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 Coast Conference.
The rankings will be published on the Hotline weekly throughout the regular season.
Results through Tuesday
1. UCLA (18-0/6-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 1
Results: beat Penn State 83-67 and Baylor 72-57
Up next: at Rutgers (Thursday)
Comment: Making the most of a trip east, the No. 1-ranked Bruins wore down No. 25 Baylor in the Coretta Scott King Classic on Monday ahead of visits to Rutgers and No. 8 Maryland. Lauren Betts had 24 points, nine rebounds and a school record nine blocks against Big 12 foe Baylor.
2. USC (17-1/7-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 2
Results: beat Indiana 73-66
Up next: at Purdue (Wednesday)
Comment: The fourth-ranked Trojans needed a 14-2 run in the second quarter and 12-0 run in the fourth to win at Indiana before a crowd of 12,534. JuJu Watkins led the way, as usual, with 22 points; four other players scored in double figures, and Rayah Marshall had a double-double.
3. California (17-3/5-2 ACC)
Last week: 3
Results: lost to Duke 72-38, beat Wake Forest 67-55
Up next: at Stanford (Thursday)
Comment: After a season-low 38 points and a whopping 31 turnovers at No. 14 Duke, the Bears regrouped to beat Wake Forest thanks to 10-of-24 shooting from 3-point range and a 45-26 rebounding edge. Down four spots in the AP rankings, to No. 22, the Bears will now try for their first sweep over rival Stanford since 1986.
4. Oregon (14-5/5-3 Big Ten)
Last week: 7
Results: beat Purdue 69-53 and Iowa 50-49
Up next: vs. Indiana (Friday)
Comment: Trailing by 15 points in the second quarter, the Ducks rallied past Iowa by limiting the Hawkeyes to 17 in the second half. (Iowa was without forward Hannah Stuelke due to a concussion.) Oregon is 5-1 in its last six games and currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament by ESPN.
5. UNLV (15-4/7-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 5
Results: beat Air Force 84-51 and Wyoming 72-71 (OT)
Up next: at Fresno State (Wednesday)
Comment: The Rebels are on an eight-game winning streak, preserved by their second overtime win of the season. McKinna Brackens had the game-winning basket against Wyoming. UNLV is the sole leader in the Mountain West, ahead of New Mexico (5-1).
6. Utah (13-5/4-3 Big 12)
Last week: 4
Results: lost Baylor 70-61 and TCU 81-73
Up next: Kansas (Wednesday)
Comment: The Utes continue to come up short against the Big 12’s best and now have three losses in the last four games against teams ranked No. 9 (TCU), No. 10 (Kansas State) and No. 25 (Baylor). They are still receiving AP votes, and their schedule eases up through mid-February. Gianna Kneepkens scored 26 against TCU.
7. Montana State (17-2/7-0 Big Sky)
Last week: 11
Results: beat Idaho State 94-52, Weber State 75-51 and Eastern Washington 58-56
Up next: at Montana (Saturday)
Comment: With their 10th consecutive victory Monday, the Bobcats remain alone atop the Big Sky and make a four-spot leap in the Best of the West rankings. They will be favored to win their next three games before a home rematch against Northern Arizona on Feb. 6. On Monday, Montana State led by 13 points after the third quarter, then held on to avoid an upset at Eastern Washington.
8. Grand Canyon (17-2/4-0 WAC)
Last week: 6
Results: beat Abilene Christian 81-67 and Tarleton State 57-53
Up next: vs. Southern Utah (Thursday)
Comment: The Antelopes were missing Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, the national leader in 3-pointers per game, due to injury but nevertheless rallied from 11 down to edge Tarleton State for their 15th consecutive win. They also needed a comeback from a 13-point deficit at halftime at Abilene Christian with Durazo-Frescas playing.
9. Gonzaga (12-8/7-2 West Coast Conference)
Last week: 14
Results: beat Portland 66-65 and Loyola-Marymount 69-58
Up next: at Pepperdine (Saturday)
Comment: The Zags move up five places in the Best of the West by increasing their winning streak to six games, a stretch that includes a key WCC victory over Portland. Yvonne Ejim averaged 27 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two wins to earn WCC Player of the Week honors. She scored 35, including the game-winning basket, against Portland. Allie Turner is the WCC Freshman of the Week for the fifth time.
10. Portland (17-3/6-3 West Coast Conference)
Last week: 9
Results: lost at Gonzaga 66-65, won at Oregon State 86-61
Up next: at Washington State (Thursday)
Comment: If the WCC only gets its tournament champion into the NCAA Tournament, at least one quality team is going to be sadly disappointed. The Pilots are fourth in the conference but made up for a Dec. 30 overtime loss to Oregon State by crushing the Beavers with a barrage of 14 3-pointers.
11. Northern Arizona (14-5)
Last week: 13
Results: beat Sacramento State 75-70 and Portland State 76-63
Up next: vs. Eastern Washington (Thursday)
Comment: Taylor Feldman’s 11-point scoring run in the fourth quarter, and 28 total points, carried the Lumberjacks past Sacramento State. She then scored 19 at Portland State while Sophie Glancey led with 23 and 12 rebounds. NAU now gets four straight home games.
12. Washington (13-6)
Last week: 10
Results: lost at Michigan 82-69, beat Purdue 87-58
Up next: Iowa (Wednesday)
Comment: The Huskies shook off road losses to No. 21 Michigan State (Jan. 12) and No. 24 Michigan to win big at home over Purdue on the day Kelsey Plum’s jersey was retired. A sellout crowd (10,010) turned out to honor Plum, the first Husky women’s basketball player to be so honored. Plum held the NCAA career scoring record from 2017-24 before Iowa’s Caitlin Clark surpassed it.
13. Stanford (10-8/2-5 ACC)
Last week: 12
Results: beat Wake Forest 74-71, lost to Duke 74-49
Up next: vs. Cal (Thursday)
Comment: Stanford managed a road split but remains in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987. ESPN is projecting the Cardinal as a bubble team and not currently in the field of 68. The tangle with Cal has ramifications beyond the Bay Area rivalry.
14. Colorado (12-6/3-4 Big 12)
Last week: 8
Results: lost at West Virginia 73-46 and Cincinnati 65-59
Up next: vs. Kansas State (Saturday)
Comment: The Buffaloes are down six spots in the Best of the West following the road losses (and results elsewhere across the region). Losing to Cincinnati was especially costly with No. 10 Kansas State up next. Colorado committed 20-plus turnovers in both games, including 30 against West Virginia, which avenged a 65-60 loss in Boulder (Dec. 21).
15. Washington State (11-8/7-2 West Coast Conference)
Last week: Not ranked
Results: beat USF 74-58 and Santa Clara 74-47
Up next: vs. Portland (Thursday)
Comment: The Cougars dominated at Santa Clara, making up for a 68-62 loss to the Broncos earlier in the month and staying even with Gonzaga atop the WCC. With a 4-1 record in the last five games, WSU is back in the Best of the West rankings for the first time since Dec. 4.
Also considered: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado State
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