Arizona on top after beating Duke, USC falls

The Pac-12 power ratings will appear weekly on the Hotline until the conference tournament, although the publication day will change once football season ends.

Two weeks into the most important two months of the college basketball season, the Pac-12 owns a 29-6 record in non-conference play. The winning percentage of 82.8 is well above the historical threshold (70 percent) that leads to success on Selection Sunday.

But most of the toughest games are ahead. Next week, in fact, the conference has dates lined up with No. 4 Marquette, No. 14 Arkansas, No. 15 Baylor and No. 18 Michigan State.

We’ll monitor the situation closely. Results in November (and December) have an enormous impact on what happens in March.

To the power ratings …

1. Arizona (3-0)

Last week: 2
Results: beat Duke 78-73, beat Southern 97-59
Next up: vs. Belmont (Friday)
Comment: Standard policy at Hotline HQ: Beat Duke at Duke and you’re No. 1 in the power ratings, regardless of record, date, weather conditions, tides or price of gas.

2. Colorado (3-0)

Last week: 3
Results: beat Grambling 95-63, beat Milwaukee 106-79
Next up: vs. Richmond (Monday)
Comment: TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr. is producing at the expected rate up front with 9.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. If he maintains that pace, the Buffaloes will be in great shape.

3. UCLA (3-0)

Last week: 4
Results: beat Lafayette 68-50, beat Long Island 78-58
Next up: vs. Marquette (Monday)
Comment: Three games down, the Bruins have yet to allow any opponent to score 60 points. Those same three teams have shot a collective 33.8 percent from the field and 24.6 percent from 3-point range.

4. Oregon (2-0)

Last week: 5
Results: beat Montana 75-61
Next up: vs. Tennessee State (Friday)
Comment: Center N’Faly Dante is averaging 21 rebounds per game. We don’t care that he has played in just one game. It’s a cool stat anyhow.

5. Arizona State (2-1)

Last week: 6
Results: beat Texas Southern 63-52, beat UMass Lowell 71-69
Next up: vs. Brigham Young (Thursday)
Comment: We were curious, and you might be as well: BYU is 3-0 with a victory over San Diego State and two 100-point games (out of three played) on its resume.

6. USC (2-1)

Last week: 1
Results: beat Cal State Bakersfield 85-59, lost to UC Irvine 70-60
Next up: vs. Brown (Sunday)
Comment: Yes, the Trojans were without injured guards Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson against UC Irvine, and the selection committee will take that into account when assessing USC. Even so: bad loss.

7. Utah (3-0)

Last week: 9
Results: beat UC Riverside 82-53, beat Wake Forest 77-70
Next up: vs. Houston (Friday)
Comment: Basketball school.

8. Washington State (2-0)

Last week: 10
Results: beat Prairie View 83-65
Next up: vs. Mississippi State (Friday)
Comment: WSU guard Myles Rice, in remission from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, is one of the most inspiring stories in the Pac-12. And not for nothing, he’s averaging 14 points per game.