Pac-12 basketball roundup: Colorado jumps to No. 20

The Colorado Buffaloes jumped up three spots into 20th in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday morning.

Only one other Pac-12 team made an appearance on this week’s list, with the Oregon Ducks sliding into the No. 11 spot after sitting at No. 12 last week.

Two Pac-12 teams received votes but didn’t rank in the Top 25; Arizona is 27th in the expanded rankings and USC is 34th.

Three of Colorado’s non-conference opponents also made appearances on Monday; No. 3 Kansas and No. 7 Dayton both stayed in the same place, and Northern Iowa is seven spots outside the Top 25 at No. 32.

Colorado now sit at 17th in the NCAA’s algorithm-based NET rankings.

Here’s what the Pac-12 standings look like heading into Week 5 of conference play:

1. No. 11 Oregon (6-2)
2. No. 20 Colorado (5-2)
3. USC (5-2)
4. Stanford (4-2)
5. California (3-3)
6. Arizona State (3-3)
7. Arizona (3-3)
8. UCLA (3-4)
9. Utah (3-4)
10. Washington State (3-5)
11. Washington (2-6)
12. Oregon State (2-6)

Three games for Buffs fans to watch:

Oregon @ California

Oregon got back on track when it beat down UCLA 96-65 at home, but prior to that game, the Ducks were on the downswing.

In the three games leading up to the UCLA game, Oregon went to overtime against USC and Washington, and lost to Washington State.

The question now is whether the Ducks have figured things out.

California is sitting fifth in the Pac-12. Since the top four teams in the league get byes in the conference tournament, creating separation with the Bears would also be valuable to Colorado, though not as valuable as an Oregon loss.

California will host Oregon on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.

Utah @ USC

The Trojans come into their contest against the Utes tied with Colorado at 5-2 in Pac-12 play.

Meanwhile, Utah (3-4) is coming into the weekend following a sweep of the Washington teams.

If Utah can extend its win streak, the Buffs would earn a half-game lead over USC, going into their game against the Trojans on Saturday.

USC will host Utah on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. MT. 

Oregon @ Stanford

Stanford was the surprise of the early portion of Pac-12 play, but after a 4-0 start the Cardinal has lost two-straight.

Now they host the top dog in the conference while clinging to the final bye. This

Stanford will host Oregon on Saturday at 4 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.