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ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 8 Power Rankings

By Trevor Booth

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 21: The Arizona State Sun Devils display the championship trophy after defeating the Utah State Aggies, 87-82 in the MGM Resorts Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 21: The Arizona State Sun Devils display the championship trophy after defeating the Utah State Aggies, 87-82 in the MGM Resorts Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 22: Kaleb Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dribbles the ball while being guarded by Moses Brown #1 and Cody Riley #2 of the UCLA Bruins in the first half during the CBS Sports Classic at the United Center on December 22, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 22: Kaleb Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dribbles the ball while being guarded by Moses Brown #1 and Cody Riley #2 of the UCLA Bruins in the first half during the CBS Sports Classic at the United Center on December 22, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

5. UCLA Bruins (7-5) LW: 3

Since starting the year ranked in the preseason Associated Press Poll, coach Steve Alford has watched his team spiral downward at a rate that’s shown no signs of slowing down in the foreseeable future.

The Bruins picked up a big win on Dec. 8  against Notre Dame and it looked like that game might be the one to pull them out of their funk. Then came three straight losses to Belmont, Cincinnati, and most recently Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic.

Sophomore wing Kris Wilkes has continued to be outstanding for UCLA through this point in the season as he seems to be the only consistent source of offense in Westwood.

Besides Wilkes, averaging 17.1 points per game, the Bruins only have two other players who find their scoring output in the double-digits. Those players are sophomore guard Jaylen Hands with 11.8 points per game and freshman center Moses Brown at 11.6 points per game.

Hands is coming off of a very promising freshman season with the Bruins, and so far, he is averaging more points and assists than last year. But he has been plagued by turnovers, committing 35 through 12 games. The next closest player is Brown with 20.

UCLA will get the chance to relax and unwind over the holiday before they will close out non-conference play in Pauley Pavilion against the Liberty Flames.

The Bruins have the potential to catch fire and be dangerous in the Pac-12. However, they are running out of time to fix what is going wrong.

– Wilkinson 

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