Oregon, ASU sweep as UCLA’s losses mount

Recapping the weekend in Pac-12 basketball …

Theme of the week: Intoxication

The Pac-12 is drunk, folks. It’s completely, incoherently, deliriously drunk. Arizona State, which lost to San Diego, TCU and Northwestern in the middle of December, is tied for first place at 4-0 in league play. Oregon, which lost to Syracuse by 20 points prior to Christmas, is also tied for first. Arizona, which is No. 3 in the NET rankings, is merely No. 3 in the conference. UCLA is tied for last after getting swept at home. Stanford owns back-to-back wins over Arizona and UCLA that are sandwiched between losses to ASU and USC and, in case you missed it, Cal just won in Pauley Pavilion. Absolute lunacy.

Team of the week I: Oregon

The Ducks collected a road sweep, albeit barely, with a 76-74 win at Washington and an 89-84 victory at WSU. Two games decided by a combined seven points, each with a common theme: Guard play. The Ducks’ backcourt trio of Jackson Shelstad, Jermaine Couisnard and Brennan Rigsby combined for 90 points in the sweep, which propelled Oregon to the top of the conference after two weeks of play.

Team of the week II: Arizona State

Of course, the Ducks aren’t alone in first place. They’re sharing the space with ASU after the Sun Devils swept Utah (handily) and Colorado (narrowly) with the same winning formula — backcourt production — put to expert use by Oregon. Add previous wins over Stanford and Cal to their ledger, and the Devils are 4-0 in league play for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when a freshman named James Harden fueled their success.

Win of the week: Cal

The Bears slayed one of the oldest demons possessed by any team in the conference, winning in Pauley Pavilion for the first time since 2010. With the 66-57 victory, they also ended a 16-game road losing streak and a 19-game conference losing streak. Their last victory in league play came exactly a year earlier, Jan. 6, 2023, over Stanford.

Game of the week: ASU 76, Colorado 73

The final eight minutes were taut, with a slew of ties and ASU’s lead never exceeding two possessions. A five-point edge with 15 seconds remaining seemed safe — for a moment. Then CU pulled within two. But an ASU free throw and Colorado’s miss from the line sealed the outcome. We also considered Oregon’s 76-74 victory at Washington, but the vast majority of the 12 games from Wednesday through Saturday were not in doubt in the final seconds.

Player of the week: Cal G Jaylon Tyson

The 6-foot-7 junior scored 23 points in a loss at USC and 22 in the breakthrough victory at UCLA. And he did it efficiently, making 19-of-28 field goals and 5-of-8 shots from 3-point range (plus 13 rebounds for good measure.) Tyson, a transfer from Texas Tech, is averaging 20.1 points per game, third in the conference.

Valiant effort of the week: Jordan Pope

One of the best guards in the conference did everything possible to claim victory for his team on the weekend swing through Washington. Pope scored 20 points in Pullman and 29 in Seattle to account for 49 of OSU’s 130 total points. He also shot 54.5 percent from the field but, alas, has two losses to show for it.

Brutal performance of the week: UCLA

The Bruins have collapsed, utterly and unfathomably. They have dropped seven of their past eight games after being swept at home by the Bay Area teams — a level of ignominy not reached in eons. The loss to Cal was UCLA’s first at home to the Bears since 2010. Their only victory since Dec. 1 against anyone, anywhere, is a narrow escape at Oregon State. And the situation could get worse. Four of the next five are on the road, including the program’s last scheduled trip to Tucson (Jan. 20).