Pac-12 MBB power rankings: Gonzaga, Utah State on top as conference executives plot schedule and strategy for next season
Welcome to the latest installment of the Hotline’s Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings, our weekly assessment of a conference that doesn’t exist (yet) using results, analytics and a dash of common sense. The power rankings will be published each Monday through the end of the regular season. Here is last week’s edition.
The new Pac-12’s governing board met last week with a full agenda and football matters, particularly the 2026 schedule, at the heart of the discussion.
Basketball’s secondary role was due, in part, to the existence of logistical clarity:
— Las Vegas is the overwhelming favorite, for example, to host the men’s and women’s tournaments. Staging the events elsewhere is effectively a non-starter on multiple levels.
— Given the existence of nine basketball schools, Pac-12 executives know there will be a 16-game, round-robin conference schedule.
— The NCAA rule change expanding the regular season to a maximum of 32 games will allow each Pac-12 team to schedule as many as 16 non-conference dates.
But there is at least one outstanding issue for conference and campus officials to sort out: When will the round-robin conference season begin and end?
Let’s use the 2026-27 calendar to illustrate.
There are 11 Saturdays from early January to Selection Sunday. That’s enough time for 20 conference games, playing two per week, and a weekend for the Pac-12 tournament.
Even if the conference opted to stage the tournament a week earlier than the power conference, as the West Coast Conference has done for years, there would be enough calendar space for 18 conference games (at two per week).
With 16 games, the Pac-12 could start conference play the first weekend in January and end early.
Or it could delay the start of conference play and end just in time for the tournament to wrap up before Selection Sunday.
Or it could start the round robin early and end on the late side, thereby creating gaps that would allow for non-conference matchups to be sprinkled throughout January and February.
If the Pac-12 opens conference play on the first weekend in January 2027 and ends the first weekend in March, mirroring the calendar currently used by the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, it would have enough space for the 16-game round robin and four non-conference matchups per team (assuming two games per week).
Would all nine teams play four out-of-league games in that span? No chance.
Odds are, nobody would play four. But several might play one or two.
In fact, we have an example coming up. On Feb. 14, Utah State will host Memphis in the first half of a home-and-home series, with the Aggies playing in Memphis in early 2027.
It’s easy to see Gonzaga and San Diego State scheduling similar series with top teams from the American or Big East.
Non-conference matchups later in the season would provide teams with opportunities to strengthen their NCAA Tournament resumes.
They would break up the routine of league play for teams and fans alike.
And the Pac-12’s media partners would undoubtedly be interested in premier post-Super Bowl inventory, especially CBS, which could promote the games against the backdrop of its March Madness coverage.
(The weekend before the selection committee’s annual early reveal of the top 16 seeds seems perfect for a few high-level non-conference matchups.)
And when non-conference games don’t fill the gaps in the January-March calendar, Pac-12 teams could play one game in a given week. The rest would help players refresh for the stretch run.
As is the case with the football schedule — which has yet to be finalized, by the way — the Pac-12 should be as flexible and creative as possible on the basketball side.
There could be opportunities to turn its 16-game round-robin schedule into an advantage.
To the power rankings …
(Results and NET rankings through Sunday)
1. Gonzaga (22-1)
Results: beat Saint Mary’s 73-65
NET ranking: No. 5
Comment: The morning after Gonzaga’s final non-conference game, the Zags were No. 5 in the NET rankings. More than halfway through their WCC schedule, they remain fifth. If they manage to hold that position, which might not require a perfect record in conference play, a top seed in the NCAA Tournament could follow. (Previous: 1)
2. Utah State (18-3)
Results: beat Wyoming 94-62 and San Diego State 71-66
NET ranking: No. 26
Comment: The Aggies are two victories away from securing 20 wins for the seventh time in the past eight years (with four coaches). And they are seven victories away from their fourth consecutive 25-win season (with three coaches). The way things are headed, they might have another new coach next season. (Previous: 3)
3. San Diego State (15-6)
Results: beat Colorado State 73-50, lost at Utah State 71-66
NET ranking: No. 45
Comment: Losing in Logan counts as a Quadrant I result and won’t become a lasting stain on the Aztecs’ resume. The more pressing issue: Their single Quadrant I win and the paucity of opportunities down the stretch to increase that total. (Previous: 2)
4. Boise State (13-9)
Results: won at San Jose State 89-58, lost at Grand Canyon 86-69
NET ranking: No. 61
Comment: A four-game losing streak in early January gave way to a four-game winning streak in the middle of the month. Will the loss at GCU spark another downturn? The upcoming schedule, which features Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV and Utah State, isn’t exactly soft. (Previous: 4)
5. Washington State (11-13)
Results: beat Seattle 70-58 and Portland 104-74
NET ranking: No. 131
Comment: We view the Cougars as better positioned for football success in the Pac-12 than their partner in the rebuild, Oregon State, thanks largely to campus leadership. They have an edge on the court, as well. We like what David Riley has done through his season-and-a-half in charge. (Previous: 5)
6. Oregon State (12-12)
Results: won at LMU 72-69 and San Diego 78-76 (OT)
NET ranking: No. 203
Comment: When was the last time the Beavers won back-to-back road games, regardless of their conference affiliation? If you guessed sometime in the mid-1990s, that would be incorrect. They beat Pepperdine and San Diego on the road in the span of three days late last season. (Previous: 6)
7. Fresno State (10-11)
Results: won at Air Force 79-62
NET ranking: No. 141
Comment: The Bulldogs are winning the games they’re supposed to win in Year 2 under Vance Walberg, which is the first step in any major rebuilding endeavor. Whether they start winning the games they aren’t supposed to win is an endeavor that can be adjudicated fairly next season. (Previous: 7)
8. Colorado State (12-10)
Results: lost at San Diego State 73-50 and Wyoming 68-57
NET ranking: No. 100
Comment: Even in a best-case scenario, the Rams will finish with five or six fewer wins than they had last season, which is more a credit to departed coach Niko Medved and less an indictment of his replacement, Ali Farokhmanesh. But either way, the backslide is substantial. And noticeable. (Previous: 8)
9. Texas State (13-11)
Results: beat Marshall 72-68 and Old Dominion 81-64
NET ranking: No. 267
Comment: The Bobcats are 5-1 at home in Sun Belt play but 1-5 on the road. And it’s not like the travel will get any easier next season. (Previous: 9)
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