College Hoops Out West: Oregon Ducks Crack Top 10
The latest AP College Basketball Top 25 Poll shows two teams from the PAC 12 in the top ten. The Arizona Wildcats check in at #8 in this week’s poll, dropping two spots from a week ago after losing at home to the UCLA Bruins. The Cats rebounded on Saturday with a 74-50 win over the USC Trojans. Nick Johnson led the Wildcats with 14 points in the win over the Trojans that improved the Wildcats record to 17-2 and 5-2 in the PAC 12. The Wildcats are two games behind in the PAC 12 race. Arizona will go on the road to Washington on Thursday.
The team that leads them by two games is the new #10 Oregon Ducks. The Ducks ran their record to 18-2 and 7-0 in the PAC 12 when they beat the Washington Huskies on Saturday despite not having starting point guard Dominic Artis, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury. E.J. Singler led the Ducks with 18 points in the win. The Ducks have now won nine in a row and will face the Stanford Cardinal on Wednesday.
The Mountain West Conference is well represented in the top 25. The New Mexico Lobos check in at #20 with a record of 17-3 and 4-1 in the MWC. They are coming off a real stinker in their last game when they lost to the San Diego State Aztecs 55-43. Kendall Williams led them with 14 points but got no help from anyone else in the loss. The Lobos will face the Wyoming Cowboys on the road on Wednesday.
The Aztecs are in at #22 after their win over the Lobos. They were led by J.J. O’Brien with 12 points and Jamal Franklin with 10 as they improved to 16-4, 4-2. They will visit the Air Force Falcons on Saturday in their next game.
In the West Coast Conference, the Gonzaga Bulldogs check in at #7 after their win over the San Francisco Dons 66-52 on Saturday. Kelly Olynyk led the Bulldogs with 13 points while Elias Harris added 12 and Kevin Pangos 11 as they ran their record to 19-2 and 6-0. The Bulldogs will visit the Loyola Marymount Lions on Thursday.
The other teams out west to receive votes include the UNLV Running Rebels at #27, the UCLA Bruins at #29, The Arizona State Sun Devils at #30 and the St. Mary’s Gaels at #40. 41 teams in all received at least one vote.
