It is early in the Pac-12 season, but a separation amid the teams already exists.
The ASU women’s basketball team is in the middle of the pack, and it is up to them to decide where they want to end up.
Here is where the Pac-12 women’s basketball teams rank at this point in the season.
1. Stanford Cardinal (17-1, 8-0 Pac-12)
This is an easy one. Simply enough, no one has played better basketball than the Cardinal.
There are very few teams playing better than Stanford in the country. The Cardinal is ranked No. 4 in the country according to the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The team’s only loss this year was to No. 3 Connecticut.
So far, Stanford has had no problem with conference competition, beating everyone in its path. The team has only had two close wins against USC and Oregon State.
Stanford has a tough matchup this weekend against rival Cal. Anything can happen in a rivalry game.
However, it is safe to say the Cardinal will maintain their No. 1 position in the Pac-12 throughout the season.
2. USC Trojans (10-7, 5-2 Pac-12)
After losing several players to injury, including senior guard Jacki Gemelos, the Trojans could have packed it in this season.
They tripped up in preseason play, losing five games to non-conference teams. However, the team came into Pac-12 play ready to prove themselves.
After losing to Stanford, USC went on a five-game tear, winning three games on the road.
Senior guard Ashley Corral took over the leadership role and stepped up to the challenge. She leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game.
3. Cal Bears (15-5, 6-2 Pac-12)
Cal faces a huge contest this weekend. With a win against Stanford, they could upset their conference rival and climb to the top of the conference.
This will be no easy task, but the Bears had a strong year and have shown they can hang with tough competition.
After sweeping the Oregon schools, as well as Colorado and Utah, the Bears are ready to prove themselves against Stanford.
4. UCLA Bruins (8-10, 3-4 Pac-12)
UCLA’s losing record might not show it, but the Bruins can play.
Heading into the Pac-12 season, the Bruins lost four in a row. It looked like the team was going to be an easy win for conference opponents.
The team began the Pac-12 season by upsetting Cal and beating ASU, showing they are not a team to be looked over.
5. Oregon State Beavers (12-7, 3-5 Pac-12)
The Beavers became the bounce-back team of the year.
The Beavers underwent a controversial coaching change and, over the past few years, have seen several key players transfer. This season could have been easily labeled as a rebuilding year.
The Beavers did not want it to be that way, and coach Scott Rueck has done amazing job turning the team around.
The Beavers had only two loses going into Pac-12 play, then the team turned heads by beating ASU, Washington and upsetting USC.
6. ASU Sun Devils (13-5, 4-3 Pac-12)
Coming into Pac-12 play, the Sun Devils had only lost two games to ranked opponents in interim coach Joseph Anders’ season.
After dominating rival UA, the Sun Devils went on a three-game skid due to offensive woes.
After the Oregon State loss, the team got behind their No. 2 ranked Pac-12 defense and won three straight. The Sun Devils are peaking at the right time.
7. Washington State Cougars (9-10, 3-4 Pac-12)
The new year energized the Washington State team.
WSU rolled through their initial competition in the conference, winning three games in a row. They proved that a trip to Pullman was not an easy win.
The competition in the conference caught up with them and the Cougars lost four in a row.
The Cougars face off against ASU and UA this weekend, looking to turn things around.
8. Colorado Buffaloes (14-4, 3-4 Pac-12)
When the Buffaloes visited Tempe, they did not look like a team that had won 10 games this season.
The Buffaloes struggled to adapt to the conference change so far, losing four conference games.
9. Oregon Ducks (11-9, 3-5 Pac-12)
The Ducks are the second highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 70.5 points per game.
However, ASU showed the Ducks could be stopped. Teams in the Pac-12 have either stopped them this season, like ASU who held them to 53 points, or teams like Cal and Stanford showed that they can outscore them, with each team putting up 90 points or more.
10. UA Wildcats (13-6, 2-5 Pac-12)
In ASU’s first game of the Pac-12 season, they routed the Wildcats in Tempe.
Since that point, it has not been much better for the Wildcats. UA has only won two games since, beating OSU and upsetting UCLA.
The Wildcats missed sophomore guard Candice Warthen early in the Pac-12 season due to injury. She has returned to the court in limited minutes and should be a larger force the healthier she gets.
With the Wildcats season on the slide, their matchup at the end of the year against ASU in Tucson means more and more.
11. Washington Huskies (10-7, 2-5 Pac-12)
Washington has had no trouble shooting the three this season. They are tied for the highest 3-point percentage in the Pac-12 at 34.3 percent.
With the Huskies, it has been a story of living and dying by the three.
In their last victory, the Huskies shot 34.8 percent to beat rival WSU. In their last loss to Stanford, they only made 28.6 percent from behind the arc.
12. Utah Utes (9-9, 2-5 Pac-12)
The Utes have had a hard time changing conferences this season, despite solid performances by sophomore forward Michelle Plouffe, who averages 14.6 points per game.
The Utes have only two conference wins and are looking to change things around.
With their games against USC and UCLA approaching, the Utes will try and get some victories to climb out of the bottom of the Pac-12.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
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