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ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 18 Power Rankings

By Trevor Booth

TEMPE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 31: Zylan Cheatham #45 of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts during the second half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at Wells Fargo Arena on January 31, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 31: Zylan Cheatham #45 of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts during the second half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at Wells Fargo Arena on January 31, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 05: Darius McNeill #1 of the California Golden Bears drives down the court against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at Pauley Pavilion on January 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 05: Darius McNeill #1 of the California Golden Bears drives down the court against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at Pauley Pavilion on January 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) /

11. California Golden Bears (7-22, 2-15) LW: 12

If you had California winning a Pac-12 regular season game, congratulations. But if you genuinely believed the Golden Bears would knock off Washington, go buy a Powerball ticket.

Cal, the league’s last winless team, stunned the Huskies, which, prior to Thursday, had not lost a conference game. But then, coach Wyking Jones played with house money and came away with a sweep, knocking off Washington State too.

To beat UW, Cal picked the perfect time to have its best shooting night of the season. Knocking down nearly 56 percent of its attempts, the Huskies defense looked out of sync, forcing only 11 turnovers.

Sophomores Justice Sueing and Darius McNeill as well as freshman Connor Vanover combined for 51 of the team’s 76 points. Vanover (18) continually found space in the short corner and underneath the basket while Sueing (14) and McNeill (19) spaced the floor with six total 3-pointers and tenaciously attacked the heart of the Huskies’ 2-3 zone.

Against WSU, both teams shot below 50 percent, but the Golden Bears’ defense propelled them to their first sweep since Feb. 2017. The Cougars turned the ball over 20 times, turning into 28 points for Cal.

In what’s been a mediocre season at best, Cal avoided further notoriety with the two league wins and has a bit of confidence going into its regular-season finale against Stanford.

Though Cal is not expected to be much of a threat in Las Vegas, late-season wins could be enough momentum to help them play spoiler.

– Zach Pekale 

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