Arizona women’s basketball stays put at No. 4 in AP Top 25

Arizona women’s basketball played just one game instead of two last week. The Wildcats found themselves leapfrogged in the standings by a team they had already defeated but were able to keep their place in the Top 5 of the Associated Press Top 25. Arizona remained at No. 4 this week.

There was a chance that the Wildcats could move up. North Carolina State, which held the No. 2 position last week, lost to Georgia and dropped to No. 5. While Stanford moved up to No. 2, Arizona did not follow the Cardinal. Instead, the voters put Louisville in the No. 3 spot after its win over Connecticut.

The Wildcats and Cardinal are in the Top 5, but no other Pac-12 teams are in the Top 25 this week. Colorado is the only other team receiving votes from the media. The Buffaloes are the first team on the “others receiving votes” list, but they are 14 points behind No. 25 North Carolina.

Oregon saw the returns of Nyara Sabally and Endyia Rogers this week, but the team still lost to Kansas State by 12 on the road. The Ducks, who were picked by the media and coaches to finish second in the league, now stand at 6-4 with one more nonconference game to play before the Pac-12 season starts.

Like Arizona, the UCLA women are currently in COVID-19 protocols. The team that started the season ranked ahead of the Wildcats and was picked to finish third canceled their final three nonconference games. The Bruins are set to resume play on Tuesday, Dec. 28 against USC when they hope to improve on a 5-3 record.

The Oregon State Beavers are the other team that has not lived up to the preseason rankings when they were selected to finish fourth in the Pac-12. They won both of their games in Hawai’i last week, defeating an overmatched Idaho and a solid Northern Iowa. That lifts them to 7-3, but they have only faced one team while it was ranked this season and they dropped that game.

Most of the league is still situated fairly well according to the NET, which should help once Selection Sunday rolls around. Five league teams are currently in the top 30 of the NET with Oregon, Utah, and Colorado joining Stanford and Arizona. Those teams would provide their Pac-12 foes with quad one opponents no matter where the games are played. Arizona State at No. 42 provides at least a quad-two opportunity.

The Pac-12 slate starts the week after Christmas.