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 (16-0/5-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 1
Results: Did not play
Up next: vs. Penn State (Wednesday)
Comment: Because Northwestern opted not to travel west due to the wildfires in Southern California fires, the No. 1-ranked Bruins had an unexpected week off. (They still are receiving all but two first-place votes in the AP rankings.) The Penn State game will be played at Long Beach State, then the Bruins meet Baylor in the Coretta Scott King Classic on Monday.
2. USC (16-1/6-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 2
Results: beat Maryland 79-74 and Penn State 95-73
Up next: at Indiana (Sunday)
Comment: Even given the fires, fourth-ranked USC got in a home game Sunday, dominating Penn State behind a combined 63 points from JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen. Four days earlier, Watkins and Iriafen scored 21 apiece for a narrow win over previously unbeaten Maryland. Watkins was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the fourth time and National Player of the Week by the Naismith Award.
3. California (16-2/4-1 ACC)
Last week: 4
Results: beat North Carolina State 78-71 and Florida State 82-70
Up next: at Duke (Thursday)
Comment: Fresh off another top-25 victory and weekend sweep, the Bears made the biggest move in the AP poll, climbing six places to No. 18. Five players scored in double figures in the win over No. 21 North Carolina State. The Bears are now 11-0 at home and jump back ahead of Utah in the Hotline rankings.
4. Utah (13-4/4-2 Big 12)
Last week: 3
Results: lost to Kansas State 71-47, beat Houston 69-42, lost to Baylor 70-61
Up next: at TCU (Friday)
Comment: The No. 23 Utes rebounded from a one-sided home loss to Kansas State with two victories, including at Baylor on Tuesday. The Utes were without injured Kennady McQueen and trailed most of the way in Waco.
5. UNLV (13-4/5-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 6
Results: beat Colorado State 70-61 and New Mexico 88-73
Up next: vs. Air Force (Wednesday)
Comment: With consecutive wins over arguably their toughest Mountain West competition, the Rebels increased their winning streak to six games. Aaliyah Alexander scored 21 points against Colorado State and 18 against New Mexico, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
6. Grand Canyon (15-2/2-0 WAC)
Last week: 5
Results: beat Utah Valley 71-59
Up next: at Abilene Christian (Thursday)
Comment: With 13 consecutive wins, the Antelopes could potentially win out in January before facing WAC challengers Cal Baptist and UT Arlington in four February games. Tiarra Brown is GCU’s career scoring leader (in the school’s Division I era) with 1,356 points.
7. Oregon (12-5/3-3 Big Ten)
Last week: 7
Results: beat Penn State 63-61, lost to Ohio State 69-60
Up next: vs. Purdue (Wednesday)
Comment: The Ducks split on the road with the loss to the undefeated, ninth-ranked Buckeyes, who generated a 27-point run in the second quarter. Deja Kelly hit a game-winning shot with 4.1 seconds left against Penn State.
8. Colorado (12-4/3-2 Big 12)
Last week: 9
Results: beat UCF 81-62 and Kansas 84-76
Up next: at West Virginia (Wednesday)
Comment: Australian guard Sara-Rose Smith grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds against KU in a significant game for the Buffaloes, who have No. 20 West Virginia and No. 11 Kansas State on the horizon. The Buffs ended a two-game losing streak to stay in the top half of the competitive Big 12.
9. Portland (16-2/5-2 WCC)
Last week: 10
Results: beat USF 74-60
Up next: at Gonzaga (Thursday)
Comment: The Pilots’ Jan. 9 game at Pepperdine was postponed due to the fires and campus access. They beat San Francisco to create a five-way jam atop the West Coast Conference, each team owning a 5-2 record. Gonzaga, another of the co-leaders, is up next.
10. Washington (12-5/3-2 Big Ten)
Last week: 8
Results: lost to Michigan State 80-68
Up next: at Michigan (Wednesday)
Comment: The Huskies couldn’t get closer than seven points in the fourth quarter of a 12-point loss at No. 22 Michigan State, ending their five-game winning streak. Sayvia Sellers scored 21, her sixth 20-point game this season.
11. Montana State (14-2/4-0 Big Sky)
Last week: 15
Results: beat Northern Colorado 68-57 and Northern Arizona 87-81
Up next: vs. Idaho State (Thursday)
Comment: The Bobcats are alone in first place in the Big Sky after increasing their winning streak to seven. At Northern Arizona, they overcame an 11-point first-quarter deficit, scoring 30 points in the second quarter and leading by as many as 13. Portland State transfer Esmeralda Morales scored 30.
12. Stanford (9-7/1-4 ACC)
Last week: 11
Results: beat Florida State 89-84, lost to NC State 81-67
Up next: at Wake Forest (Thursday)
Comment: Stanford broke a rare three-game losing streak with a quality ACC win over Florida State, led by Brooke Demetre’s career-high 24 points. The Cardinal couldn’t follow up against the Wolfpack, falling behind by 27 before trimming the final deficit. Stanford is 2-6 in December and January and on the NCAA Tournament bubble according to ESPN’s bracketology.
13. Northern Arizona (12-5/Big Sky)
Last week: 12
Results: beat Montana 65-46, lost to Montana State 87-81
Up next: at Sacramento State (Thursday)
Comment: The Lumberjacks lost at home for the first time in nine games (dating back to last season). Coach Loree Payne gave her team a mediocre grade against Montana State and is hoping for better in the rematch Feb. 6. Sophie Glancey is now 10th in career scoring for NAU (1,119 points).
14. Gonzaga (10-8/5-2 WCC)
Last week: Not ranked
Results: beat Washington State 69-61
Up next: vs. Portland (Thursday)
Comment: The Zags are on a four-game winning streak, their longest of the season, and back into the Hotline rankings for the first time since Dec. 4. Allie Turner was named WCC Freshman of the Week, scoring 20 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists against WSU.
15. Colorado State (10-5/3-1 Mountain West)
Last week: 14
Results: lost to UNLV 70-61
Up next: at San Diego State (Wednesday)
Comment: The Rams committed 18 turnovers against UNLV, leading to 21 points. For the season, they are averaging just 9.9 turnovers, second best in the nation. They will try to recover against San Diego State, a team they beat 67-56 on Jan. 1.
Also considered: Arizona, Washington State, New Mexico
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