The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection that includes the Mountain West and the former Pac-12 schools now scattered across the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and West Coast Conference.
The rankings will be published on the Hotline weekly throughout the regular season.
(Results through Monday)
1. UCLA (11-1/1-0 Big Ten)
Results: beat Cal Poly 115-28 and Long Beach State 106-44 NET ranking: No. 4 Up next: at Ohio State (Sunday) Comment: UCLA is tracking toward a second consecutive Final Four appearance and could be the only team in the West to host a sub-regional. The fourth-ranked Bruins’ only loss was to No. 2 Texas 76-65 on Nov. 26. They were missing 6-foot-3 Timea Gardiner and 6-foot-4 freshman Sienna Betts against the Longhorns.
2. USC (9-3/1-0 Big Ten)
Results: beat Cal Poly 86-39 and Cal 61-57 (neutral court) NET ranking: No. 23 Up next: at Nebraska (Monday) Comment: No. 17 USC is playing without star JuJu Watkins, who is still rehabbing from an ACL tear suffered in March. Freshman Jazzy Davidson is filling some of the gap with a team-high 16.8 points per game. The Trojans’ losses are to No. 1 Connecticut, No. 3 South Carolina and No. 20 Notre Dame.
3. Stanford (11-2/1-0 ACC)
Results: beat Washington 67-62 and Oregon 64-53 (neutral court) NET ranking: No. 31 Up next: vs. Cornell (Sunday) Comment: Stanford gets the edge over Oregon thanks to a head-to-head win Sunday at Chase Center in San Francisco and a preceding win over then-No. 22 Washington. The Cardinal is bouncing back from a 16-15, NCAA Tournament-less season in its second year under coach Kate Paye.
4. Oregon (12-2/0-1 Big Ten)
Results: beat Portland 85-59, lost to Stanford 64-53 (neutral court) NET ranking: No. 24 Up next: vs. Michigan (Monday) Comment: Oregon’s strength of schedule is a respectable No. 59, and the Ducks won at Auburn in late November. But in losses to No. 4 UCLA and Stanford, as well as in the Auburn victory, they scored less than 60 points. Forward Mia Jacobs is an important addition as a transfer from Fresno State.
5. Arizona State (14-0/1-0 Big 12)
Results: won at Gonzaga 68-66, beat Colorado 79-63 NET ranking: No. 42 Up next: at Utah (Dec. 31) Comment: ASU is off to the best start in school history under new coach Molly Miller and is one win from tying its record for most consecutive victories. Miller’s 2024-25 team at Grand Canyon won 30 straight games before losing to Baylor in the NCAA Tournament. ASU was a combined 29-62 in the previous three seasons.
6. Washington (10-2/0-1 Big Ten)
Results: lost at Stanford 67-62, won at Pacific 90-50 NET ranking: No. 32 Up next: vs. Northwestern (Monday) Comment: Washington dropped out of the AP rankings following its loss to Stanford, although both teams are receiving votes. The Huskies’ other loss was to USC on Dec. 7 in the Big Ten opener. Junior guard Sayvia Sellers is averaging 19.2 points, fifth best in the Big Ten.
7. BYU (12-1/1-0 Big 12)
Results: won at UCF 71-50 NET rankings: No. 44 Up next: vs. TCU (Dec. 31) Comment: BYU is off to an excellent start under new head coach Lee Cummard, who has been on the staff since 2019. Delaney Gibb returned from injury in the Big 12 opener. The Cougars’ only loss was to No. 13 Vanderbilt. But their strength of schedule (No. 224) is a red flag.
8. Utah (10-3/1-0 Big 12)
Results: beat UC Riverside 61-52, won at Arizona 63-62 NET rankings: No. 45 Up next: vs. ASU (Dec. 31) Comment: Utah built a 16-point halftime lead Monday and held on for a one-point win in its Big 12 opener at Arizona. Lani White scored 26 points, including 11 in the second quarter when the Utes had a 24-4 advantage. Utah is on a seven-game winning streak, which has erased some of the sting from consecutive losses to Washington, Syracuse and No. 1 Connecticut.
9. Colorado State (11-2/2-0 Mountain West)
Results: won at Nevada 61-48, beat Utah State 55-46 NET ranking: No. 59 Up next: at Grand Canyon (Dec. 31) Comment: Colorado State has an early claim on being the class of the Mountain West, although San Diego State and UNLV are also 2-0 in conference. (The Rams’ losses are to Stanford and Utah.) Senior guard Lexus Bargesser, a transfer from Indiana, is CSU’s leading scorer (16.1 ppg).
10. Colorado (9-4/0-1 Big 12)
Results: beat Northern Colorado 79-62, lost at ASU 79-63 NET ranking: No. 70 Up next: vs. Arizona (Dec. 31) Comment: Colorado fell behind 17-2 against ASU and never led in losing its Big 12 opener Sunday. That ended a four-game winning streak. The Buffs have some promising young players, including 6-foot-4 Logyn Greer, who’s averaging 11 points and 5.6 rebounds.
11. Santa Clara (10-3)
Results: won at North Texas 84-72 NET ranking: No. 53 Up next: vs. San Diego (Sunday) Comment: Santa Clara is among seven teams in the Hotline’s initial power rankings that were not included in the final edition of 2024-25. Other such climbers are ASU, BYU, Colorado State, Colorado, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. Five players are averaging double-figure scoring for Santa Clara.
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Results: lost to USC 61-57 (neutral court) NET ranking: No. 63 Up next: vs. Cal Poly (Sunday) Comment: All of Cal’s losses are by less than 10 points, including to No. 12 Vanderbilt, Stanford and No. 17 USC. The Bears are not a 25-win team like last season but should be competitive in the ACC, which has three nationally-ranked teams.
13. Gonzaga (8-5)
Results: lost to ASU 68-66, won at Missouri State 68-49 and UC Riverside 68-62 NET ranking: No. 76 Up next: vs. Loyola Marymount (Sunday) Comment: Gonzaga nearly ended ASU’s hot start on Dec. 16 and has won five of its last six games. The Zags have finished first in the West Coast Conference regular season in nine of 11 years under coach Lisa Fortier and will be in contention again with, among others, Santa Clara.
14. UC Irvine (11-2/2-0 Big West)
Results: won at New Mexico State 83-66 and UTEP 93-72 NET ranking: 73 Up next: vs. Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 1) Comment: UC Irvine’s 10th consecutive win Thursday (in El Paso) established a school record. Senior guard Hunter Hernandez scored a career high 36 points and is averaging 17.9 per game. The Anteaters started 1-2, with losses to Arizona and Idaho State, before catching fire.
15. UC Santa Barbara (10-1/2-0 Big West)
Results: beat Eastern Washington 89-63 NET ranking: No. 81 Up next: vs. Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 1) Comment: UC Santa Barbara lost 87-50 at No. 4 UCLA on Nov. 6 and has won nine in a row since, including its first two in the Big West. Renee Jimenez is in her second season as coach after arriving from Division II Cal State San Marcos. Zoe Borter is the leading scorer (15.8 ppg).
Also considered: Montana State, Oregon State and San Diego State
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