Best of the West WBB power rankings: UCLA on top as Stanford, Utah and Washington rise
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 (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten)
Last week: 1
Results: won at Minnesota 76-58, beat Maryland 97-67
NET ranking: No. 2
Up next: vs. Purdue (Wednesday)
Comment: The third-ranked Bruins continue to roll, routing No. 12 Maryland on Sunday for their 11th consecutive win. Gabriela Jaquez had 22 points on 77 percent shooting as her WNBA Draft stock keeps rising. The Bruins are tied for the Big Ten lead with Iowa, which plays in L.A. on Feb. 1.
2. Stanford (15-5, 4-3 ACC)
Last week: 3
Results: won at Boston College 77-52, lost at Syracuse 69-58
NET ranking: No. 34
Up next: at Cal (Sunday)
Comment: Stanford is 3-3 in its last six games with the saving grace from the latest loss being that Syracuse is 16-3. (Also, it was a road game.) The inconsistency is preventing the Cardinal from entering the national rankings and diminishing their NCAA Tournament seed projection.
3. Utah (14-5, 5-2 Big 12)
Last week: 4
Results: lost to Baylor 61-45, won at Houston 71-61
NET ranking: No. 44
Up next: vs. Texas Tech (Saturday)
Comment: No. 14 Baylor steadily pulled away from Utah, winning each quarter. The Utes regrouped for a road victory Saturday, going 11-of-28 from 3-point range against Houston. They have a week to prepare for No. 19 Texas Tech, which lost for the first time Saturday to unranked Kansas State.
4. Washington (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten)
Last week: 6
Results: won at Indiana 82-63, beat Minnesota 67-54
NET ranking: No. 31
Up next: vs. Penn State (Wednesday)
Comment: After losing two straight on Jan. 8 and 11, Washington won a pair to climb two spots in the Hotline rankings. The No. 25 Huskies shot 64.3 percent from the field, their best effort since December 2020, and scored 54 points in the paint at Indiana. They followed up with 44 paint points at home against the Gophers.
5. USC (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten)
Last week: 5
Results: lost to Maryland 62-55, beat Purdue 83-57
NET ranking: No. 26
Up next: at Michigan State (Thursday)
Comment: USC ended a four-game losing streak against Purdue with transfer guard Kara Dunn scoring a season-high 29 points. (Dunn had 21 in the loss to No. 12 Maryland.) Kennedy Smith played for the first time since Jan. 3, contributing six assists with no turnovers in 24 minutes. She had been out with a lower leg injury.
6. Oregon (14-6, 2-5 Big Ten)
Last week: 2
Results: lost at Iowa 74-66 and Wisconsin 94-92 (2 OT)
NET ranking: No. 24
Up next: vs. Minnesota (Wednesday)
Comment: Oregon has dropped three in a row after road defeats to No. 10 Iowa and unranked Wisconsin. Against the Badgers, the Ducks led by six points with 51 seconds left in regulation and by three with nine seconds remaining in the first overtime. Mia Jacobs and Katie Fiso combined for 56 points in the loss.
7. Arizona State (17-2, 4-2 Big 12)
Last week: 7
Results: beat Kansas 67-51
NET ranking: No. 43
Up next: at West Virginia (Wednesday)
Comment: ASU led by 11 points over Kansas at halftime and by double digits in the entire second half for one of its most convincing wins. The Sun Devils have not lost back-to-back games all season and are in a tier of teams that could be ranked anywhere from second to seventh (behind UCLA) depending on preferred metrics.
8. BYU (14-4, 3-3 Big 12)
Last week: 8
Results: lost to Baylor 69-58
NET ranking: No. 52
Up next: vs. Texas Tech (Wednesday)
Comment: BYU cut a 17-point deficit to three late in the third quarter, but No. 14 Baylor controlled the fourth. The Cougars have a tough week ahead with visits from No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 22 West Virginia. After that, they don’t face another (currently) ranked team in the regular season.
9. Colorado (12-7, 3-4 Big 12)
Last week: 10
Results: beat Iowa State 68-62, lost at UCF 74-68
NET ranking: No. 56
Up next: vs. Oklahoma State (Sunday)
Comment: Colorado upset then-No. 19 Iowa State but couldn’t follow up on the road. The Buffaloes were outscored 15-6 in the final 5:43 against UCF and have lost three of their last four games.
10. Gonzaga (14-6, 6-1 WCC)
Last week: 12
Results: won at San Francisco 82-69, beat San Diego 87-42
NET ranking: No. 64
Up next: at Oregon State (Thursday)
Comment: Now on a three-game winning streak, Gonzaga is tied for the WCC lead with Oregon State up next. The Zags have lost just once since Dec. 19, going 8-1 in that stretch. Lauren Whittaker is WCC Freshman of the Week for the fifth straight time and eighth overall. She averaged 16.5 points and 11 rebounds last week.
11. San Diego State (14-3, 8-0 Mountain West)
Last week: 14
Results: beat New Mexico 73-56, won at UNLV 75-66 (OT)
NET ranking: No. 74
Up next: vs. San Jose State (Saturday)
Comment: After breaking into the Hotline rankings last week, San Diego State is up three places thanks to a 10-game winning streak. The Aztecs are alone in first place in the Mountain West after handing UNLV its first conference loss. They blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter but dominated overtime, allowing the Rebels just one field goal.
12. Montana State (13-4, 6-0 Big Sky)
Last week: not ranked
Results: beat Montana 82-44 and Northern Colorado 71-57
NET ranking: No. 69
Up next: at Idaho State (Thursday)
Comment: Big Sky leader Montana State breaks into the Hotline rankings for the first time this season thanks to a six-game winning streak. The Bobcats’ 38-point victory over Montana is their largest in that rivalry. It began with a 13-0 opening run and added a 17-2 run starting the third quarter. They broke open Monday’s important game against Northern Colorado with a 32-point third.
13. UC Irvine (16-2, 7-0 Big West)
Last week: 13
Results: beat UC Davis 73-42
NET ranking: No. 75
Up next: vs. UC Riverside (Thursday)
Comment: UC Irvine is on a 15-game winning streak, but every victory is a Quadrant IV win and both losses are Quad III results. Because of that, the Anteaters’ strength of schedule is No. 340. They are tied for the Big West lead with UC San Diego, with the first of two meetings coming Saturday.
14. Oregon State (14-6, 6-1 WCC)
Last week: 10
Results: lost at Loyola Marymount 55-51, won at Pepperdine 69-68
NET ranking: No. 84
Up next: vs. Gonzaga (Thursday)
Comment: Oregon State jumped up in the Hotline rankings last week, then dropped back following its first loss since Dec. 14. The Beavers then trailed by 14 in the third quarter against Pepperdine but rallied behind Jenna Villa for a narrow win. The first of two games against WCC co-leader Gonzaga is next.
15. Santa Clara (16-5, 6-2 WCC)
Last week: 11
Results: lost to Portland 73-66, won at Saint Mary’s 68-63
NET ranking: No. 66
Up next: at Seattle (Thursday)
Comment: Santa Clara suffered a second WCC loss against Portland and is one game behind co-leaders Gonzaga and Oregon State. The Broncos did hold on for a road victory Saturday and are 16-5 for the first time since 2000-01.
Also considered: Cal, UNLV, Colorado State
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