Player of the Week
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
With Covid-19 becoming more of a worry as the season goes on, teams in the Pac-12 are playing less and less. Nonetheless, the Wildcats have played two games this week and Tubelis has shined in both. In a win against the Northern Colorado Bears on Wednesday, he assisted his team in every way possible, scoring 16 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He followed that up with 19 points along with snagging 7 boards and dishing out 5 assists. Leading Arizona in assists in their two most recent games, Tubelis has proved to be a do it all guy for Arizona thus far in the season, helping them to an undefeated record so far.
Who’s Hot
Michael Flowers (Washington State)
Along with Tubelis, the Cougars have also played in two games this week. Flowers made sure to let the coaching staff know he’s available, playing 35+ minutes in both games. In a close loss to New Mexico State on Wednesday, he scored 15 points along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He left all he had out on the court, playing a whopping 38 minutes for Washington State. He followed up with another 36-minute outing, dropping 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in a blowout win against the Northern Colorado Bears. His numbers don’t jump off the stat sheet, but this senior should be recognized for how much time he’s putting in for the Cougars.
Harrison Ingram (Stanford)
This freshman has helped Stanford have a 2-1 week, beating conference opponent Oregon by 3 on December 12th. In the win against the Ducks, Ingram posted 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Days later against Dartmouth, he played 38 minutes while scoring 13 points and 7 rebounds. To follow this up, Ingram had 15 points and 7 rebounds against a tough Texas Longhorns squad. Ingram has shown great potential over these past couple weeks and continues to improve as the season goes on.
Who’s Not
Oregon State
This is a team that has been featured quite a few times on this section of the blog, but they continue to disappoint. Another winless week for the Beavers has Pac-12 enthusiasts continually wondering what is wrong with this squad. A loss to the UC Davis Aggies and the Texas A&M Aggies has Oregon State sitting at 1-11 on the season. Nobody could’ve predicted how abysmal this team would be before the season started.
Jacob Young (Oregon)
Though all the Duck’s troubles can’t be pinned to one person, Young hasn’t looked like himself so far this season. His points are down from the year prior, his shooting percentages are lower and he’s struggling to distribute the ball. In a win against Portland, Young had a mere 2 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 32 minutes of play. In a loss to Baylor, though Young upped his scoring to 11 points, he only had 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 29 minutes of play. Oregon will need their veteran point guard to start doing more if they want to salvage the season.
Top 5 Pac-12 Games This Season (So Far)
UCLA v. Villanova (November 12th)
This game came early on in the season but was certainly one of the most fun to watch throughout the Pac-12. This game saw UCLA and Villanova bring it’s all, with nine players scoring in double digits for the game. The Bruins ended up taking the dub, winning 86-77. Monster games from Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. proved UCLA to be a real threat.
USC v. Washington State (December 4th)
A game that comes down to the wire is just so much better when it’s an inner-conference matchup. The current Pac-12 leaders were almost upset on December 4th, when the Cougars came to play. A defensive battle ensued, where the leading scorer for both teams only scored 14. The difference maker could be Isaiah Mobley who didn’t necessarily stuff the stat sheet but played 37 minutes and certainly provided a suffocating paint presence. The Trojans would win 63-61 in one of the best inner-conference games this year.
Arizona v. Michigan (November 21st)
Though the Wolverines aren’t as good as previous years, it was still a noteworthy win on the Wildcats end. Arizona saw everything click, with Christian Koloko and Benedict Mathurin having good games to lead Arizona over Michigan. With a final score of 80-62, the Wildcats continued on their undefeated season.
Oregon v. Baylor (December 18th)
This game was a lot closer than anticipated, considering Baylor is the reigning champions of the NCAA tournament and the Ducks have not looked like themselves all year. Oregon left it all on the court, with three players scoring in double figures and every player available playing over 15 minutes. Though Baylor would go on to win 78-70, that’s a loss that Oregon can’t be mad about. In the midst of a new Covid strain, the Ducks put up a noteworthy fight against a great team.
Oregon v. Stanford (December 12th)
Again, there’s nothing like an inner-conference matchup going down to the wire. For the Ducks, every available player but two played over 20 minutes in this game, showing interesting rotations from the coaching staff. Three players scored in double figures, led by Quincy Gurrier with 18 points. For Stanford, five players played over 25 minutes and they were led by Jaiden Delaire with 20 points. Stanford ended up prevailing by three points, with a final score of 72-69.