of Feb. 5, the average scoring margin is 10.5 points.
>> 36 games have been decided by single digits
>> 12 have been decided by one possession (3 pts. or less)
>> 3 have gone into overtime (4 total OT periods)
>> 2 decided on final play (Daejon Davis, STAN - 1/7 vs. USC; Dominic Green, WASH - 2/3 vs. ARIZ)
 
15 - Number of double-doubles posted by ARIZONA freshman Deandre Ayton, top 10 nationally and the second-most in the nation by a freshman. UCLA senior Thomas Welsh is 11th nationally with 13.
>> The Conference freshman-record is 23 set by UCLA’s Kevin Love in 2007-08, a mark which included 19 during the regular season. The overall record is 29 by Oregon State’s Mel Counts in 1964.
 
PAC-12 TIPOFF
 
CATS ON TOP: ARIZONA’s National Player of the Year candidates Allonzo Trier (19.9 ppg) and Deandre Ayton (19.7 ppg) currently rank Nos. 1-2 in the Pac-12 in scoring. Since the formation of the Pac-8 in 1968-69, no teammates have finished 1-2 in the league in scoring average.
 
DUCKS IN A ROW: Pac-12 free throw percentage leader Elijah Brown (.963) of OREGON has converted 39 consecutive foul shots, the seventh-longest streak in Conference annals:
62 - Luke Ridnour, ORE
49 - Ryan Mendez, STAN
43 - Darren Collison, UCLA
41 - David Bluthenthal, USC
40 - Todd Lichti, STAN/John Greig, ORE
39 - Elijah Brown, ORE/Salim Stoudamire, ARIZ
 
MUCH IMPROVED: According to NCAA research, three Pac-12 teams are currently among the top 30 most improved in the nation, including WASHINGTON as the most improved major conference team in the country to date.
>> 3. WASHINGTON - +12.0 (17-6 from 9-22)
>> 6. OREGON STATE - +11.0 (11-11 from 5-27)
>> T29. ARIZONA STATE - +7.0 (17-6 from 15-18)
 
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
NBCSports.com TOW - Washington (Feb. 5)
NABC TOW - Washington (Feb. 6)
NCAA.com POW - Noah Dickerson, Washington (Feb. 5)
USBWA POW - Noah Dickerson, Washington (Feb. 6)
 
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
>> 253 3FGM, on pace to break Pac-12 season record (354, UCLA 2016-17)
 
Matisse Thybulle, WASHINGTON
>> 71 steals, on pace to approach Pac-12 season record (110, Jason Kidd, CAL 1993)
 
Jordan McLaughlin, USC
>> 642 career assists, ninth on Pac-12 career list (10 shy of eighth)
>> 189 career steals, 36 shy of Pac-12 career top 10
 
Deandre Ayton, ARIZONA
>> 19.7 ppg, on pace for Pac-12 freshman season top 5
>> 10.8 rpg, on pace to break Pac-12 freshman season record (10.6, Kevin Love, UCLA 2008)
 
Tra Holder, ARIZONA STATE
>> 493-of-646 FT, 39 FTM and 49 FTA shy of Pac-12 career top 10
 
Thomas Welsh, UCLA
>> 915 career rebounds, 29th all-time in Pac-12
 
Kingsley Okoroh, CALIFORNIA
>> 186 career blocks, five shy of Pac-12 career top 10
 
Elijah Brown, OREGON
>> .963 FT%, on pace to break Pac-12 season record (.950, Rod Foster, UCLA, 1982)
 
Kenny Wooten, OREGON
>> 63 blocks, T-6th on Pac-12 freshman season list
 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All Times Pacific - Expanded Schedule Details)

Wednesday, Feb. 7     
CALIFORNIA at COLORADO ESPNU 8 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 8    
STANFORD at UTAH  FS1 5 p.m.
UCLA at #13 ARIZONA ESPN 7 p.m.
WASHINGTON at OREGON FS1 7:15 p.m.
WASHINGTON STATE at OREGON STATE P12N 7:30 p.m.
USC at ARIZONA STATE ESPN2 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 10    
UCLA at ARIZONA STATE P12N 4 p.m.
CALIFORNIA at UTAH  P12N 6:30 p.m.
WASHINGTON at OREGON STATE ESPNU 7 p.m.
USC at #13 ARIZONA  ESPN 7:15 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 11    
STANFORD at COLORADO  P12N 1 p.m.
WASHINGTON STATE at OREGON  ESPNU 5 p.m.
 

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings)

Teams Pac-12 Record Overall Record
Arizona  9-2 19-5
USC 8-3 17-7
Washington 7-3 17-6
UCLA 7-4 16-7
Stanford 7-4 13-11
Oregon 5-5 15-8
Arizona State 5-6 17-6
Utah 5-6 13-9
Colorado 5-6 13-10
Oregon State 3-7 11-11
California 2-9 8-16
Washington State 1-9 9-13