Pac-12 Conference Rundown: Top-Heavy
The postponements issues that have plagued the Pac-12 Conference in the early stages of the season have slowed considerably, but with Washington State’s game against Oregon scheduled for Thursday called off, it is clear that schedule disruptions are still part of the equation.
With Arizona, UCLA and Southern California all ranked in the top 16 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, there is no lack of star power in the conference. The biggest question is, will other teams rise up to challenge the Big Three?

Oregon had the second-best odds to win the Pac-12 entering the season and the Ducks are tied with USC and Colorado for third place in the standings.
USC Trojans at Colorado Buffaloes
Date, time, TV: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
Colorado is one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the conference with Andre Kelly and Grant Anticevich ranking second and fourth in the conference in defensive rebounds per game. Chevez Goodwin of USC is the top offensive rebounder in the Pac-12, so it is going to be a case of strength matching up against strength.
Colorado has won the last seven games against USC and covered in six of those seven matchups. The Trojans have lost in the last three games in the series played at Colorado. The last two games in the series went over the total after the previous nine had finished under.
The Buffaloes are 9-1 at home while USC has won four of its five true road games.
No. 16 USC (14-2, 4-2 in the Pac-12 Conference) has failed to cover against the college basketball spreads in its last three games.
Colorado (12-4, 4-2) has won six of its last seven games but is just 3-3-1 against the spread in those contests.
Arizona Wildcats at Stanford Cardinal
Date, time, TV: Thursday, 11 p.m. ET, ESPNU
This game features two of the top 11 teams in Division I in rebound margin. Arizona is also third in blocked shots and in field goal percentage defense.
No. 3 Arizona (14-1, 4-0) had won 20 games in a row against Stanford but the Cardinal won the last two meetings, including a nine-point win at Arizona when the Las Vegas odds listed Stanford as a nine-point underdog.
Three of the last four games in the series went under the total set by the Las Vegas odds.
Stanford (10-5, 3-2) has covered in five of the last six games, with each of those matchups decided by seven points or less. Stanford is one of two Pac-12 teams still undefeated at home.
Arizona is 1-4-1 against the spread in its last six games.
UCLA Bruins at Utah Utes
Date, time, TV: Thursday, 11 p.m. ET, FS1
UCLA’s Johnny Juzang is averaging 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the Bruins’ last two games. He has not recorded three consecutive 20-point games since arriving at UCLA.
𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲 🏀 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢’𝘴@JohnnyJuzang’s team-leading 24 points lead @UCLAMBB to victory last night over Oregon State! 💪#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/WiTAYf41DO
— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics) January 16, 2022
Utah’s Branden Carlson is averaging 15 points and shooting 59.4 percent in home games this season.
UCLA has won the last four matchups with the Utes and covered in three of those games. The last win in the series for Utah came at home in 2019.
Five of the last seven games in the series have finished under the total.
No. 9 UCLA (11-2, 3-1) has won six of its last seven games but the Bruins are just 2-4-1 against the spread in those contests, which could be of interest to those who bet online.
Utah has lost six games in a row and is just 1-5 against the spread during that stretch.
Washington Huskies at Oregon State Beavers
Date, time, TV: Thursday, 11:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
Ball security will be a key in this game as Washington’s Terrell Brown Jr., Daejon Davis and Jamal Bey rank first, second and third in the Pac-12 in steals per game. Oregon State’s Dashawn Davis is fourth in that category.
Washington had won the last three games against Oregon State before the Beavers rolled to a 20-point win in the most recent meeting.
Three of the last four games have gone over the total.
Oregon State (3-13, 1-5) has scored more than 90 points in two of its last three home games against Washington.
The Huskies (8-7, 3-2) have covered in four of the last five games while the Beavers are 4-0-1 against the spread in its last five outings.
Southern California Trojans at Utah Utes
Date, time, TV: Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
Southern’s California Isaiah Mobley didn’t shoot the ball well on the road early in the season but is showing signs of breaking out, connecting on at least 50 percent of his shots in recent games at Cal and Stanford.
