The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection that includes the Mountain West and the former Pac-12 schools now scattered across the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and West CoastConference.
The rankings will be published on the Hotline weekly throughout the regular season.
Results through Tuesday
1. UCLA (23-0/11-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 1Results: beat Ohio State 65-52, won at Oregon 62-52NET ranking: 5Up next: at USC (Thursday)Comment: Ahead of a much-anticipated rivalry game against No. 6 USC, the top-ranked Bruins won twice by double digits. Their 23-game win streak is the longest in school history. Center Lauren Betts announced she will return next season to team with her incoming sister, 6-foot-4 Sienna Betts.
2. USC (21-2/11-1 Big Ten)
Last week: 2Results: won at Wisconsin 86-64, beat Ohio State 84-63NET ranking: 6Up next: vs. UCLA (Thursday)Comment: The Trojans were more dominant than UCLA against No. 9 Ohio State and won twice coming off their loss at Iowa on Feb. 2. Kiki Iriafen, Kennedy Smith and JuJu Watkins had double-doubles in the lopsided victory over the Buckeyes as USC grabbed 62 rebounds, the most since 1999.
3. Utah (18-5/9-3 Big 12)
Last week: 4Results: won at Texas Tech 70-64, beat UCF 95-51NET ranking: 26Up next: vs. Colorado (Wednesday)Comment: With their winning streak now at five games, the Utes move up one spot in the Best of the West rankings. It wasn’t easy at Texas Tech — the game was tied with 6:30 remaining — but Jenna Johnson (20 points) and Kennady McQueen (18) put Utah over the top with season-high scoring performances.
4. Cal (19-6/7-5 ACC)
Last week: 3Results: lost at Louisville 70-63 and Notre Dame 91-52NET ranking: 37Up next: vs. Boston College (Thursday)Comment: The Bears fell out of the AP rankings from No. 21 but are first among others receiving votes after a costly pair of road losses. They cut a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to six against Louisville but could get no closer, and they trailed by 21 points to the Irish at halftime.
5. Oregon (16-8/7-6 Big Ten)
Last week: 5Results: lost to Maryland 79-61 and UCLA 62-52NET ranking: 36Up next: vs. Washington (Wednesday)Comment: No shame in losses, even at home, to No. 17 Maryland and especially to No. 1 UCLA. But the results put the Ducks in need of wins against Washington and Minnesota (Sunday) to shore up their NCAA Tournament hopes. Oregon held UCLA to its lowest point total of the season.
6. UNLV (19-5/11-1 Mountain West)
Last week: 6Results: won at Utah State 89-51, beat New Mexico 90-65NET ranking: 48Up next: vs. San Diego State (Wednesday)Comment: The Rebels won big twice to remain two games ahead in the Mountain West. Meadow Roland is the conference’s Freshman of the Week for a second consecutive week. UNLV will try to avenge its only conference loss against the Aztecs on Wednesday. (SDSU won 59-58 a few weeks ago.)
7. Montana State (22-2/12-0 Big Sky)
Last week: 7Results: beat Northern Arizona 73-66 and Northern Colorado 65-44NET ranking: 56Up next: at Weber State (Thursday)Comment: By completing a season sweep of Northern Arizona, the Bobcats are in strong position to win the Big Sky regular-season title. Five of their final six opponents have losing records. Esmeralda Morales scored 25 points with five 3-pointers against the Lumberjacks.
8. Grand Canyon (22-2/9-0 WAC)
Last week: 8Results: beat Cal Baptist 84-55NET ranking: 65Up next: vs. Tarleton State (Thursday)Comment: The Antelopes have won 20 consecutive games, the second-longest active win streak nationally behind UCLA (23). They received one vote in the AP rankings this week for the first time in the school’s Division I era. Fifth-year coach Molly Miller could be a hot name for power conference openings.
9. Colorado (16-7/7-5 Big 12)
Last week: 9Results: beat Arizona 56-47, lost at Iowa State 86-56NET ranking: 62Up next: at Utah (Wednesday)Comment: After a fourth straight win (Arizona), the Buffaloes crashed against Iowa State. The Cyclones led 29-9 after the first quarter, and Colorado never made a significant dent in the deficit. CU is on the NCAA Tournament bubble, per ESPN bracketology.
10. Gonzaga (17-8/12-2 WCC)
Last week: 10Results: won at Saint Mary’s 69-58, beat Washington State 73-69 (OT)NET ranking: 111Up next: at Oregon State (Thursday)Comment: The Zags raised their winning streak to 11 games and maintained the West Coast Conference lead over Portland. Yvonne Ejim had 16 points and a career high-tying 17 rebounds against Washington State. She became the school’s career scoring leader in the win over Saint Mary’s and is the WCC Player of the Week for the fifth time this season.
11. Portland (22-3/11-3 WCC)
Last week: 11Results: won at San Diego 66-64 and Pepperdine 77-75 (OT)NET ranking: 73Up next: at Saint Mary’s (Thursday)Comment: The Pilots cut it close against teams with losing records but won twice, increasing their winning streak to six games. They are one game behind Gonzaga in the WCC but have two losses to the Zags. Maisie Burnham had 21 points and 11 rebounds against Pepperdine, her 10th 20-point game this season.
12. Arizona (15-10/6-6 Big 12)
Last week: 13Results: lost at Colorado 56-47, beat Arizona State 66-59NET ranking: 62Up next: at Oklahoma State (Wednesday)Comment: The Wildcats remain on the NCAA Tournament bubble (first four out) per ESPN after a split last week. They did enough defensively to get past rival Arizona State after tying a season low with 47 points against Colorado. Both games this week are against ranked opponents.
13. Northern Arizona (19-6/10-2 Big Sky)
Last week: 12Results: lost at Montana State 73-66, won at Montana 96-76NET ranking: 83Up next: vs. Portland State (Thursday)Comment: The Lumberjacks slip behind Arizona again in the Best of the West rankings after a second loss to Montana State. They did recover in a big way against Montana, tying the school record with 17 3-pointers for their first regular-season sweep over the Grizzlies.
14. Washington (14-10/5-7 Big Ten)
Last week: 15Results: won at Penn State 82-71, lost to Maryland 81-73NET ranking: 53Up next: at Oregon (Wednesday)Comment: The Huskies cut a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to four midway through the fourth but couldn’t complete an upset of No. 17 Maryland. Still, they are on the NCAA Tournament bubble (first four out) per ESPN with key games this week against Oregon and No. 6 USC.
15. Colorado State (17-7/8-3 Mountain West)
Last week: Not rankedResults: beat Boise State 67-61NET ranking: 90Up next: vs. Utah State (Wednesday)Comment: The Rams get this week’s final Best of the West spot thanks to four wins in their last five games and a tie for second in the Mountain West behind UNLV. Stanford (11-12) dropped out after losing five of its last six games.
Also considered: Stanford, Hawaii and Wyoming
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