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 (23-1, 13-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 1 Results: beat Rutgers 86-46, won at Michigan 69-66 NET ranking: No. 2 Up next: at Michigan State (Wednesday) Comment: Second-ranked UCLA survived its first real test since December, holding off No. 7 Michigan for its 17th consecutive win. The Bruins led by nine points with 29 seconds left, but the Wolverines came within a missed 3-pointer of forcing overtime. Lauren Betts had 16 points and 16 rebounds in UCLA’s eighth win over a ranked opponent.
2. Washington (18-6, 8-5 Big Ten)
Last week: 2 Results: lost to Ohio State 70-60, won at Wisconsin 91-86 (OT) NET ranking: No. 31 Up next: at Iowa (Wednesday) Comment: Guard Avery Howell’s career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds propelled Washington to an overtime win against Wisconsin, ending a two-game losing streak. Howell had 22 points in the second half and OT. The 25th-ranked Huskies and UCLA are the only teams from the West currently appearing in the AP poll.
3. USC (15-9, 7-6 Big Ten)
Last week: 4 Results: won at Northwestern 83-65 and Illinois 70-62 NET ranking: No. 20 Up next: vs. Indiana (Thursday) Comment: USC stayed hot on the road, increasing its winning streak to four games. Jazzy Davidson had 21 points and six assists against Northwestern and 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the victory over Illinois — a combination that led to her fifth Big Ten Freshman of the Week award.
4. Oregon (18-8, 6-7 Big Ten)
Last week: 3 Results: beat Illinois 76-73, lost to Ohio State 80-64 NET ranking: No. 23 Up next: at Washington (Sunday) Comment: Like Washington, Oregon lost at home to No. 8 Ohio State and split for the week. The Ducks committed a season-high 23 turnovers against the Buckeyes as their four-game winning streak ended. Against Illinois, they lost a 21-point halftime lead, trailed by eight, then regrouped with an 18-7 run to fuel the victory.
5. Utah (16-8, 7-5 Big 12)
Last week: 5 Results: won at UCF 67-57, lost to Iowa State 79-72 NET ranking: No. 48 Up next: at Arizona State (Wednesday) Comment: Utah is alternating wins and losses going back to mid-January. The Utes caught surging Iowa State at the wrong time, trailing by 18 points after the third quarter. That deficit was too large to overcome even with Renee Ross scoring a career-high 22 points.
6. Colorado (16-8, 7-5 Big 12)
Last week: 8 Results: lost to West Virginia 61-55, beat TCU 80-79 NET ranking: No. 45 Up next: at Houston (Wednesday) Comment: Colorado coach JR Payne was “pretty bummed” by a narrow loss to No. 19 West Virginia. Her team responded with a bigger upset, downing then-No. 14 TCU on Sunday. Jade Masogayo had a career-high 23 points, including a game-winning 3-point play with two seconds remaining.
7. Arizona State (19-6, 6-6 Big 12)
Last week: 9 Results: beat Oklahoma State 74-69, lost at Baylor 67-64 NET ranking: No. 49 Up next: vs. Utah (Wednesday) Comment: Given the caliber of opponents and results, Arizona State had its best week of the season, upsetting Oklahoma State and taking No. 15 Baylor to the wire on the road. Reserves Deborah Davenport (18 points against OSU) and Jyah LoVett (16 against Baylor) produced season highs.
8. Gonzaga (18-7, 10-2 WCC)
Last week: 12 Results: beat Oregon State 67-37 and Pacific 72-44 NET ranking: No. 62 Up next: at San Diego (Thursday) Comment: Gonzaga leads the WCC after two blowout wins. Lauren Whittaker had 15 points in both games and broke a 41-year-old school record for single-season scoring by a freshman. The Zags visit Loyola Marymount, which trails them in the WCC by one game, on Saturday.
9. Cal (15-10, 6-6 ACC)
Last week: 14 Results: won at Georgia Tech 63-56 and Pitt 95-80 NET ranking: 51 Up next: vs. Virginia (Thursday) Comment: With wins in five of its last six games, Cal has moved ahead of rival Stanford in the ACC standings. Lulu Twidale scored 32 against Pitt to surpass 1,000 career points. She went 7-of-11 from 3-point range, accounting for half of the Bears’ triples. Gisella Maul and Sakima Walker had double-doubles against Georgia Tech.
10. Stanford (16-9, 5-7 ACC)
Last week: 6 Results: won at Pitt 86-65, lost at Georgia Tech 74-52 NET ranking: No. 42 Up next: vs. Virginia Tech (Thursday) Comment: Ending a four-game losing streak at Pitt provided only temporary relief for Stanford, which lost badly in Atlanta. Freshman Lara Somfai had a huge double-double (15 points and 23 rebounds) in the win and 19 points and nine rebounds in the loss. The Cardinal are at risk of missing out on a second straight NCAA Tournament.
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Last week: 10 Results: lost at Grand Canyon 57-44, won at San Jose State 81-52 NET ranking: No. 77 Up next: vs. Colorado State (Wednesday) Comment: San Diego State’s 13-game winning streak ended against Grand Canyon. The Aztecs scored a season-low 44 points and suffered their first Mountain West loss since February 2025 (after 19 consecutive conference wins). They still lead the league by one game.
12. BYU (16-8, 5-7 Big 12)
Last week: 7 Results: lost at Kansas 81-60 and Kansas State 77-52 NET ranking: No. 57 Up next: vs. Iowa State (Tuesday) Comment: It was a rough week for BYU, which has four losses in its past five games and is in jeopardy of dropping off the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Cougars gave up a season high 49 second-half points against Kansas, then were outscored 39-22 in the second half by Kansas State.
13. Montana State (17-6, 10-2 Big Sky)
Last week: 13 Results: lost at Idaho 73-70 (OT), won at Eastern Washington 71-69 NET ranking: No. 67 Up next: at Montana (Saturday) Comment: Montana State lost its rematch against the Vandals, falling out of the Big Sky lead and reversing a 30-point win on Jan. 10. The Bobcats scored the first five points of overtime but could not hold the lead. They survived Eastern Washington, a game with only one field goal for either team in the final five minutes.
14. UNLV (16-7, 11-2 Mountain West)
Last week: 15 Results: won at Utah State 71-60 NET ranking: 86 Up next: vs. Wyoming (Wednesday) Comment: Forward Shelbee Brown, playing for her fourth school, had a stunning double-double with 21 points and 21 rebounds against Utah State. The Rebels trail San Diego State by one game in the Mountain West with the second meeting coming up Feb. 18.
15. Oregon State (17-8, 9-3 WCC)
Last week: 11 Results: lost at Gonzaga 67-37 and Portland 53-50 NET ranking: No. 93 Up next: vs. Santa Clara (Thursday) Comment: Oregon State scored its fewest points since 2012 against the Zags just a few weeks after tallying 92 in an overtime victory in Spokane. Kennedie Shuler had 23 points against Portland, but no one else scored more than eight in the Portland loss.
Also considered: Boise State, UC Irvine, Idaho
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