BTD’s Pac-12 Basketball Power Rankings: 1/27

1. Oregon Ducks (17-4, 6-2)

The Ducks take the top spot for the fourth straight edition time and with little competition outside Colorado and USC at the moment, their pursuit of a league title has become a boom-or-bust scenario. Dana Altman’s group needs to keep the focus with a few tough road trips upcoming.

2. USC Trojans (16-4, 5-2)

Since USC’s loss to Marquette back in late November, the Trojans have only picked up a blowout road thrashing at the hands of Washington and a recent double-overtime defeat at Oregon. This team quietly has one of the country’s best rebounding units to challenge each and every night.

3. Colorado Buffaloes (16-4, 5-2)

Colorado hangs on to the third spot with ease, since they’re still looking the part and the rest of the conference is falling apart. The Buffs took care of business at home against the Washington schools but have a trip to Los Angeles for a pair of games on the docket. Those won’t be easy.

4. Arizona Wildcats (13-6, 3-3)

At the end of the day when you talk about Power Rankings and really looking at who the best teams - not just the best in the standings - are, it’s hard to still count Arizona out of the conversation. The Wildcats are as wildly inconsistent as everyone else, just more dangerous.

5. Arizona State Sun Devils (12-7, 3-3)

However, if one team epitomizes that wildly inconsistent moniker more than any other one, it has to be Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State squad. The Sun Devils has won two in a row, including a comeback for the ages over rival Arizona, after dropping three of four contests prior to that.

6. Utah Utes (12-7, 3-4)

Another team that looked to be out of the thick of things in the Conference of Champions after a four-game losing skid, Utah edged Washington and Washington State in two strong bounce-back efforts. The Utes are far from perfect, but they’re a unit finding their way as they go.

7. Stanford Cardinal (15-4, 4-2)

Consecutive defeats drop the Cardinal a bit of the way, as a complete total of six combined points stand between Stanford being undefeated and where they currently stand. An overtime loss at USC. Some late struggles on the road at Cal. These are manageable miscues to build off.

8. UCLA Bruins (10-10, 3-4)

Mick Cronin is beginning to mold pieces of this roster on a game-by-game basis into something that he can be successful with. The Bruins are becoming comfortable in a grind-it-out style and simply put, UCLA hasn’t lost when they’ve held an opponent under 65 points. Defense wins.

9. California Golden Bears (9-10, 3-3)

Another first-year head coach pushing his team every night, Mark Fox is getting there with this group. Finally. Better late than never. The Golden Bears were on the verge of a handful of breakthrough moments and their last-minute victory over Stanford proved this team’s meddle.

10. Washington Huskies (12-9, 2-6)

Five of their last six games have been losses. For a team that averages 63.4 points allowed per contest, a mark that puts them 46th in the land, how Washington is 2-6 in league play is a mystery. The Huskies will be a higher-seeded group that nobody will want to see in post-season action.

11. Oregon State Beavers (12-8, 2-6)

Losers of their last four straight and five of their own last six, the wheels are really coming off the wagon for the Beavers. The early noise surrounding head coach Wayne Tinkle has begun once again, leaving many to wonder what exactly is the next step for this Beavers program?

12. Washington State Cougars (12-9, 3-5)

The last team in our Power Rankings owns a win over the first ranked team because as always, the Pac-12 standings mean a whole lot of nothing in the chaotic swirl of the league picture. The Cougars have a three-game home-stand upcoming that may or may not help their cause.