ASU basketball bested Arizona for the first time in four years. But as the conference season reaches the midpoint, Washington has created a gap at the top.
As Bobby Hurley entered his fourth season at Arizona State, there were plenty of ‘firsts’ he likely wanted to achieve. Of each, a first win against Arizona was probable to be at the top of the list.
He attained that goal Thursday, as the Sun Devils used a 95-88 overtime win over their rivals to improve to 6-3 in Pac-12 play. ASU is now tied with Oregon State and USC for second in the league standings, making its last nine games crucial for tournament seeding in Las Vegas and beyond.
However, the Sun Devils may not be able to catch who lies above them, the Washington Huskies. At 9-0, Mike Hopkins’ squad is distinct from the rest of the Pac, and it showed no sign of slowing down in double-digit victories over USC and UCLA.
This week, the Sun Devils will face the Huskies in Tempe, where we will see if the Pac-12 crown can be stolen from Seattle. If not, everyone just may be fighting for second place.
Currently, teams ranked two through nine are separated by two games. That means Stanford, who scraped by Cal last week, and Arizona, who has lost three straight, still have a chance at a bye in the conference tournament.
As disappointing as the Pac-12 may have been in the non-conference season, we should be in for an exciting finish in the last nine games. At the midway point of league action, here’s where each team stands in our Conference Power Rankings.