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If the first set of Pac-12 women’s basketball games is any indication of what’s ahead, buckle up for a wildly unpredictable ride.

In early rivalry games, Washington awoke offensively to upset Washington State, and Oregon State led with only three minutes remaining before taking a loss at No. 16-ranked Oregon.

Certainly, No. 2 Stanford could remain above the fray and extend its 34-game Pac-12 winning streak. But going unscathed in a now-18-game conference season will prove challenging — even for the Cardinal — in a Pac-12 where unranked teams are dangerous.

The Pac-12’s combined record in non-conference play is 90-16, still a national-best 84.9 winning percentage. The major caveat, though, is its record against Associated Press top-25 teams, which dropped to 3-8 last week when Arizona lost 77-50 at home to Kansas.

(The Wildcats fell eight spots in the AP poll, to No. 20.)

Overall, the Pac-12 is 2-7 against teams in this week’s AP rankings. There are multiple opportunities to improve that mark with three nationally televised showdowns on Sunday.

Utah and USC are among the 12 remaining undefeated Division I teams.

Here are the Hotline’s sixth women’s basketball power ratings, which include updated NET rankings. Two teams moved up and two down.

1. Stanford (10-1)

Last week: 1Results: DNPNext up: vs. Tennessee (Sunday)NET ranking: 2Comment: After a 13-day break for final exams, the Cardinal return to face Tennessee (6-5) on national television (ABC). The Lady Vols are without 6-foot-6 Tamari Key, who’s out for the rest of the season due to blood clots in her lungs. Tennessee is 1-1 against the Pac-12, losing to UCLA and beating Colorado.

2. UCLA (9-1)

Last week: 2Results: beat Cal State Fullerton 64-41Next up: at USC (Thursday)NET ranking: 21Comment: The 10th-ranked Bruins are back in the AP top 10 for the first time since the end of the 2020-21 season. Christine Iwuala is the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after returning from a two-game injury absence to score 10 points and grab eight rebounds.

3. Utah (8-0)

Last week: 3Results: beat Brigham Young 76-59Next up: vs. Colorado (Wednesday)NET ranking: 6Comment: At No. 13, Utah has its highest AP ranking since 2008, when the Utes reached No. 12. Alissa Pili has consecutive 28-point games and is third nationally in field goal percentage (69.9). The Utes are second nationally in scoring (94.4 ppg).

4. Oregon (7-1/1-0 Pac-12)

Last week: 4Results: beat Oregon State 75-67Next up: vs. Eastern Washington (Thursday)NET ranking: 17Comment: The Ducks outscored Oregon State 22-7 over the final 5:30 and were led to victory by Endyia Rogers, who scored a career-high 34 points and added nine rebounds and six assists. Rogers, a senior guard, is the Pac-12 Player of the Week and No. 1 nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (57.1).

5. Arizona (7-1)

Last week: 5Results: lost to Kansas 77-50Next up: vs. Texas Southern (Wednesday)NET ranking: 34Comment: UA coach Adia Barnes described the wake-up loss to undefeated Kansas as “probably what we needed” to improve. KU had a 51-31 rebounding edge, including 15 by Taiyanna Jackson. Arizona’s strength of schedule was the lowest in the Pac-12 (No. 307) before playing Kansas and is now No. 164. After facing Texas Southern, the Wildcats get No. 18 Baylor in Dallas.

6. Oregon State (6-3/0-1)

Last week: 7Results: lost to Oregon 75-67Next up: vs. Nevada (Saturday)NET ranking: 53Comment: The Beavers’ losses are to No. 12 Iowa, No. 16 Oregon and Duke. They get another crack at a ranked team this week, playing No. 11 LSU in Hawaii on Sunday. Oregon State hopes soon to have 6-foot-3 freshman Timea Gardiner available. Even given the loss to Oregon, the Beavers move up one spot in our power ratings.

7. Washington State (7-2/0-1)

Last week: 6Results: beat Portland 69-63, lost to Washington 82-66Next up: vs. Jackson State (Saturday)NET ranking: 59Comment: The Cougars drop down one place after being outscored in all four quarters by Washington. Still, Charlisse Leger-Walker had a career-high 40 points, one shy of the school record set by Jenni Ruff in 1996. Leger-Walker was 7-of-12 from 3-point range. Her teammates combined for just 26 points against the Huskies.

8. Colorado (8-2)

Last week: 8Results: beat Southern Utah 78-48Next up: at Utah (Wednesday)NET ranking: 36Comment: With a No. 296 strength of schedule (lowest in the conference), assessing the Buffs is challenging — and that makes the Utah game potentially revealing. In ESPN’s NCAA Tournament bracketology, Washington State, Colorado and USC are on the wrong side of the bubble.

9. USC (9-0)

Last week: 9Results: DNPNext up: vs. UCLA (Thursday)NET ranking: 33Comment: For USC, too, the strength of schedule (No. 240) is a mitigating factor in evaluating its best start since the 2018-19 season. That changes this week when the Trojans — with the fifth-highest NET ranking in the conference — not only host UCLA but play Texas in Dallas.

10. Washington (8-1/1-0)

Last week: 11Results: beat Washington State 82-66Next up: vs. Liberty (Sunday)NET ranking: 89Comment: For the Huskies to have five double-figure scorers against Washington State was a revelation. Lauren Schwartz led the way with 21 points. Washington, which moved up one spot, is off to its best start since the 2016-17 season, when senior guard Kelsey Plum was the National Player of the Year.

11. Arizona State (6-4)

Last week: 10Results: lost to Stephen F. Austin 75-60Next up: vs. Prairie View A&M (Saturday)NET ranking: 119Comment: ASU drops another place after suffering its third consecutive loss while operating for a second straight game with just seven scholarship players. The Sun Devils led at half against Missouri and Stephen F. Austin but couldn’t close out either game. Their strength of schedule (No. 61) is the second-best in the Pac-12. But for now, that’s a drag on a short-handed team.

12. California (7-2)

Last week: 12Results: beat Pacific 83-66Next up: vs. UC San Diego (Friday)NET ranking: 85Comment: Utah transfer Kemery Martin had a career-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, against Pacific. She and Colorado transfer Peanut Tuitele are taking some of the scoring load off Jayda Curry by creating more balance.


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*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.

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