INSIDE PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL PODCAST:
The Inside Pac-12 Men's Basketball Podcast hosted by Mike Yam provides a new level of detail and nuanced insight into all things Pac-12 hoops, deep-diving into current conference play, Pac-12 alumni in the NBA, professional potential of current Pac-12 student-athletes, and much more. All-time Pac-12 scoring leader Don MacLean offers a unique perspective on the collegiate and professional basketball landscapes, stories from his career, and projections on student-athletes around the conference.

 

#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE:
4 x NET 25 - As of Jan. 28, the Pac-12 boasts four teams ranked inside the top 25 - ARIZONA, OREGON,  COLORADO, STANFORD - of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) - tied for the second-most in the nation.
• The Pac-12 also has six top-50 NET teams, the third-most nationally, and eight top-75 NET teams.
• Based on current NET rankings, Pac-12 programs have a combined 68 Quadrant 1 and 37 Quadrant 2 opportunities remaining in the regular season, including 12 Q1 and eight Q2 chances this week.

 

5 - According to the Jan. 28 Bracket Matrix, five Pac-12 teams are currently projected for 2020 NCAA Tournament berths along with two others receiving votes.

 

9 x Top 25 - COLORADO climbed to a season-high tying No. 20 in this week’s AP Top 25, setting a new program record with its ninth weekly appearance this season. The Buffaloes’ previous mark of eight weeks occurred in the 1996-97 season.
• No. 11 OREGON has appeared in all 13 polls this season, one shy of the second-most in program history (14 - 2006-07; 19 - 2016-17).

 

31-11 - Pac-12 home teams have compiled a 31-11 record so far in Conference play. It is currently the third-most difficult league to win on the road (Summit - 26-8 home record; Big Ten - 48-15).
• There have been six overtime games (seven total OT periods) through 42-of-108 league contests. The league’s single-season record is 13 OT games.

 

2,050 - OREGON STATE senior and Wooden Award Midseason Watch List member Tres Tinkle enters the week with 2,050 career points, which ranks 12th all-time in Conference history. Within striking distance this week are #11 Chris Welp (2,073; WASH, 1984-87), #10 Ron Lee (2,085; ORE, 1973-76), and #8 Reggie Miller (2,095; UCLA, 1984-87) and Jason Kapono (2,095; UCLA, 2000-03).
• Tinkle is also tied for 66th on the Conference’s career rebounds list (808) and is on pace to become only the fifth member of the league’s 2,000-point, 900-rebound club (Lew Alcindor-UCLA, Don MacLean-UCLA, Adam Keefe-STAN, Chris Welp-WASH).

 

PAC-12 TIPOFF:
ALL 12 WITH 2: It marks the earliest point in a season in a decade that all league teams have at least two Conference wins (1/14/10). This after the league saw all 12 teams secure a Conference win at the earliest point since expansion to an 18-game schedule in 1978-79 (1/9/20).

DISHING DUCK: OREGON senior and Wooden Award Midseason Watch List member Payton Pritchard enters the week with 609 career assists, 13th-most in Conference history and 27 shy of entering the league’s all-time top 10.
• Pritchard is the first player in Pac-12 men’s basketball history to reach 1,500 points (1,717), 600 assists and 500 rebounds (507) in a career.

REMY MARTIN 20: ARIZONA STATE’s Remy Martin is tied for the nation’s longest streak of 20-point games at seven, most recently 24 in the Sun Devils’ 22-point  comeback victory over ARIZONA last week.
• Martin is the first Conference player to open league play with six 20-point games since at least 1996-97.

A TROJAN ODYSSEY: USC opened league play 5-2 with five of its opening seven games on the road. Since Christmas, the Trojans have climbed 36 spots to No. 40 in the latest NET rankings.
• USC is 1-of-4 major conference teams with 5-or-more true road victories (Baylor, Kansas, Seton Hall) and subsequently ranks highly in results-based metrics ESPN Strength of Record (21) and KPI (22).

GETTING DEFENSIVE: As of Jan. 28, the Pac-12 has six teams ranked inside the top 50 in KenPom’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, tied for the second-most of any conference.
• In the KenPom Era dating back to 2001-02, the league has only once finished a season with six top-50 teams in AdjD (2013-14).

ROAD SWEEPS: As the opening weeks of Conference play have illustrated, road sweeps have proven difficult - none so far in 2019-20 and just 52 in total in 402 tries since the Pac-12 expanded for 2011-12.
• For the first time since expansion to the Pac-12, there were no January road sweeps in league play.

TRACKING LEAGUE PLAY: Through 42 league games as of Jan. 28, the average scoring margin is 12.4 points.
• 20 games have been decided by single digits
• 7 games has been decided by one possession (3 pts. or less)
• 6 overtime games (7 total OT periods)