THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Today
• USC at UCLA, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday
• Arizona at Washington State, 7 p.m. (FSAZ)
• Oregon State at Stanford, 8 p.m.
• Oregon at Cal, 8:30 p.m.
• Arizona State at Washington, 9 p.m. (FSAZ)
Saturday
• UCLA at St. John's, 11 a.m. (CBS)
• Arizona at Washington, 1 p.m. (FSAZ)
• Colorado at Utah, 3 p.m. (FSAZ)
• Arizona State at Washington State, 6 p.m.
• Oregon State at Cal, 8 p.m.
Sunday
Oregon at Stanford, 5:30 p.m. (FSAZ)
Last week's results
Thursday
Arizona State 57, Utah 52
Arizona 71, Colorado 57
Washington State 83, Oregon State 73
California 75, USC 49
UCLA 72, Stanford 61
Oregon 82, Washington 57
Saturday
Arizona 70, Utah 61
California 73, UCLA 63
Oregon 78, Washington State 69
Colorado 63, Arizona State 49
Sunday
Washington 75, Oregon State 72
Stanford 59, USC 47
Pac-12 Power Rankings
1. Cal (20-6, 10-3)
2. Washington (17-8, 10-3) - Forward Terrence Ross has scored in double figures 14 times in the past 15 games.
3. Oregon (18-7, 9-4) - The Ducks' only two losses in the past nine games have come by one and five points.
4. Arizona (18-8, 9-4)
5. Colorado (17-8, 9-4)
6. UCLA (14-11, 7-6)
7. Stanford (17-8, 7-6) - Josh Owens' 58.2 career field-goal percentage would be fifth all-time at Stanford.
8. Oregon State (15-10, 5-8)
9. Washington State (13-12, 5-8)
10. Arizona State (8-17, 4-9)
11. Utah (5-20, 2-11) - Center David Foster, out for the season with an injury, has been told by coaches he can return to the team next season after a medical redshirt, if he wants.
12. USC (6-20, 1-12)
DEAR PUNDIT
Track down the Pac-12 Pundit on Twitter at @patrickfinley or at azstarnet.com/pac12pundit, and he'll answer your questions all week long. A sampling:
Q: I hope they won't expand the conference. Your thoughts about possible Pac-12 expansion? - Dmitriy
A: I can't see the league adding more teams, though I could foresee a future - maybe five or 10 years from now - with 50 or 60 football powers breaking out onto their own. In that case, football conferences could be much different than we know them now.
Q: How much should we read into Oregon's blowout win over Washington? - Dave
A: A lot. I think UW is the league's most talented team, but a 25-point loss, even on the road, looks bad on NCAA tournament selection committee paperwork. As my dad likes to say, good teams don't get blown out.
The list
Three burning questions we stumbled upon Tuesday:
• What in the world happened to Washington? The Huskies lost by 25 at Oregon on Thursday but recovered to top Oregon State two days later.
"I thought we did a good job of bouncing back," UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. "That was a loss for us you'd love to have back.
"Oregon played so well, I'm not sure how much difference that would have made …
"Oregon, I don't know how many teams would have beat them that night.
"I'm not sure how many teams we would have beat that night. It was just not a good night for us all around."
• Is Jorge Gutierrez an NBA player? Oregon coach Dana Altman said yes - "He makes everyone better around him," Altman said of the Cal guard - but USC coach Kevin O'Neill was a bit more dubious, citing his 6-foot-3-inch frame.
"That's a tough size if you're not a true point (guard)," O'Neill said. "Whether he's a true point or not, nobody really knows.
"At the two-guard spot, that's a challenge. ...
"Dwyane Wade? Kobe? There's an easy night."
• Did someone figure out Stanford? After starting 15-3 and 5-1 in league play, the Cardinal has gone 2-5, including four road losses.
Coach Johnny Dawkins said league teams are double-teaming forward Josh Owens, and generally have a good scouting report.
"Everyone knows everyone in the conference," he said.
The big number
10
Straight games of double-digit scoring for Oregon State forward Devon Collier
RPI
A look at Pac-12 RPI scores:
36. Cal
62. Washington
66. Arizona
67. Oregon
74. Colorado
105. Stanford
124. UCLA
143. Oregon State
150. Washington State
229. Arizona State
230. USC
274 Utah
A Little Help
After it plays rival USC today, UCLA will travel cross-country to face St. John's on Saturday in New York City.
In a year in which the Pac-12 has struggled mightily in nonconference games, league coaches, such as Colorado's Tad Boyle, said they would relish such an opportunity in February.
Ben Howland, whose team won't warrant NCAA tournament at-large consideration, didn't sound like he was looking forward to the trip.
"It definitely makes it a tougher week, gives us less preparation time for the USC game, because we're playing it (today)," he said.
Howland said the game is good for "national television exposure," but that the league's new television deal next season "will help its constituents, all of us, be able to recruit better nationally."
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