Metcalfe – Pac-12 WBB power ratings: Colorado ascends after weekend sweep; Watkins’ outburst lifts USC

Story by Jeff Metcalfe 

So much for Stanford’s rise to the top in the Hotline Pac-12 women’s basketball power ratings.

It lasted all of one week, the first this season for the always mighty Cardinal. Stanford lost at home to USC and, even with a convincing bounce-back win over UCLA, slips one place to No. 2 behind Pac-12 co-leader Colorado.

The Hotline almost was willing to give Stanford a pass for its lack of mojo against JuJu but couldn’t overlook Colorado winning twice on the road and the Cardinal’s 27-game Pac-12 home win streak ending. Also, the Buffs hold a tiebreaker edge over Stanford going back to a 71-59 win on Jan. 14.

With a month left in the regular season, remaining schedules bear attention. Stanford has only one game (out of seven) left against an opponent in the Associated Press Top 25 while Colorado faces four, three on the road. That disparity alone favors the Cardinal provided they take care of business as a favorite.

In this week’s AP Top 25, Colorado is No. 4 (up two spots), Stanford No. 6 (down two), UCLA No. 9 (down two), USC No. 10 (up five), Oregon State No. 17 (up one) and Utah No. 20 (unchanged).

Here are the Hotline’s sixth weekly 2023-24 women’s basketball power ratings with 10 teams in a new position. NET rankings through Monday.

1. Colorado (19-3/9-2)

Last week: 2
Results: won at Washington State 63-57 and Washington 80-57
Next up: vs. Oregon (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 15
Comment: The Buffs are on a three-game win streak, tied with Oregon State for the current Pac-12 high. They had a Pac-12-best five-game conference win streak earlier. Against Washington State, senior guard Frida Formann tied her career high with 27 points, going 6-of-9 from 3-point range when none of her teammates hit a trey (0-of-10).

2. Stanford (20-3/9-2)

Last week: 1
Results: lost to USC 67-58, beat UCLA 80-60
Next up: at Washington (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 2
Comment: Cameron Brink, befitting a senior All-American, was unfazed by the loss to USC. “Losing is part of the game and how you recover from it is how you show who are really are,” she said. “I’m not too down about it.” Brink responded with 19 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks against UCLA, again reinforcing why she is projected as a top-two WNBA draft pick.

3. Oregon State (18-3/7-3)

Last week: 4
Results: won at Oregon 64-60
Next up: at Utah (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 21
Comment: Nothing was easy about a second rivalry win, but sophomore forward Timea Gardiner scoring a career-best 19 points off the bench bodes well. The Beavers face a brutal schedule ahead of the Pac-12 Tournament with five of eight games against ranked opponents. Raegan Beers is fourth in Pac-12 scoring and third in rebounding.

4. USC (16-4/6-4)

Last week: 6
Results: won at Stanford 67-58 and California 79-69
Next up: vs. Arizona State (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 16
Comment: JuJu Watkins as expected cleaned up on national and Pac-12 awards for her 80-point weekend including a national season-high 51 against Stanford. She is Pac-12 Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week for a second time, the first player to pull off that sweep more than once. All perfectly timed for her cover debut this week on the cover of Slam magazine.

5. UCLA (17-4/6-4)

Last week: 3
Results: won at Cal 78-58, lost at Stanford 80-60
Next up: vs. Arizona (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 7
Comment: Uncertainty surrounding when center Lauren Betts will return clouds the Bruins’ short-term prospects. They will be favored at home against the Arizona schools even without Betts but also have three ranked opponents ahead this month. Betts has missed four games and Lina Sontag now is away with the German national team for Olympic qualifying.

6. Utah (17-6/7-4)

Last week: 5
Results: won at Washington 83-65 and Washington State 73-61
Next up: vs. Oregon State (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 6
Comment: USC’s two-place rise pushes Utah down one place in Hotline ratings even though the Utes had a 2-0 road weekend. Guard Isabel Palmer had a breakout game against Washington State with 14 points, her best since returning from injury on Jan. 19. “We needed her in that third quarter,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “She gave us some life and a little bit of momentum.”

7. Washington State (15-8/4-6)

Last week: 7
Results: lost to Colorado 63-57 and Utah 73-61
Next up: vs. Cal (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 24
Comment: Postseason prospects are cloudy for the Cougars without injured star Charlisse Leger-Walker for the rest of the season. But they played two ranked teams tough last week and with Astera Tuhina back from injury, there still is hope for a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. ESPN Bracketology projects WSU as a No. 9 seed, down three spots from a week earlier.

8. Arizona (12-10/4-6)

Last week: 11
Results: beat ASU 63-52
Next up: at UCLA (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 50
Comment: The Wildcats fared best last week of Pac-12 teams not projected to make the NCAA Tournament, breaking open a tight rivalry game at the start of the fourth quarter. Esmery Martinez had one of her best games this season with 18 points and 15 boards and UA stayed out of foul trouble with only seven players available.

9. Arizona State (10-12/2-8)

Last week: 8
Results: lost at Arizona 63-52
Next up: at USC (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 116
Comment: ASU had a better showing than its 39-point loss to the Wildcats on Dec. 17, while scoring 52 in both games. That’s more progress for the Sun Devils, who won two of their previous three games but play five of their final eight in the regular season against ranked opponents. They are improved enough to be dangerous against teams that can’t afford to lose to them.

10. Washington (13-8/3-7)

Last week: 9
Results: lost to Utah 83-65 and Colorado 80-57
Next up: vs. Stanford (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 47
Comment: ESPN has the Huskies on the NCAA Tournament bubble, down from a No. 12 seed, but it’s going to take all they can muster to remain in contention coming off two lopsided losses and a 1-4 record over their last five games. Then the schedule lightens, though, with four straight unranked opponents though wins in those are far from a given.

11. California (13-10/3-8)

Last week: 10
Results: lost at home to UCLA 78-58 and USC 79-69
Next up: at Washington State (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 65
Comment: The Bears are on a four-game losing streak although they made a respectable showing against USC through three quarters. Guard Ionna Krimili averages 16.4 points and has reached double figures in all 14 of her games but other players are spotty offensively, resulting in a 1-7 record since Jan. 12. This with coach Charmin Smith in the final year of her contract.

12. Oregon (11-12/2-8)

Last week: 12
Results: lost at Oregon State 64-60
Next up: at Colorado (Friday)
NET ranking: No. 85
Comment: Oregon gave rival Oregon State all it could handle only to suffer its fifth consecutive loss. The Ducks are in the midst of seven consecutive games against ranked opponents with four still to go. The Ducks have not had a losing season since 2014-15 (13-17) when Kelly Graves first arrived as coach and avoiding that again would be a victory in itself.