USC replaced UCLA as the Pac-12's only team in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday after clobbering the Bruins 66-48 on Saturday.
Colorado, however, sat just outside with the 26th most votes after beating Arizona 82-79 on Saturday in Boulder. UCLA picked up the 29th most votes.
FWIW, I had USC at 19 and UCLA at 24 on my ballot. Colorado has a comparable profile to UCLA's but has lost to the Bruins and is 1.5 games behind them in the conference standings.
USC's Evan Mobley could win both the Pac-12 Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week awards later Monday after leading the Trojans in wins over Stanford and UCLA. Mobley had 23 points and 11 rebounds, plus two blocks in the final 1:18 against Stanford and had nine points, nine rebounds, four blocks and three assists against UCLA -- making an impact even though he took only six shots.
Among his top competitors for the Player of the Week award is Colorado's Evan Battey, who had 21 points on 7-for-9 field-goal shooting and 7-for-7 free-throw shooting in the Buffs' win over Arizona, including four free throws in the final 15 seconds.
Arizona nominated Azuolas Tubelis for both awards after he averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the Wildcats' losses at Utah and Colorado.
While Arizona has opted out of the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats have now entered the range of where they might not be invited anyway. After losing at Utah and Colorado, Arizona is ranked No. 44 in the NET, 47 in Sagarin, and 39 in Kenpom.
The Wildcats have only one Quadrant 1 win, at home over Colorado on Dec. 28, and has since lost to the Buffaloes at Boulder, though they'll likely have two more Quad 1 opportunities at UCLA and USC next week and maybe if their postponed road game at Oregon is rescheduled to be played in Eugene.
