Mike Christy
#PAC12MBB STARTING FIVE
24-3 – Pac-12 Men’s Basketball enjoyed arguably the best opening week of any conference in college basketball, posting a national-best 24-3 mark (.889) over the first seven days of the season.
2 – The sport’s marquee victory of opening week came from ARIZONA, which scored a 78-73 road upset of then No. 2 Duke. The Wildcats were subsequently named National Team of the Week by NCAA.com and ESPN.
3 – Included in the Pac-12’s 24-3 start are three victories over Power Conference opponents, all of them away from home.
3 x 25 – With COLORADO entering at No. 25 this week, the Pac-12 has three AP Top 25 teams (#3 Arizona, #16 USC) for the first time since the Dec. 19, 2022 poll.
26 – The schedule difficulty increases with the start of Feast Week multi-team events (MTEs) part of the Conference’s 26 games over the next week.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE VICTORIES
AP TOP 25 OPPONENTS (1-0)#12 ARIZONA 78, at Duke 73
POWER 6 OPPONENTS (3-1)OREGON 82, Georgia 71 (Las Vegas)#21 USC 82, Kansas State 69 (Las Vegas)#12 ARIZONA 78, at Duke 73
2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS (4-2)#21 USC 82, Kansas State 69 (Las Vegas)at WASHINGTON 75, Northern Kentucky 67#12 ARIZONA 78, at #2 Duke 73at ARIZONA STATE 63, Texas Southern 52
PAC-12 AWARDS CANDIDATES
JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEARWATCH LISTOumar Ballo, ArizonaTristan da Silva, ColoradoN’Faly Dante, OregonAdem Bona, UCLAIsaiah Collier, USCBoogie Ellis, USC
NAISMITH NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEARWATCH LISTOumar Ballo, ArizonaCaleb Love, ArizonaTristan da Silva, ColoradoAdem Bona, UCLAIsaiah Collier, USCBoogie Ellis, USC
NAISMITH MEMORIAL HALL OF FAME AWARDS Watch Lists
Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Isaiah Collier, USC
Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Caleb Love, Arizona Boogie Ellis, USC
Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Jaylon Tyson, California
Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Keshad Johnson, Arizona Tristan da Silva, Colorado Adem Bona, UCLA
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Oumar Ballo, Arizona N’Faly Dante, Oregon Aday Mara, UCLA Branden Carlson, Utah
PAC-12 MEDIA PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE First Team Oumar Ballo, R-Sr., C, Arizona Adem Bona, So., F/C, UCLA Keion Brooks Jr., Gr., F, Washington Branden Carlson, Gr., C, Utah Isaiah Collier, Fr., G, USC N’Faly Dante, Sr., C, Oregon Tristan da Silva, Sr., F, Colorado Boogie Ellis, 5th, G, USC Spencer Jones, 5th, F, Stanford KJ Simpson, Jr., G, Colorado
Second Team Fardaws Aimaq, 6th, F, California Kylan Boswell, So., G, Arizona Kobe Johnson, Jr., G, USC Caleb Love, Sr., G, Arizona Jordan Pope, So., G, Oregon State
Honorable Mention Kwame Evans Jr. (Fr., ORE), Pelle Larsson (Sr., ARIZ), Aday Mara (Fr., UCLA), Cody Williams (Fr., COLO). – Pac-12.com –