David Jenkins is coming off a 14-point effort for Utah after managing a total of 13 points in the previous four games combined.
The Trojans have won three of the last four games in the series, although Utah (8-10, 1-7) is 3-0 and covered all three times when the Utes played host to USC.
USC’s last four games have gone over the total while Utah’s last four games finished under the total.
Six of Utah’s eight wins have come at home but with the nationally ranked Trojans coming to town, it is going to be challenging for the Utes to add to that number.
Washington State Cougars at Oregon State Beavers
Date, time, TV: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Washington State’s Michael Flowers and Oregon State’s Jarod Lucas are second and third in the Pac-12 in three-pointers made.
Three of the last four games in the series were decided by eight points or less. Five of the last six games in the series went over the total.
Oregon State has lost three games in a row but covered in the last two as double-digit underdogs.
Washington State (10-7, 3-3) has covered in just one of the last four games while four of the Cougars’ last five games finished under the total.
UCLA Bruins at Colorado Buffaloes
Date, time, TV: Saturday, 9 p.m. ET
Seven Pac-12 players are shooting at least 80 percent from the free-throw line. UCLA’s Tyger Campbell and Juzang are connecting on 83.9 and 81.1 percent, respectively, while Colorado’s Keeshawn Barthelemy is 40 for 50 on foul shots.
UCLA has won four of the last five games against Colorado but failed to cover in the last two.
Each of the last three games between the teams went under the total.
Seven of Colorado’s last nine games went over the total
Three of UCLA’s last four games have gone over the total. That followed a string of five games in a row to finish under the total.
Arizona State Sun Devils at Stanford Cardinal
Date, time, TV: Saturday, 11 p.m. ET
After four of its first five scheduled games in 2022 were postponed, Arizona State has split its last two games.
Despite averaging the fewest fans per game in the Pac-12, Stanford is 7-0 at home.
Six of the last seven matchups between Arizona State and Stanford have gone over the total.
The Sun Devils have won the last three games in the series and covered in all three contests.
Four of the last six Stanford games have gone under the total while the last six Arizona State contests ended up going under.
The Sun Devils snapped a three-game losing streak with a two-point win against Utah.
Arizona Wildcats at California Bears
Date, time, TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin is averaging 29 points in three true road games while Cal’s Andre Kelly is averaging 16.3 points and 8.7 rebounds at home for the Bears.
Arizona has defeated Cal nine times in a row, with each of the last six games decided by at least 12 points.
Four of the last five Arizona games have gone under the total.
California has lost its last three games but covered in two of them. Four of the five games played by the Bears in 2022 have gone under the total.
Washington Huskies at Oregon Ducks
Date, time, TV: Sunday, 10 p.m. ET
Terrell Brown Jr. of Washington is the leading scorer (21 points per game) in the Pac-12 while Oregon’s N’Faly Dante is shooting a conference-best 71.4 percent.
Oregon has won 11 of the last 12 games against Oregon, although the Ducks are just 7-5 against the spread in those matchups.
Nine straight games in the series had gone under the total before the last two went over by at least 10 points.
Oregon has won five games in a row.
Five of Washington’s last seven games have finished under the total while Oregon’s last four games have gone over the total. Two of Oregon’s last three games were decided by three points or less.
Arizona State Sun Devils at Southern California Trojans
Date, time, TV: Monday, 11 p.m. ET, ESPN2
USC has covered in its last six games against Arizona State.
The game features two of the top rebounders in the conference. USC’s Mobley is the Pac-12 leading rebounder with an average of 9.2 per game while Kimani Lawrence of Arizona State is pulling down 7.3 per contest.
Five of the last six games in the series went under the total.
The Trojans won their first seven home games before falling to Oregon in their last home game.
Four of Arizona State’s last seven games were decided by two points or less, with the Sun Devils winning three times and covering in all four games.