Player of the Week
Cody Williams (Colorado)
Colorado is riding a three game win streak that includes beating a red hot Oregon Ducks team. Cody Williams has been one of the main catalysts for the squad, leading the team in scoring with 23 points during the 86-70 win against the Ducks. He shot 10/13 from the field and 3/4 from three while blocking two shots for the Buffaloes. Colorado followed this up with a 90-57 win against Oregon State. Williams had 16 points on 6/10 shooting and hauled in 6 rebounds to help the Buffaloes beat two conference opponents this week. His draft stock has surged into the top five pick area and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Who’s Hot
Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford)
This was the week of freshman in the Pac-12 with Kanaan Carlyle playing great minutes for the Cardinal. In a 14-point loss to Washington State, Carlyle was one of the few bright spots for Stanford. He scored 31 points on 10/18 shooting from the field and 3/5 shooting from deep. He also showcased his ability to get to the line, shooting nine free throws and making eight. Stanford picked up a win against Washington in their following game, 90-80. Carlyle had 16 points on 4/9 shooting from the field and once again got to the line and capitalized, making six out of seven free throws. He has managed to stay efficient all year and add nothing but good notes to his collegiate resume.
Myles Rice (Washington State)
To finish off our trio of freshmen, Myles Rice was lights out this week for Washington State. He dropped 35 points and 8 assists in 36 minutes of play for the Cougars. They beat Stanford by 14 and he also shot 15/24 from the field and 5/10 from three. He cooled off a little in a 81-75 loss to California but still scored 16 points and dished out 3 assists in 41 minutes of play. The freshmen in this conference have been nothing short of amazing.
Who’s Not
Adem Bona (UCLA)
After last year’s successful season and multiple players leaving the program, Adem Bona was expected to take a bigger leap than he has so far. While he’s upped his scoring average by roughly five points, his shooting percentage from the field has gone down quite a bit and he’s turning the ball over more. This tends to happen when a player’s usage goes up but the Bruins are having a terrible year and more was expected from the 6’10” sophomore. There’s still time to salvage the season and Bona is still young but this is something to note moving forward.
Top 5 Highest Scoring Teams in the Pac-12
5. Stanford Cardinal
Stanford averages 79.3 points per game and what’s surprising is a lot of production comes from their freshman. Kanaan Carlyle is the team’s leading scorer as a freshman and Andrej Stojakovic has managed to help the team on that side of the ball too. Other contributors include Maxime Raynaud and Spencer Jones.
4. Utah Utes
The Utes average 80.1 points per game and a lot of it can be attributed to Rollie Worster, one of the best points guards in the Pac-12. The top contributor is Branden Carlson, who is one of the leading scorers in the conference. He averages 17.2 points per night.
3. Washington Huskies
Two guys come to mind when it comes to the Huskies offensively: Keion Brooks Jr. and Sahvir Wheeler. Brooks Jr. is the second leading scorer in the conference with 20.2 points a night and Wheeler averages the second most assists per game with 5.9 a game.
2. Colorado Buffaloes
The Buffaloes have a three headed scoring machine with KJ Simpson, Tristan da Silva and Cody Williams. They average 81.1 points as a team and nobody should be surprised. Simpson and Silva both rank in the top 10 in points per game for the conference and Williams has an argument to be the best freshman throughout the entire Pac-12.
1. Arizona Wildcats
This was fairly obvious but the highest scoring team in the Pac-12 is the Wildcats at 89.9 points per game. They average the third most in the entire NCAA and use a mix of great guard and big play to rack up points on offense.